There's been a thread on Lind and Kibbey on Facebook for some time
now, much of which I'd posted, in reply to Andrew Barrett's query.
While the information Mr. Reinhart posted [170411 MMD] is correct,
I would add the following.

Genealogical and historical records indicate that Harley Claton Kibbey
was born in Clinton County, Ohio, on February 27, 1875, and that he
seems to have bounced around various music-related business, mostly
piano retail stores in Ohio (Cincinnati) and Indiana (Evansville and
Indianapolis) before landing in Chicago and founding his business
there.  In addition to the 1910 census, WW1 draft cards and other
records, the 1875 birth date is also supported by his obituary, which
(wrongly) claims he was born in Cuba, West Virginia!  Kibbey died at
his home in Huntington, West Virginia on June 22, 1948.

Music Trade Review article dated June 25, 1907 states "The Kibbey
Manufacturing Company of this city [Chicago], recently incorporated
with a capital of $300,000.00, will shortly begin the manufacture of
perforated music rolls using a new and wonderful machine invented by
A.L. Hart.  The machine ... may be attached to any piano of conventional
type, doing the cutting cleanly and accurately while the pianist is
rendering the selection so that all that remains to be done to prepare
the roll for the market is to roll it on its spindle..."

The rest of the article provides a more detailed description of the
machinery and the possibilities it presents, before concluding with
the following: "H.C. Kibbey ... is building up a business of immense
proportions, having organized three separate concerns to handle
different portions of the business: H.C. Kibbey and Co, the parent
organization, to act as sales agents; the Kibbey Manufacturing Company
to manufacture perforated music rolls by the new process; and the
Concertophone and the Guardian Coin Detector, two other Kibbey
specialties, and the Commercial Trust Co. to finance the business.
Several prominent and influential businessmen are back of the latter
venture."

An announcement in Music Trade Review, dated September 11, 1912, states
that the "Piano Player Co." had incorporated in Milwaukee, to build
"a complete player with automatic musical instruments".  H.C. Kibbey
and G.W. & Millie Ristau were the incorporating parties.  Cases were
to come from the Kreiter Mfg. Co. and a factory was to be built in
Martinette, Wisconsin.

A March 8, 1915, Music Trade Review article states that, to fill a
perceived need for a better quality yet inexpensive roll to counteract
cheap "dime store" rolls flooding the market, Kibbey Mfg. Co would bring
out a line of 88-note rolls for the home market, under the name "Kibbey
Kleen Kut" to retail at twenty-five cents.  It also states the rolls
were arranged by Ralph Goolman (who also did the early arranging work
for Columbia).

A Nov 27, 1915, ad indicates that Kibbey Mfg. Co was marketing 88-note
home use rolls under the "Kleen Kut" and "Artistplayd" brand names,
and had just issued a special catalog of Bohemian 88-note rolls.

On May 1, 1915, an article in Music Trade Review introduced Harry
Auracher as the pianist behind Kibbey's hand-played rolls, and included
a photograph and short biographical sketch of Auracher.  Auracher was
a well-known and popular Broadway pianist and composer in the teens and
'twenties, who later changed his name to "Harry Archer" and remained
active into the 1940s.

Bryan Cather