Response to Jack Conway, Jim Canavan and Mike Knudsen.

The red labels for roller organ cobs were used up to and including cob
#1186.  Beginning with cob #1187, buff-colored labels were used, with
the same typefaces.  One sometimes finds lower-numbered cobs with the
buff labels as well, and these are late copies of these cobs and
typically have the copper-colored pins characteristic of the
highest-numbered cobs.

I have also seen a few yellowish and whitish labels on some of the
highest-numbered cobs and the original-looking "white" label Mike
Knudsen mentioned he had on one cob is probably one of these.  These
labels adhere very firmly to the cob and have a glossier feel than the
soft, fragile buff ones, which very often detach at the edges or fall
off completely.  I would be curious to know if anyone else has any
other unusual label variants.

In my low-tech way, I generally replace labels by tracing out a circle,
the diameter of a cob, using a compass, on red paper; typing just "NO."
to the left of the center, the cob number to the right of the center
and the title below, using an old manual typewriter with a typeface
similar to that originally used for cob titles; cutting out the label
and punching a hole in the center using a hand-held hole punch; and
gluing on the replacement label with Elmer's glue (having removed all
scraps of the previous label).

I generally do not replace the label on the two-hole end of the cob,
because it seems less important and I am concerned that even a minute
buildup in length at that end from the glue and the label could affect
the alignment of the cob in the machine.

I usually do not replace a label on a cob I am trading to someone
without asking their preference, because some people might conceivably
think that a cob with a replacement label has been "doctored" in a way
that adversely affects its value.  Instead, the cob number can be
written in ink in a space among pins on the cob playing surface or
(less permanently) on a square of masking tape that is then attached in
such a space.

Does anyone have any opinions on whether replacement labels are
desirable, or objectionable?

Rich Dutton
973-669-4783