Craig Brougher said:

> Scotch tape is permanent and has a very good adhesive, and it has
> lasted me, in some cases, over 30 years.  I can still play the rolls
> I fixed in the 1970's.  The acid in the roll paper is what causes the
> roll to disintegrate in moist climates, by the way.  The tape doesn't
> get hard, brittle, or dry to my knowledge.  And I almost never use tape
> in the width that it comes on the roll.  I slit it very thin first, and
> use as little as possible.  I really can't find much wrong with frosty
> Scotch tape when it is used right.

I was just about to say exactly this.  In the 1970s I used to buy AMR
Duo-Art recuts from Frank Adams and he'd tear up failed rolls, screw
them into balls and pack the box with them.  A kind man, he always used
one roll up before starting the next...  I used to fish them out,
smooth the pieces over the tracker bar and stick 'em all back together
with half-width Magic Tape, in lengths not more than two inches, to
give flexibility at the joins.  With new spools, they made perfectly
good pedal rolls and they don't look or behave any differently now
after 20 years.

Craig talks about rolls disintegrating in "moist climates".  We
certainly have that here, yet rolls seem to thrive on it, even though
some amateur-made rolls swell after cutting and have to be stored in
plastic bags with silica gel to keep them the right width.

A thing that is very noticeable to the European collector visiting the
States is the terrible condition of many rolls in America, especially
Ampicos and Duo-Arts.  I had one of Jim Edwards' literally fall apart
in my hands 18 months ago.  The paper used in Europe was much tougher
and with a very few exceptions 88-note rolls here, starting around
1909, look good for another forty years yet.  In contrast the older
65-note rolls going back to 1897 were all imported from America and are
noticeably more fragile.  Nevertheless it's very rare to find any in
the perilous condition that now seems common in America.  The Chase &
Baker "Connorized" green paper roll (sold briskly after 1902 in
competition with Aeolian's "Piano" and "Pianola" labels) remains
new-looking and tough, if a little faded on the outside.

Can it be that it's the acid in the paper that is the problem, and that
it's a _dry_ climate that's worse for them ?  Australians can probably
chip in on this, as they have both extremes.

Dan Wilson, London