Aeolian-American Corp
By Dan Wilson
Reminiscences of strange service remind me of the time I started buying rolls by mail from Aeolian-American in the 1960s. Of course these were intended for their new little console players, none of which ever worked well in England because of the humidity, but for me, a player nut for whom Aeolian was a Great Name From The Past, it was a real thrill to be getting new rolls with AEOLIAN on the box.
It would have been a greater thrill still had the rolls all had the right titles on them. I was lucky in a way because my first six shipments were correct to the last roll and after that someone "blew a diode" (as we used to say in our electronics factory) and faithfully sent me someone else's order.
AA were unfailingly courteous, but it was no good. They weren't even geared up to telling me from the titles whether mine was a shipment intended for the UK. I had the option of shipping the whole lot back or lumping it and keeping them. Since there was some overlap with my own tastes, I usually kept them. The better ones can still be had from Klavier, complete with the same stamped box title -- though Klavier make them rather better. AA rolls all had the notes half a position to the right. Dealing with a Great Name From The Past demanded sacrifice.
Dan Wilson
[ In the era of the Gardner-Denver "wire-wrap" circuits we would say
[ "He just came un-wrapped!" -- Robbie
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