Happy New Year to all.  I am hoping that someone out there may have
some information regarding music, on any mechanical format, by the
composer Sydney H. Gambrell, who flourished circa 1895-1920 and who
also wrote under the name of Oscar Allon.

He was a much-published English composer of graceful, undemanding
salon music of considerable charm.  Titles of his works include the
following: The King's March; Clematis; Daffodils; Primroses; Poppy
leaves; White Heather; Romance appassionata; Kornblumen; Jessie;
Chinese Lanterns.  I have seen some of his sheet music available for
sale on various web sites.

My interest in this is that I have discovered that he used to live
and work in my house, where his stepfather was Vicar from 1898-1930.
His granddaughter and her husband appeared "out of the blue" on my
doorstep, with a folder of wonderful old photos, and copies of his
sheet music and manuscripts.

As I am both a collector of mechanical music and a professional
composer, not to mention an incurable romantic, I think that it would
be great to try to locate any rolls or (more likely) discs of his work
which can then be played in his old home.  I cannot locate anything in
the 58-note, 116-note or Duo-Art lists, and feel that his work would
have found a more natural home on musical box discs or early piano
rolls.  I would be most grateful for any information which anyone can
give me.

Rowland Lee
Lincolnshire, U.K.