Another wood identification please...
- Thread starter NazNomad
- Start date
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I can't help on the wood, but I'll just point out that the organ was American made, which might help someone else thinking about what woods were available in the USA in the nineteenth century.
And having found a catalogue here http://antiquepianoshop.com/online-muse ... gh-warren/ it looks like Black Walnut was their most frequently chosen timber for the cases.
I guess you don't want a link to advice on how to restore it... :roll:
And having found a catalogue here http://antiquepianoshop.com/online-muse ... gh-warren/ it looks like Black Walnut was their most frequently chosen timber for the cases.
I guess you don't want a link to advice on how to restore it... :roll:
Kept all the keys and the organ stops, they are quite nice. Might make some 'decorative hipster nonsense' with those.
Loads of thin metal rods of various metals, ideal for whirligigs.
The decorative pedal-pump--thingies are nice.
The only bits I threw away were the worm-eaten parts.
Loads of thin metal rods of various metals, ideal for whirligigs.
The decorative pedal-pump--thingies are nice.
The only bits I threw away were the worm-eaten parts.
The main body of all the keys is wood from the 'randomtree' but the black keys are topped with an ebony block.
I need to google how to identify ivory, but I'm pretty sure the white keys have a thin ivory veneer (it was made in 1889 when elephants were still on everyone's hit list).
... and the stops will make really nice knobs/coat hooks/etc.
I need to google how to identify ivory, but I'm pretty sure the white keys have a thin ivory veneer (it was made in 1889 when elephants were still on everyone's hit list).
... and the stops will make really nice knobs/coat hooks/etc.
cowfoot
Established Member
Bagsy the stop that says "Sub Bass" for the dub reggae sound system I'll build one day!
I don't think they'd have used bone so you're probably safe to say it's Ivory.
Did I hear something about a new ban on ivory on the radio yesterday?
There'd be a market for it in the furniture restoration world but it might come under the same heading as guns and knives on eBay.
Did I hear something about a new ban on ivory on the radio yesterday?
There'd be a market for it in the furniture restoration world but it might come under the same heading as guns and knives on eBay.
Right, done the needle test.
They ain't ivory. The nearest thing I can identify from the late 1800's is an early type of cellulose.
''In 1862 Cellulose was first made artificially from gun-cotton by A.Parkes, of Birmingham UK. Called "Parkesine", it could simulate ivory.
In 1869 John & Isaiah Hyatt (1837 - 1920), of New York, produced Celluloid from camphor and pyroxlin (cellulose nitrate), and in 1870 Hyatt was granted a patent in the USA.
Cellulose has been used for the key coverings on the cheaper pianos since then''
In a way, I'm glad they're not ivory.
They ain't ivory. The nearest thing I can identify from the late 1800's is an early type of cellulose.
''In 1862 Cellulose was first made artificially from gun-cotton by A.Parkes, of Birmingham UK. Called "Parkesine", it could simulate ivory.
In 1869 John & Isaiah Hyatt (1837 - 1920), of New York, produced Celluloid from camphor and pyroxlin (cellulose nitrate), and in 1870 Hyatt was granted a patent in the USA.
Cellulose has been used for the key coverings on the cheaper pianos since then''
In a way, I'm glad they're not ivory.
custard
Established Member
NazNomad":12m2m5lj said:
Are you sure? They look exactly like ivory. I've seen plenty of artificial ivory and generally speaking it doesn't have those organic looking striations, and why would anyone bother veneering an artificial substitute? The best modern ivory substitute is a German product called Elforyn, I'd veneer that because it's very expensive, but I didn't think earlier versions were.
Incidentally, I remember once seeing a desk for sale in a furniture exhibition in Los Angeles, it was shaped like an organ with re-purposed organ stops as drawer pulls. This would have been about 2005 when the "studio furniture" market was at its peak, so no doubt it sold for an astronomical price!
Remember not long ago an African country built up piles of confiscated ivory and set fire to it. I expect there's a video somewhere online, it wouldn't burn like a pile of Brazil nuts but . . . . .
Edit. It was in Kenya.
Edit. It was in Kenya.
There was an early ivory substitute which was made of celluloid layered with thin cloth to give the appearance of the grain in ivory, though it did not have the cross-hatching. Since celluloid is very inflammable, that looks like what you have got. This is different from the modern artificial ivory, which I think Custard may have been referring to, which has the colour and approximate density and feel, but no striations.
You cannot mention ivory in any eBay advert. I tried to sell a piano for a neighbour once, which had ivory keys. This was perfectly legal as it was made before 1947, but eBay won't accept it.
It is illegal in the UK to sell any ivory that has been worked or remanufactured even if the original dates back to pre-1947.
You cannot mention ivory in any eBay advert. I tried to sell a piano for a neighbour once, which had ivory keys. This was perfectly legal as it was made before 1947, but eBay won't accept it.
It is illegal in the UK to sell any ivory that has been worked or remanufactured even if the original dates back to pre-1947.
