I found a pair of antique pianola rolls for $2 at a market recently...
When I got home I took them out of their boxes and unrolled them and really saw the gorgeous detailing and workmanship that went into making them.
The lovely brass rolls, the parchment paper...
The print and little royalty stamp...
I love that one of them is for the Foxtrot, I can imagine these having been used in a dance hall or a saloon back in the early 1900's. The roll is inserted, the machine is cranked up, the Foxtrot starts and the crowd goes crazy!
I would love to know where these were used, who danced to them and how they ended up at a random flea market. I feel they are a real little piece of history and am very hapy to own them :-)
8 comments:
That is awesome. I wonder about things I buy a lot like that too. Take it to antiques road show they will tell you all about it :)
Very cool and rare. How do you find this stuff?
I knew your title would be a pun. I was half expecting a bread basket. Nothing prepared me for these finds.
Yours in thrift,
Erin
Thanks Q.O.C. I'd LOVE to visit the Antiques Roadshow, I've been watching the English show since I was tiny! Toronto Yardsaler - I laughed when I saw your comment - Damn I should have saved that title for a bread basket post :-) Seriously though, I'm going to run out of cheesy titles soon. PS, I can't comment on your blog when I'm using Firefox on my PC (just doesn't register) but I can when I have the MAc (which hubbie is hogging)!
I inherited a player piano from my parents and those rolls you have found are in wonderful shape. For some reason the new roles they make do not make the same lovely sound that the older roles do? A great find!
Gillian
I glanced around for an email address, but couldn't find one... so this comment will have to be off topic ;)
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back with you about the lay out- I've been very busy lately with not much to show for it!
Send me your email address and I'll send you some layout info- it's kinda complicated to explain in a comment. Would you rather a word doc or a mac doc? It's all script, and I had to play with the pixels to really figure it out for myself, but now that I've done the hard work, I can show you, right? :) Hope you're doing well!
my dad had a player piano and collects these rolls - they are gorgeous. next u will have to aquire your own p.piano to play them on! it anyone could find one for a song it would b u! a groovy shop nearby here has a beautiful window display where they have hung unravelled rolls in the window.
wow! what incredible finds!!! great price, too!
I always wonder about the back story with the treasures I find. I am sure it would be interesting for your incredible find. There is also an American Antiques roadshow on PBS and the British show has been to Canada. Have they been to Australia? I remember visiting my Great Aunt and Uncle as a small child and being so impressed with the player piano.
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