After seeing the article about a possible master recording at Welte,
I thought I would give it my best effort to understand what I see.
Here are my observations.

First the blurred, blotches of ink(?) on this wider than 11-1/4-inch
paper seem to lack sufficient resolution to be of any value as a
precision recording.  But let's ignore that for the moment.

Looking at the patterns within the what is to be presumed as the note
field, it is somewhat believable that this could be music.  What
appears to be typical bass chords with treble notes that might be some
melody completes the center image of the music roll master.

Next, study the composition of the picture.  We see two men looking
at the 'recording'.  The piano is near the back wall in the photo.
The man seated has immediately behind him what appears to be a floor
lamp and also a cabinet of some sort.  That means the man standing is
sandwiched between the cabinet, the wall, the piano, and the seated man.
It must have been awkward for him to get into that position.  Both men
appear to be looking at the 'recording'.

Below the 'recording' is what might be an open drawer of a Welte
Licensee piano.  The 'recording' is being held to be clearly visible,
but it does not block the view of the drawer nor of the keyboard.

The man standing is leaning forward a considerable amount, being
blocked at the knees by the open drawer, so that he can point to the
'recording'.  Notice that he actually points to blank paper.  While
the seated man is holding the 'recording' in a manner that does not
cover any central part of the 'recording', his right hand being
unnaturally low, making sure the drawer is visible.

All these details lead me to conclude that this is a highly staged
photo event.  Many of the elements pointed out show unnatural posture,
unlikely standing position, and an obvious effort to showcase a highly
visible 'recording'.  It is easy to assume the purpose of the photo
is to show this 'recording'

At the beginning of this critique I mentioned the blurry markings.
Whatever they are, they are highly visible.  In fact the width of what
is to be presumed as a 'note' is so wide that 80 of those objects
placed side-by-side would exceed the total width of the paper!  Thus
this cannot be an 80-note recording.

I conclude that the 'recording' is fake.  Using a fake 'recording' to
illustrate a recording system strongly suggests that the recording
system does not exist.  Where is the real thing?

Bob Taylor
Missouri

 [ I disagree.  The music produced by the Welte Licensee system is
 [ equal in quality to the music of the other fine reproducing piano
 [ systems.  It's quite reasonable to conclude that Welte Licensee
 [ music rolls were produced, or at least aided, by the 'seismograph'
 [ recording equipment extolled in the Licensee adverts.  However,
 [ I agree that the photograph is highly staged and unnatural.  The
 [ company should let the music "sing for itself!"  -- Robbie