A real West Virginia piano

[Ron Nossaman]

> At first, I thought this black, powdery stuff was mold -- but there was 
> no rust on the strings, and it was only on the tops of the hammers.
>  
> As I dared to touch it, a train went rumbling by (100 yards or more 
> away), and the light bulb came on: very fine coal dust!  Finally, an 
> environment that is *beneficial* to a piano!  :-)
>  
> --Cy Shuster--

Nope, sorry, not coal. That's a Baldwin, and that black powder is 
from the black material they used for that (visible) butt and 
catcher material before (I think) Corfam. I've not found anyone who 
knows what that stuff was, but it's sticky now, and disintegrates to 
equally sticky dust as the years roll by. I think there was a 
strange gray material used briefly somewhere in there too, before 
Ecsaine came along.

Ron N