Faszinationpianola

14/06/2026

Still happens, many very rare finds in large roll collections...
Even though we have already discovered and cataloged thousands of piano rolls, it is still a tremendous pleasure to acquire and examine another previously unknown collection—and to uncover the rare treasures hidden within it. Little by little, we continue to complete the catalogs of the various roll brands and repertoires, particularly Animatic, S.M./Empeco, Tri-Phonola, PhilAG, Welte, and others.

12/06/2026

Coming soon: Hupfeld DEA Piano…
Same design as the later Tri-Phonola piano in our previous posting: This Hupfeld DEA Piano we expect to arrive soon with a nice selection of DEA rolls. Wonderful instrument.

12/06/2026

Just arrived: another rare Hupfeld Tri-Phonola Piano
We have acquired another nice Hupfeld Tri-Phonola Piano of the 1920s with a great collection of 100 Tri-Phonola reproducing rolls, including some very rare recordings.

10/06/2026

A complete Hupfeld DEA collection...
After many years of searching, we have finally been able to acquire a Hupfeld DEA reproducing Vorsetzer, complete with a beautiful collection of music rolls. The design and quality of the workmanship are remarkable. This Vorsetzer was restored several years ago by Thomas Jansen. We will carry out a bit of additional work, and before long it should be playing again.
With this latest addition, our collection now includes some Rönisch DEA upright pianos, a Blüthner DEA grand piano, and a DEA Vorsetzer—a combination that may well be unique in the world. What a day.

31/05/2026

Another rarity, the 1922 Leutke 3.0m Concert Grand Piano...
We have just scanned this 1922 Leutke (Leipzig) piano catalogue. It presents a 3.0m Concert Grand Piano. Long before Fazioli came with the F308. Leutke also had a huge Double-Concert-Grand-Piano. Unfortunately I never saw either the 3.0m, nor the Double-Grand in real, did you?

30/05/2026

Just scanned: 1931 Hupfeld Uniola brochure...
In 1912, Hupfeld advertised a special artist player piano under the name "Uniola", but the model soon disappeared from the market.
After the decline of the player piano era, Hupfeld revived the Uniola name in 1930 for a modern large-scale public-address and music distribution system. Designed for venues with extensive indoor and outdoor areas, allowing radio programmes, gramophone records, live performances, and public announcements to be relayed throughout the premises via distributed loudspeakers to all parts of an establishment, such as a beer garden. The Uniola system could also be used for live performances by bands and artists, as well as for speeches and announcements. Using microphones, performances or announcements originating from one location could be transmitted selectively to other areas of the venue. This brochure has 9 pages presenting some installations. If interested in a pdf copy pls. check our website with many original documents.

29/05/2026

Just arrived: 1906 B. Grosse Piano with PianoDisc...
The previous owner invested a lot into the renovation and implementation of the PianoDisc PDS-228CFX and Lifesaver in 2003. Nice Piano, even though this manufacturer B. Grosse (Grünau/Berlin) isn't a known one. Piano with player available at a rather low price - looking for a new home.

100 Jahre lang war dies ein normales Handspielklavier. In 2003 wurde es teilrenoviert und ein PianoDisc Selbstspielsystem und ein Lifesafer Befeuchtersystem ...

28/05/2026

Very rare encounter, a 1866 Blüthner next to a 1868 Bechstein...
Both pianos are merely untouched, same size. Amazing. The Bechstein had been first delivered to famous Opera Singer Kaspar Bausewein. Both pianos, as all the 150 others we have, are looking for people appreciating these pieces of art of the golden era.

28/05/2026

1868 C. Bechstein Grand Piano in Nature…
This wonderful piano had been in a beautiful house in the southern Bavarian countryside for many decades. Most of the parts in this piano came from nature >150years ago.

23/05/2026

Rare find: Original Virtuos / Virtuola player piano instructions...
Our library of original documents on pianos and player pianos has a new arrival. This is the first time we have found such instructions for the Römhildt Virtuola. Ca. 1910 Römhildt and Heilbrunn started to cooperate. Römhildt offered the Virtuos player system as the Virtuola. The Virtuola roll catalogue had > 2,500 titles, many of them handplayed by famous pianists such as Eugen d'Albert, Emil von Sauer, Frederic Lamond, etc.. We offer a pdf copy of these instructions at a fee, or in exchange for a document we do not have yet.