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MMD > Archives > November 2016 > 2016.11.08 > 02Prev  Next


Ampico-Artigraphic Record Music Roll
By Marshall Jose

As a relative roll-scanning newbie, every so often I encounter
a roll label which completely defies categorization; see the attached
image of a roll and box label.  The label promises an expression-style
performance of Liszt's D-flat Etude by Mark Hambourg, but also seems
to name-drop every brand name it can get away with: I see Ampico,
Artigraphic, Stoddard, and Rythmodik.  Worse yet, the Ampico catalog
from 1925 lists Mark Hambourg's performance of the piece as Ampico roll
55574H.

Now, I understand that piano makers had an interest in branding rolls,
normally entailing some kind of specialty label.  But I understood the
practice to be an attempt at excluding mention of other brands/labels,
as opposed to stamping the roll with everything they could get away
with.  Can someone illuminate this topic?

Marshall Jose

 [ Scan of Ampico-Artigraphic roll 41911F labels
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/16/11/08/161108_172621_20161108.jpg 

 [ Ampico (and Duo-Art, too) couldn't settle on a simple, logical roll
 [ numbering system.  They frequently, almost annually, re-organized
 [ their respective piano roll catalogs to introduce new numbering
 [ schemes which they hoped would lead customers to the rolls the
 [ sellers predicted they would be buying.  The myriad schemes just
 [ lead to confusion, of course.  See more Ampico labels at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/MMMedia/Ampico/index.html  -- Robbie


(Message sent Wed 9 Nov 2016, 01:26:22 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Ampico-Artigraphic, Music, Record, Roll

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