D. L. Bullock said:

> I think we really have a crisis today because none of the people
> who made our favorite rolls knew that acid paper only lasted
> 80 to 120 years.

Only the highbrow firms would have cared in the first place.  I think
you'd've got a real frost if you walked into Supertone to complain about
a brittle roll in 1939.   Ask our recutters now: are you really designing
rolls for a life of more than 120 years ?

American rolls last much better in the UK's cool damp atmosphere.  I have
some real cheapo 65-note pop rolls of around 1905, made in the USA, that
have turned brown.  If you flick the edges hard large flakes will fly
off.  But they will still play if you're gentle with them.

European-made rolls of all kinds are still good.  Hupfeld and British
Aeolian rolls of the 1910s look like being with us for another 50-60
years yet.

Dan Wilson