Gershwin signature

Tvak@aol.com Tvak@aol.com
Mon, 1 Dec 2003 21:49:26 EST


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Today I tuned an old Kimball 7 foot grand.   I didn't check the serial number 
but it dates back to the 1920s or earlier.   The story is that the piano was 
originally built for a touring artist who travelled with the piano.   The 
artist's name, or so the story goes, was Bachmann, or something like that. 

I crawled under the piano and found two signatures in pencil on the 
soundboard at the extreme treble.   One of the highly stylized signatures was 
accompanied by the date, 1925.   At first it was difficult to make out any letters at 
all.   Examining it more closely, I started to think that it actually might say 
"George Gershwin"!   The George was pretty clear, but the Gershwin was more 
like "Gersh-------".   (a wavy line)   And, the two stlylized G's, if that's 
what they were, were not the same as each other.   One could be an "S" or 
something else...

I got home tonight and dug out my Complete Works of George Gershwin, and 
right on the cover was his signature, and lo and behold, the two G's were not the 
same.   The "shwin" part of his surname was clear, though.   Still, it's 
possible he hurried the signature along and it came out a bit sloppy on this 
piano...right?   

>From my memory the two signatures seem pretty close.   Still, I plan to stop 
by with my copy of the Complete Works and compare the signatures before I lay 
legitimate claim to this "BRUSH WITH GREATNESS". 

Go ahead, shoot me down, but it still made for an interesting day for me,

Tom Sivak

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