The wiggly red Metrostyle line wasn't always hand-applied: quite
a lot of rolls used rubber stencils, so probably are pretty accurate
representations of the original.  The rolls with the green dynamic line
restricted to the left side of the roll are usually printed, and those
with the dynamics spanning the whole roll are hand-marked.  Considering
that the 1914 UK catalogue has perhaps 10,000 titles, managing all
these stencils must have been quite a task!

Autograph Metrostyle lines are an interesting collecting sideline,
but aren't all that common and were discontinued around the same time
that the Duo-Art came on the scene.

In very early Duo-Art days, one (and one only) Duo-Art roll was created
using one of Grieg's Autograph Metrostyle rolls, quite clearly stated
as such in the catalogue.  It was soon dropped, clearly the results not
being as good as had been hoped for.

Rather oddly, the earliest hand-played rolls from Aeolian from about
1910 onwards were issued in Metrostyled form on the Metro-Art label,
the non-Metrostyled versions being labelled Universal Uni-Record.
Just what the Metrostyle line was supposed to add is hard to tell.

If you go to the PPG web site (http://www.playerpianogroup.org.uk)
you'll soon find a list of all the artists who made these Autograph
Metrostyle rolls, as listed in the UK 1914 Pianola catalogue.

Paul Murphy's Sousa roll is the only one listed as having Sousa's
Metrostyle line, and he was pretty well the only 'popular' composer
who was considered worthy of asking to create one!

Julian Dyer