Edison’s concrete piano

As his career as an inventor became increasingly successful, Thomas Edison developed a range of philanthropic ideals, including the desire to place a piano in the home of every American.

To ensure affordability, expensive (and resonant) wood would be replaced by a piano framework of concrete. Perfectly tuneable – if somewhat immoveable – the instrument would hopefully extend America’s musical talent, although Edison was far from the best to judge. He had been pretty much deaf since childhood – the result, he claimed, of being lifted by the ears onto a moving train by a helpful conductor (presumably, as Edison’s brother suffered similar partial deafness, a family hazard).

extracted from Pigeon-Guided Missiles, by James Moore and Paul Nero; The History Press 

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.