Hard of hearing, Thomas Edison found a unique way to appreciate piano music. As someone played, the great inventor would lean in close to the instrument, right above the keys, and heB次元官网网址檇 bite the piano.

Pressing his teeth into the wood of phonographs and pianos helped Edison experience the vibrations in his skull. Or in his own words, it allowed him to B次元官网网址渉ear through my teeth.B次元官网网址�

Robert Friedman recently showed off marks on a Steinway grand piano once owned by Edison B次元官网网址� a cluster of shallow indentations roughing up the black lacquer above the keyboard. Friedman, who buys and sells Steinways, purchased the piano last year and says he was surprised by the toothy signatures left by the inventor of the phonograph. HeB次元官网网址檚 now looking for the right home for the novel historical artifact.

B次元官网网址淚 believe that it belongs somewhere where many, many, many people can see it,B次元官网网址� Friedman said.

Edison bought the Model B次元官网网址淏B次元官网网址� Ebony from Steinway & Sons in 1890 for $725. Paperwork with the sale includes the handwritten notation B次元官网网址渙ffice furniture,B次元官网网址� indicating it was sent to his lab in New Jersey. The piano B次元官网网址渇or some reason unknown to me it gives better results than any so far tried,B次元官网网址� Edison wrote the company. B次元官网网址淧lease send bill with lowest price.B次元官网网址�

Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. When he bought the piano 13 years later, he was experimenting with sound recording. Edison owned the instrument for decades, so itB次元官网网址檚 possible it was used in early recordings.

So did EdisonB次元官网网址檚 teeth make those marks?

ThereB次元官网网址檚 no known old black-and-white photo of Edison chomping this piano to prove it. But he was known to bite into phonographs and pianos to help him experience music as his hearing faded. His daughter once recalled a guest weeping at the sight of Edison clamped on to a piano as someone played it.

B次元官网网址淚 hear through my teeth, and through my skull,B次元官网网址� said Edison, as quoted in Edmund MorrisB次元官网网址� 2019 biography. B次元官网网址滻 bite my teeth into the wood and then I get it good and strong.B次元官网网址�

The formulation is simple for Friedman: Those are tooth marks, and who else would have bit the piano?

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e probably had my hands on a few thousand Steinways in the last 50 years,B次元官网网址� Friedman said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never seen that anywhere.B次元官网网址�

Friedman bought the piano for about $45,000, sight unseen, in early January 2021 as part of an estate sale on Long Island. Friedman didnB次元官网网址檛 notice the marks at first.

His friend Charles Frommer, a musician and recording history enthusiast, came to FriedmanB次元官网网址檚 house in New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Hudson Valley to tune the piano, noticed the indentations and told him B次元官网网址渢hose are EdisonB次元官网网址檚 bite marks.B次元官网网址�

Friedman, who calls himself the Steinway hunter, finds and buys the high-end pianos from people and then sells them, usually to dealers or rebuilders. But this one is more complicated.

Given this pianoB次元官网网址檚 historic association, he doesnB次元官网网址檛 want it to go back into private hands. He has yet to find an appropriate historic site that would buy the piano, which he is offering for what it cost him to purchase, ship and recondition it.

The Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, passed up a chance to buy the piano from its previous owner in 2020 for several reasons, including limited space, cost and the fact that some original interior parts were replaced since Edison owned it, museum curator Jerry Fabris said in an email.

Friedman is undeterred and still looking for a home. A documentary also is possible, or having the piano recorded for a virtual instrument sample library. In the meantime, the piano has been featured at fundraisers for the Ulster County Jewish Federation at the home of friends in Woodstock who housed the instrument until recently.

And, yes EdisonB次元官网网址檚 listening technique has been tested on the piano. Not wanting to mark up the instrument any further, Frommer said they tried it with wooden shims placed on the piano.

B次元官网网址淲e were able to replicate the effect,B次元官网网址� Frommer said. B次元官网网址淎nd yeah, you do hear it in your skull.B次元官网网址�

Michael Hill, The Associated Press

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