The musical notes B and E in Hupfeld roll watermarks mentioned by
Niels Berkers could be H (German B) and E, standing for Hupfeld and
perhaps Electrisches (Electric) recording; sometimes a zigzag
arrow/lightning flash is also shown which some have assumed indicates
an electrical process.

However, it's fairly clear that both the Hupfeld recording and
production perforating processes were -- at least originally -- all
pneumatic, and it's most likely that the notes are in fact B and E
and stand for Böhlitz-Ehrenburg (bei Leipzig) where the Hupfeld factory
was located.

The acronym B.-E. and Böhlitz-Ehrenburg appear frequently in Hupfeld
literature, such as at the end of the 1923 hand-typed Triphonola
Operation Manual.

The year watermark most likely denotes not the year a roll was recorded
or first issued, but when the paper batch was produced.  Both Hupfeld
and Aeolian UK (who sourced their paper from Germany for some years)
aged their paper for a period before use.  Why Hupfeld chose to show
the date and other details is interesting; Aeolian/Universal didn't.
Were Hupfeld rolls being counterfeited?...

Patrick Handscombe
Wivenhoe, Essex, UK

(Would posters please always show where they are located?  There are
people outside the US!)