Pianolist Rolls
By Paul Johnson
Hopefully this will add a few shreds of information about the "Pianolist's Library" rolls Bryan Cather recently referred to. I have one in my current roll auction so I was able to pull it off the shelf for inspection. It has a burgundy box and is titled "Popular Edition, The World's Music, Pianola, A New Aeolian Library of Audiographic rolls". The tune is Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave Overture".
This copy says "Aeolian Company, Ltd., Made In Great Britain" on the roll label. The roll also has a stamp on the leader that says "Methven Simpson Limited, Musicsellers, Dundee, Perth, Forfar St. Andrews, Edinburgh", further pointing to its British origin.
From an eyeball inspection, I would date the roll around 1910, give or take a few years.
I've auctioned a few others off (maybe you were the one who bought them). The only other color I've seen is a dark green. The black one you refer to may just be one of the green versions that's aged over the years.
Hope this helps.
Paul Johnson
The Piano Roll Shop |
(Message sent Wed 25 Sep 1996, 16:15:35 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.) |
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