Happy New year to all MMD readers.  The stiffeners in the pump of
an Artizan organ which I am rebuilding seem very plastic-like, black
in color and yet very pliable, maybe the food filtration system from a
blue whale.  A friend of mine was over and I showed him the stiffeners
and he said it looked like baleen from a whale.  I checked into this
on the Internet and it fits the description perfectly.

There is a short video of a blue whale on how stuff works and the
person on there describes the material having the same characteristics
as fingernails and rhino horn.  When the whale takes in water it
filters out the food through these baleen sheets which are hanging from
the upper jaw and has fine hairs on them which filter out the krill;
this material is sometimes called whale bone.  It was also used for
women's corsets stays.

Has anyone ever seen this material in their restoration encounters?
Maybe this was more common then I know of.

Ralph Schultz
Belle Plaine, Minnesota