Damon Atchison asks:

> I was wondering why all player piano and coin piano wood finishes
> of the twenties were so dark?

In some 30+ years, I've encountered a large number of player pianos,
both upright and grand, and most are indeed quite dark, often almost
black.  However, I've come to believe that it is more likely they
were brilliant in their day, showing off Mother Nature at her finest.
I believe they are "black" today simply as an aging process.

I base this in part on an interesting find that turned up here in
Winnipeg.   Some years ago, I bought a 1912 Mason foot-pumped Louis XV
6' player grand piano under some colorful legal circumstances.  It had
been in local storage (claimed to have been abandoned) for some 60+
years.  It would appear to have been on its side, covered, and fully
protected all that time.

The original finish is still excellent, with its mottled African
Mahogany still highly visible.  I suspect some age darkening has taken
place, but dramatically retarded by the conditions of its storage.

Very many of our player pianos of their golden age were finished in
absolutely gorgeous veneers which, when refinished today, are stunning
in their beauty.  I cannot imagine anyone back in that era deliberately
hiding such beauty with dark finishes.  It would be completely incon-
sistent with the fundamental reason for choosing fine veneers in the
first place.

My perception is that "black" appearance in such pianos today is
simply a process of normal aging.  Thoughts of others?

Regards,

Terry Smythe                   smythe@mts.net
55 Rowand Avenue               smythe@freenet.mb.ca
Winnipeg, MB, Canada  R3J 2N6  (204) 832-3982 (voice/fax)
http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~smythe