On a New Zealand holiday and travel program this week one of the
presenters visited the Wagener museum in the north of the North Island.
It's a lovely place, the tour guide wearing full Victorian clothing and
a lot of 'hands-on' exhibits. Among their collection are three player
pianos, and a collection of about 150 rolls.
The presenter announced 'and at the end of the tour, you're treated to a
concert on the old pianola', and the tour guide proceeded to play and
sing 'It had to be You'. There were closeups of her feet pedalling, the
roll moving over the tracker bar, and, of course, the keys moving
themselves.

I don't know what company made the roll, but it sounded an awful lot
like J. Lawrence Cook. The player was in reasonable condition, but the
roll seemed to jump over the tracker bar a bit, and the guide was
pedalling quite hard, but the sound was pretty good.
For any visitors to NZ I'd recommend you visit. It's a bit out of the
way, but if you take the trip to Cape Reinga (the top of NZ), you can
stop off on the way.

When I was there the roll playing was 'My Favourite Things', and the
only roll I remember was the 'Golden Gate (or Bridge) March' . Does
anyone have this?

Another interesting exhibit is a 1914 phonograph with a wooden horn.
Just thought I'd mention it as it's the first time I've ever seen a
player on NZ television!

Regards,
Bob Perry