Antique Lever

[Les Smith]

On Tue, 14 Jul 1998, rbeaton wrote:

> Hi all...
> I have a double-headed..wooden handle..extension lever that was given to me
> years ago.  It is engraved "Made for AM Felt Co.  by J. Erlandsen  New York
>  Ser #468.
> 
> Any ideas on what this thing is worth or anything else of interest?
> 
> Dick RPT Helena, MT
> 

Hi, Dick:

My advice would be to not yet give up your job as a piano tech in the
hopes that you could sell your antique tuning lever for a huge amount
of money and then retire in luxury for the rest of your life.

About thirty years ago, when on vacation, I bought an identical tuning
lever from an antique shop in upstate New York. It was part of a pack-
age deal. Also  included was a book--in excellent condition--entitled:
CLARK'S NEW METHOD FOR THE PIANOFORTE, which was dated 1876 and which
featured a picture of a woman in a dress with a bustle, seated at a
piano, illustrating proper posture and finger position. Throughout the
book an archaic, long-abandoned fingering is used, whereby the use of   
the thumb is indicated by the letter "X" and the rest of the fingers by
1,2,3 and 4. The number "5" is not used. 

While the book may be considered "interesting", it is totally useless
as a teaching aid. Likewise, the old tuning lever with the double head
is merely a curiosity rather than a functional tool--unless, of course,
you routinely service pianos with oblong tuning pins, rusty strings,
broken action parts, ivory keytops worn down to the key sticks, and
great-looking rosewood cases. If so, don't forget that the extension
rod of the lever, which is secured by a wing nut, can be pulled WAY OUT,
thereby allowing you easier access to the tuning pins, which, of course,
are not in the front of the piano, but in the back (Don't hit your head
on the lid, but remember to always charge EXTRA if you choose to re-    
move it-- always a great way to boost your per-service-call income!).

Actually, come to think of it, if you are really into historical tunings,
such an antiquated tuning lever may be just what you need. To complete
the picture you can grow yourself some muttonchop whiskers; stop bathing;
wear the same unwashed clothes and same shoes all week long; forget about
little things like using soap, toothpaste and a deodorant; make your
appointments in person because the telephone had not yet been invented
(The good thing is that afterwards the customer can't call you back to
complain about the quality of your work); and finally-- to complete this
impressive picture of an "old-world" craftsman-- because the automobile
was as yet unknown, you can ride a horse to your tunings (don't forget to
add a shovel to your tool kit for emergencies).  Wow, that ought to really
impress your customers, huh?! Maybe using that old tuning lever isn't
such a bad idea, after all.

Lastly, let's not forget value here. Thirty years ago I purchased the
useless tuning lever and equally-useless piano book for their full anti-
que collector's value of five bucks. Given the outrageous rate of in-
flation since then, PLUS the great interest and activity in the col-
lectible's market right now, I can only assume that tthe two have
appreciated in value to the point where they are now worth at least a
full five bucks today. Possibly less.  Maybe WAY less. In other words,
they have performed something like a stock market investment recom-
mend by a unknown broker on a "cold call".

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net