Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1896-06-27
WHERE OLD PlANOS GO.
Many OF tt chi, 1t Ia Said. Find a Market
In the Quaker City.


In the Quaker City.
What becomes of old pianos?'
was the question put to large Now
York manufacturer the other day.
"Well," was the rather unexpected
reply, "the most of ours go to Phil.
udelphia. The manufacturer could
not explain this fact exactly to his
own satisfaction He thought per.
haps it was because so many persons
owned homes in Philadelphia or
possibly because the good people of
the Quaker town are much given to
attending concerts and love music
more than New Workers.
"There ought to be several hun
dred thousand old square pianos
slowed away somewhere in tho
United States" said manufacturer
in speaking of the subject. II have
been in tho business 20 years, and
personally have seen but three of
them cut into kindling wood. 1t is
indeed rare occurrence that one of
these massive old rosewood affairs
meets with such an unworthy fate.
IA biography of good piano is
sometimes very interesting. They
generally start off in life gayly, hav-
ing the most conspicuous position in
the parlors of the wealthy and re.
ceiving courteous treatment. Thirty
years ago good square piano was
an object of much greater impor.
lance and commanded vastly moro
respect than any piano nowadays.
This is still to be seen when we go
to remove an old piano to exchange
it for new one. 1t is purely n mat
ter of mercantile interest to us, but
not so with the owners. have seen
old folks who had bought piano in
the days of their honeymoon fairly
overcome when they saw tho famil-
lar old instrument, which had been
with them through days OF JOY and
sorrow, hustled out of tho house by
irreverent hands and conveyed to
the warehouse. 1t is tho custom for
piano firms now to take away the
old Instruments and allow fair
price for them, deducting the
amount from the price of tho new
one. 1t is an absolute loss to us, for
we have tho greatest difficulty in
disposing of these landmarks which
havo seen better days.
"A great majority of these old
pianos find their way to the homes
Of comparatively poor people. They
may be bought for mere song.
There is class of men who make a
living by disposing of these old
pianos. A secondhand dealer drop.
ped in hero the other day and said
he had just bought six for $50.
Some firms are almost willing to
pay for having them taken away.
"Thcse old pianos are by no means
worn out after going through three
OF even four hands. New strings
and new hammers are put in, and
the old instrument is tinkered up.
so that it will oftentimes have n bet
ter tone than the cheap piano OF to-
day. City boarding houses, where
the only object is to have an instru-
ment capable of emitting noise, are
extensive harboring places for these
old has beens.' Many are shipped
to the west and to country towns
A number find their way to muse.
ums, where they arc exhibited as
the piano on which George Wash
ington was won't to play. Through
out New England, Ohio and in New
York CITY have seen them used as
tables for kitchen purposes, the
works in many cases being removed
to allow place for slowing away
jars of fruit. Many are disposed of
at auctions, too, and some very good
bargains are to DO secured in that
way. Now York Times.