[ Editor's Note:
 [
 [ A few days ago Frank Himpsl shared with us a request he received
 [ from David Green about Piano/lodeon rolls.  Below is some information
 [ on this topic from Gary Stevenson.
 [
 [ Jody

I know about your Piano/Lodeon rolls and have the unit they played on, In
short these units were made by J.Chine and Co. of Burlington N.J. in the
early 1960.

Below is part of an un-published article I originally wrote to be published
for the MBSI.

 - - -

Created in the late fifties and marketed in the early sixties the PIANO
LODIAN (tm) was meant as a toy probably for the children of parents who's
childhoods were spent in the hayday of the famed pianola. I'm sure it was
hoped that these parents remembered the many joyful hours spent before the
seemingly magical piano. That spurred the J.Cheinand Co. a New Jersey import
Co. To market a working toy replica of the player piano that found it's
place in hearts thirties years earlier.

The popularity of the Piano Lodian, or any other item for that matter is
proven in a test of time. Without really looking nine families with in three
miles of my home in South St. Louis turned up with these 20 note plastic
wonders with permanent rink-e-tink.

I am 43 now and remember the Piano Lodian in my own family. My aunt Mary,
who was ten years older than I, would bring hers from the closet and play it
with us on special occasions, that found us at her house.  That toy was
totally forgotten. Several years ago while in her attic I got a big surprise
that piano had been packed away in it's original shipping box and even had a
large part of the original sales slip glued to the box.

Both of these objects were a help in tracing the past of this thirties year
old fad.

My children's new toy came with 14 rolls 6 of which were in one largest box.
This lead me to believe that it must have been a starter set.  Others came
in single boxes and were almost all Christmas songs.  A fact that said she
received this toy as a Christmas gift.

I called long distance for Burlington N.J., this city was on every box
relating to the piano, just to see if the company was still in business.  I
found them a thriving dime store toy co. after talking with Ms. Janet
McCorriston from J. Cheins for about 15 min. I found that these pianos were
sold primarily at F. W. Wolworth stores, came in two colors, and sold
originally for the retail price from 30 to 40 dollars.  Ms. McCorriston was
even more helpful when two months later she sent me 2 original sales
catalogs to use in this article one from 1962 the other from 1964. They
unraveled the mystery of music and features of this prolific toy.

If you would like more information "E" me back