Ginny and I have been collecting Recordo rolls for over 30 years, and
another person has been collecting them for longer than that.  In both
collections there are more missing titles in one early part of the main
Recordo sequence than anywhere else.

We have speculated on the reason for this for some time, but the reason
finally dawned on me.  Other than those deep into Recordo collecting,
most people don't know that Imperial Automatic Electric rolls are
Recordos.  So when we ask if they have any Recordo rolls, they only
tell us about the ones that actually say "Recordo" on them.

The Imperial Automatic Electric (IAE) series was issued by the Cable
company from 1917 to 1921.  After Cable sold the roll operation to QRS
in 1921 the label changed to Recordo for 2 years, then became the more
familiar QRS Recordo.  Some of the titles issued as IAE were reissued
both under the Recordo label and the QRS Recordo label, but many were
not.  The largest block of missing rolls is in the IAE period.

So I am asking all you MMDers to check your collections for IAE rolls.
While it is always nice to add to our collection, we are mainly
interested in borrowing missing titles for copying.  The reward for
loaning one of these rolls is negotiable, but will at least include
a new, robust copy made by Custom Music Rolls.  And you will know that
another piece of history has been preserved and made available to other
collectors.

Bob Billings