Dear MMDers,

A few issues ago there was some conversation about people's attitudes
toward their reproducing piano both today and when they were new. With
regard to that, it was not unusual for a well-to-do family to have a
dinner party and include a concert afterwards. They would hire a well
known local artist to come in and perform the concert on their piano,
which was often a reproducing piano. They would then have the artist
sign the harp (plate) of the piano especially if it was someone of some
renown.

I have a Knabe Ampico in a Louis XV art case and the plate has the
signature of "Dom" Pace (or possibly Page) with the name Dom in quotes
on the signature.  The piano came from the New York City area as far as
I can determine. Has anyone heard of Mr. Pace that could tell me who he
was or if he was even significant. This practice was popular in the
twenties and thirties but the piano being a late 1928, I would guess
the signature would be from 1928 to the late thirties with a high
likelihood that this was done soon after the piano was newly delivered
to the customer.

Any comments ?

Bob Conant