Welte-Mignon Piano Rolls, Vol. 3 (1905-1926)

As must be expected of a story that begins in Germany before one war and ends after another, this is a tale of triumph and tragedy, of glory and despair. The contraption known as the Welte-Mignon Reproducing Piano was a product of man's better nature because it brought the music of great pianists and composers into elegant homes, but after many years of success, the sales declined, production ceased, and its inventors watched helplessly as another side of man's nature, with a different set of priorities, reduced the dream to ashes, leaving only scattered remnants to be cherished by a few fortunate collectors.

A rediscovery of the Welte Legacy occurred shortly after the end of World War II. Richard C. Simonton (my father) wrote to Edwin Welte in an effort to locate Welte music rolls for the pipe organ in his residence. Welte replied that he had saved only about sixteen organ rolls, which he would gladly exchange for food. His letter also mentioned that he and former partner Karl Bockisch had lost nearly everything in the war, yet had managed to hide a quantity of piano rolls in a barn in The Black Forest. (My mother recalls finding bits of straw in the boxes when the rolls were later opened for playing.)