Hi, everyone,
I also thought this post may be quite interesting to read, and would like to write out here.
A while ago I came across a picture of a beautiful Knabe & Gaehle piano owned by Francis Scott Key.
Before I thought Scott Key was a composer/musician who created the "The Star-Spangled Banner," but I was surprised to find that he was a lawyer who only wrote the lyrics. Here is his portrait (from Wikipedia):
Coincidently, he wrote the lyrics (according to sources) after the Battle of Baltimore, the same city where the Knabes were produced.
The piano itself, according to a description, was made in 1838, which makes it one of the earliest pianos created by William Knabe. Here is a picture:
It's quite beautiful (the craftmanship is stunning..) and is located in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Here is a link to more pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78554788@N00/2285558197/in/photostream/
The music rack sadly seems to be broken into two, but you can still sense the beauty of the piano. I wonder if it is still playable, and would like to see it in person someday.
Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave comments about this square piano.