Pianola

Pianola device for the mechanical playing of pianos, invented by the American engineer Edwin S. Votley and patented in 1897. At first the player was made separately; subsequently it was incorporated into the piano. “Pianola” was the trade name of the device manufactured by the Aeolian Piano Co., but later it came to denote any automatic piano furnished with a pneumatic system. Earlier pianolas were worked by a harmonium-type double pedal, later replaced by an electric motor. Punched paper rolls…