I lucked out in this regard.  I found an early Aeolian roll with the
seal intact, but the glue with which it was attached had failed, and
the seal had fallen off and was loose in the box!  While I realize that
this is not a solution to the "should I break the seal?" question, it
makes me wonder if there is some safe way to "encourage" the glue
holding the seal on to release the seal and let you play the roll while
keeping the seal intact.

Regards

Bryan Cather
Enjoying the coolest Texas summer in years!