[CAUT] to sign or not to sign

David Ilvedson ilvey at sbcglobal.net
Thu Feb 5 19:27:05 PST 2009


Paul,



When I click on your attachment, my Time & Chaos/!ntellect opens up and a John Chapman is displayed...address, phone numbers etc.   I'm curious as how that happened and has anyone else had that happen...????



David Ilvedson, RPT

Pacifica, CA 94044







Original message

From: "Paul T Williams" 

To: caut at ptg.org

Received: 2/3/2009 6:27:44 AM

Subject: Re: [CAUT] to sign or not to sign







I'm not sure if it adds or subtracts value.  We have three signed grands here. One 1932 L signed by Charles Steinway, a 20 year old B by the youngest Steinway, and our 56 Baldwin D has Iturbi's name on it.  When I rebuilt the L, we taped over the signature of Charles when re-bronzing to preserve it.  I think it WOULD add some value, although how much is anyone's guess. I might think it would look a bit messy to have many signatures on one grand. I'd leave the new one alone.....for a few years   



Too bad you don't have Rubenstein's sig on your piano.  I would think it would definately add value. 



Do any of you date and sign pianos when tuning.  I often see really old signatures on upright plates.  I once had a customer with a 1900 something-or-other with a date of someone in  Nome, AK dated 1909.  No bullet holes in it, so it must have been in a missionary house in those days.  what else was in Nome then, missionaries, brothels and saloons! 



Paul 









"John D. Chapman" <johnchapman at asolare.org> 

Sent by: caut-bounces at ptg.org 

02/03/2009 05:31 AM Please respond to

caut at ptg.org



Tocaut at ptg.org 

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Subject[CAUT] to sign or not to sign



  











Our university music department (Wake Forest University in 

Winston-Salem, North Carolina) just bought a new Steinway D.  This has 

started an unexpected discussion.  Our old S&SD was bought in 1968 for a 

concert by Authur Rubinstein.  During the last few years, when a concert 

was given on this piano by a noteworthy pianist, that pianist was asked 

to sign the plate with a black sharpie.  Among the signatures are 

Stephen Hough, Ruth Loredo, Alicia de Larrocha, Menachem Pressler, 

Richard Goode, Philippe Entremont, Arcadi Volodos, and Mark Andre 

Hamlin.  Some of our students and faculty are thrilled to see those 

signatures as reminders that the piano they are playing has been played 

by such great pianists.  Others think it degrades the piano.  The 

discussion is: do we want to continue this practice of plate signing on 

the new S&S D. Someone asked if it increases or decreases the value of 

the piano. (Probably not either way.) What are your thoughts on this?

John D. Chapman

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem NC 27109
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