A question occurred to me lately: How were paper rolls copied at the
beginning of this century?  Essentially I can envision two ways:

(1)  There is a "master" of some different material (like in reproducing
vinyl LP recordings; there the master is of steel), and the reproducing
machine interprets the master.

(2)  The master is simply an ordinary paper roll which, by the usual
pneumatics also employed in an instrument, drives some real punches.

All that could work without any electricity (except maybe the pump),
but I think you need additional pressurized air to drive the punches.
Vacuum would not be enough, as they probably punched a few or even a
lot of rolls together (did I hear the number 10 somewhere?).

Anyway, is such a machine still in existence that I could see?  Maybe
even in Europe or in California (the most likely places I'll visit in
the next 3 years :-) )

Harald M. Mueller