"Celluloid Key Covering"

[Jurjens Pianos & Violins]

Bone! This sounds more like it. A hard, durable, natural, renewable,
non-polluting, non-greenhouse-gas-emitting (insert favourite adjective
here) substance.

Oops, cows do cause greenhouse don't they? (But not after they're
turned into bone keytops!)

Seriously, this sounds perfect, and the raw material shouldn't be a
bit hard to find at all. But where do you get the refined product? And
what form does it come in?

Scott Jackson



----- Original Message -----
From: "Ellsworth" <HOOD@uwplatt.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, 13 June 2002 1:47
Subject: Re: "Celluloid Key Covering"


| I've been away from this list for a while, but key coveriings
interest me - I
| make fortepianos, and those of us who do this use bone - from cows -
to cover
| our keys (only the early pre-1800 fprtepianos were covered in
ebony).  No need
| to kill elephants nor use plastic.  Bone's a bit hard to find, and
expensive
| (like ivory) but is very hard, easy to work, does not yellow, and
was used on
| early pianos until the ivory craze which began in England in early
19th cent
| and spread elsewhere pretty fast.
| If modern mfgrs would use bone for their good instruments, somebody
| would surely open a factory in Omaha and we'd all have a cheap
source.
| Margaret Hood
| www.fortepianos.pair.com
|