Standard Music Roll Company
Central Avenue, Orange, N.J.  USA
by Frank Himpsl (from MMD 970709)

Standard Music Roll Co. issued piano rolls from circa 1900 to 1925 under the following labels (brand names), and there may have been others.  I haven't yet found a connection between Standard Music Roll Co., Orange NJ and Supreme Music Co., Newark NJ.

Early rolls by the Standard Music Roll Co. of Orange, NJ (under their Standard and Electra labels) almost always had a hand-stamped serial number at the very end, in their characteristic magenta ink. These also frequently show a date of roll manufacture, written by the original editor in pencil.

Standard, 88-note -- no inscription on label, usually on light blue paper with a horizontal bar and framework in orange.  Serial number at top, usually in 80,000 series. same paper.

Standard, 88-note ; Large orange and black label with the word "Standard" at top.  This label was on the last product of the company, issued from 1923-25.  Top name pianists and composers were enlisted on this series.  Rare rolls to find.  Both word rolls and instrumental numbers were issued.

(courtesy Rob DeLand)

Electra, 65-note -- black label with company name, terrible paper quality.

Electra, 88-note -- same black label and same terrible paper as the 65-note rolls

Perforated Music Roll Co. -- all 65-note, circa 1900-06, large orange label, fittingly for Orange, New Jersey!

Perfection, 88-note -- small rolls marked as retail price 25 cents, but they were sold at 3 for 50 cents.  No words on the roll.  Orange label.

Arto, 88-note --  Issued with and without lyrics on the roll.  Red label when with words.  Green label when without.  Standard also issued 78-rpm records with the Arto name.  Arto is short for "Artists Own Roll".  The box lid had lithographed pictures on all three long surfaces; the top surface design is pictured here.  The same sheet of lithographed paper also had a default label for each end of the box with the phrase, "The Artists' own Hand-Playing Cut in the Roll" and "88 Full Score Arrangement 88".  The separately printed label with the song title was pasted on one or both ends of the box lid.

Simplex, 88-note ; Rarely seen, same masters as Arto

VocoWord, 88-note -- Same masters as Arto, but always with words.  Blue label.

Sing-A -- red label on white paper.  All issued with words printed on the roll, same masters as Arto and VocoWord.