Piano Belonging to Thomas Edison Shows Unusual Marks
2022-11-03
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1Thomas Edison may have found an unusual way to enjoy piano music.
2As someone played, the famous inventor, who had hearing problems, would move close to the instrument and bite it.
3Pressing his teeth into the wood of phonographs and pianos helped Edison experience the music in his skull.
4Or in his own words, it allowed him to "hear through my teeth."
5Robert Friedman recently showed off marks on a Steinway piano that was once owned by Edison.
6The piano has groups of small marks above the keyboard.
7Keys are what the piano player strikes to make sounds.
8Friedman, who buys and sells Steinways, purchased the piano last year, and said he was surprised by the tooth marks left by the inventor of the phonograph, a music playing device.
9Friedman is now looking for the right home for the instrument.
10"I believe that it belongs somewhere where many, many, many people can see it," Friedman said.
11Edison bought the Model "B" Ebony from Steinway & Sons in 1890 for $725.
12Paperwork with the sale includes the words "office furniture," suggesting it was sent to his laboratory in New Jersey.
13The piano "for some reason unknown to me ... gives better results than any so far tried," Edison wrote the company.
14"Please send bill with lowest price."
15Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.
16When he bought the piano 13 years later, he was experimenting with sound recording.
17Edison owned the instrument for many years, so it is possible it was used in early recordings.
18There is no known photograph of Edison biting this piano.
19But he was known to bite into phonographs and pianos to help him experience music as his hearing worsened.
20His daughter once remembered that a guest cried at the sight of Edison biting on to a piano as someone played it.
21Edmund Morris wrote a 2019 biography of Edison's life.
22In it, he wrote that Edison said: "I hear through my teeth, and through my skull."
23The inventor added: "I bite my teeth into the wood and then I get it good and strong."
24Friedman said he has seen thousands of Steinway pianos over 50 years.
25"I've never seen that anywhere," he said about the possible tooth marks.
26Friedman bought the piano for about $45,000 in early January 2021.
27He did not notice the marks at first.
28His friend Charles Frommer is a musician and recording history lover.
29He came to Friedman's house in New York's Hudson Valley to tune the piano.
30Frommer noticed the marks and told him "those are Edison's bite marks."
31Friedman calls himself the Steinway hunter.
32He finds and buys the famous pianos from people and then sells them, usually to dealers or rebuilders.
33But this piano is more complex.
34Friedman does not want it to go back into private hands because of its connection to Edison.
35He has yet to find a historical group that would buy the piano, which he is offering to sell for what it cost him.
36The Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, passed up a chance to buy the piano from its earlier owner in 2020 for several reasons.
37These included limited space, cost and the fact that some original parts were replaced since Edison owned it, museum curator Jerry Fabris said in an email.
38Friedman is still looking for a home for the piano.
39A film also is possible, as is having the piano recorded for a special instrument recording library.
40Edison's listening method has been tested on the piano.
41Not wanting to mark the instrument any further, Frommer said he and others tried biting the instrument when small wooden pieces were placed on the piano to protect it.
42"We were able to replicate the effect," Frommer said.
43"And yeah, you do hear it in your skull."
44I'm John Russell.
1Thomas Edison may have found an unusual way to enjoy piano music. As someone played, the famous inventor, who had hearing problems, would move close to the instrument and bite it. 2Pressing his teeth into the wood of phonographs and pianos helped Edison experience the music in his skull. Or in his own words, it allowed him to "hear through my teeth." 3Robert Friedman recently showed off marks on a Steinway piano that was once owned by Edison. The piano has groups of small marks above the keyboard. Keys are what the piano player strikes to make sounds. 4Friedman, who buys and sells Steinways, purchased the piano last year, and said he was surprised by the tooth marks left by the inventor of the phonograph, a music playing device. Friedman is now looking for the right home for the instrument. 5"I believe that it belongs somewhere where many, many, many people can see it," Friedman said. 6Edison bought the Model "B" Ebony from Steinway & Sons in 1890 for $725. 7Paperwork with the sale includes the words "office furniture," suggesting it was sent to his laboratory in New Jersey. The piano "for some reason unknown to me ... gives better results than any so far tried," Edison wrote the company. "Please send bill with lowest price." 8Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. When he bought the piano 13 years later, he was experimenting with sound recording. Edison owned the instrument for many years, so it is possible it was used in early recordings. 9There is no known photograph of Edison biting this piano. But he was known to bite into phonographs and pianos to help him experience music as his hearing worsened. His daughter once remembered that a guest cried at the sight of Edison biting on to a piano as someone played it. 10Edmund Morris wrote a 2019 biography of Edison's life. In it, he wrote that Edison said: "I hear through my teeth, and through my skull." The inventor added: "I bite my teeth into the wood and then I get it good and strong." 11Friedman said he has seen thousands of Steinway pianos over 50 years. "I've never seen that anywhere," he said about the possible tooth marks. 12Friedman bought the piano for about $45,000 in early January 2021. He did not notice the marks at first. 13His friend Charles Frommer is a musician and recording history lover. He came to Friedman's house in New York's Hudson Valley to tune the piano. Frommer noticed the marks and told him "those are Edison's bite marks." 14Friedman calls himself the Steinway hunter. He finds and buys the famous pianos from people and then sells them, usually to dealers or rebuilders. But this piano is more complex. 15Friedman does not want it to go back into private hands because of its connection to Edison. He has yet to find a historical group that would buy the piano, which he is offering to sell for what it cost him. 16The Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, passed up a chance to buy the piano from its earlier owner in 2020 for several reasons. These included limited space, cost and the fact that some original parts were replaced since Edison owned it, museum curator Jerry Fabris said in an email. 17Friedman is still looking for a home for the piano. A film also is possible, as is having the piano recorded for a special instrument recording library. 18Edison's listening method has been tested on the piano. Not wanting to mark the instrument any further, Frommer said he and others tried biting the instrument when small wooden pieces were placed on the piano to protect it. 19"We were able to replicate the effect," Frommer said. "And yeah, you do hear it in your skull." 20I'm John Russell. 21Michael Hill reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22_______________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24piano - n. a large musical instrument with a keyboard that you play by pressing black and white keys and that produces sound when small hammers inside the piano hit steel wires 25phonograph - n. a device used for playing musical records 26skull -n. the structure of bones that form the head 27furniture -- n. chairs, tables, beds, etc., that are used to make a room ready for use 28biography - n. the story of a real person's life written by someone other than that person 29tune -v. to change the sound of a musical instrument so its sound is correct 30curator - n. a person who is in charge of the things in a museum or zoo 31original -adj. what was present at the beginning or when something was made 32replicate - v. to repeat or copy (something) exactly