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<
From:  "PJ. Garner" <garnered_images@e...>
"PJ. Garner" <garnered_images@e...>
Date:  Tue Dec 11, 2001  11:33 am
Subject:  RE: [vocalist] An unexpected find!


Judy, I'm looking for a home for my 1919 Krakauer player piano. The player
mechanism was removed a long time ago but otherwise it's in good shape. If
you have any clues as to someone who might be interested, would you contact
me off list?

Thanks,
PJ.


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-----Original Message-----
From: sopran@a... [mailto: Sent: Monday, December 10, 2001 11:01 PM
To:
vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vocalist] An unexpected find!


I don't know whether any of you Vocalisters are aware, but I am active in
historic preservation. Today I got a call from our city's property
disposition manager about an old Victorian home that is about to be
demolished but contains two pianos--big old uprights. I told him that I'd
go
take a look to see if they were salvageable (sadly they are in very bad
shape) but decided to look through the house to see if there were any
treasures that had been overlooked by the hordes of people who have
already
gone through it.

In the attic I found a lot of old papers and some old music from the late
1800s--I took some of it, but much was moldy and it was starting to make
even
non-allergic me sneeze. I also found some old opera recordings (nothing
that
appeared terribly valuable) lots of personal and business correspondence,
some patent documents, checks and ledgers, and lots of old engravings
(many
of which I brought home).

I was on my way out when I decided to check into one of the back bedrooms.
There, below a window, in a pile on the floor, were scads of old
playbills,
concert programs and a bunch of old Metropolitan Opera programs from the
early 30's--all in near mint condition. Some have written comments about
the
performances by Flagstad, Ponselle (who had her sister Carmela singing
with
her that day), Lucrezia Bori, Frieda Leider, Lotte Lehmann, Ezio Pinza,
Lauritz Melchior, and other greats to numerous to mention. I even found
some
autographs--Gladys Swarthout and Lawrence Tibbet, for example. The
performances were at the old Met, of course, and Gatti-Casazza was General
Manager. No particularly distinguished conductors are listed. There is a
layout of the old Met and a list of who occupies what box. And of course
the
ads are a scream--did you know that smoking Camels is good for your
digestion?

The playbills list the likes of Albert Lunt & Lynn Fontanne (sp?), Ruth
Gordon, Vincent Price, Helen Hayes etc. And there is a promotional flyer
for
a fundraiser that featured Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Cardini, and many many o
thers, emceed by none other than Major Bowes (of Amateur Hour fame).

There is also a volume that is someone's bound sheet music, most of it
dated
1851-1853. It's all printed on very heavy rag paper and is in pretty good
condition, considering. There is an early printing (very possibly the
first
edition) of a Stephen Foster song, Maggie by my Side, in the volume. I
wonder
what that might be worth.

Any way, I thought that it was a very interesting find! I think I'll have
the
autographed programs framed and hang them in my office.

Judy











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