A toothy tale of Thomas Edison's piano

Hard of hearing, Thomas Edison found a unique way to appreciate piano music. The great inventor would lean in close to the instrument, right above the keys, as someone played. And he'd bite the piano. Pressing his teeth into the wood of phonographs and pianos helped Edison experience the vibrations in his skull. Or in his own words, it allowed him to "hear through my teeth." Robert Friedman recently showed off marks on a Steinway grand piano once owned by Edison — a cluster of shallow indentations roughing up the black lacquer above the keyboard. Friedman, who buys and sells Steinways, purchased the piano last year and says he was surprised by the toothy signatures left by the inventor of the phonograph. He's now looking for the right home for the novel historical artifact. "I believe that it belongs somewhere where many, many, many people can see it," Friedman said. Edison bought the Model "B" Ebony from Steinway & Sons in 1890 for $725. Paperwork with the sale includes the handwritten notation "office furniture," indicating it was sent to his lab in New Jersey. Edison invented the phonograph in 1877. When he bought the piano 13 years later, he was experimenting with sound recording. Edison owned the instrument for decades, so it's possible it was used in early recordings. So did Edison's teeth make those marks? There's no known old black-and-white photo of Edison chomping this piano to prove it. But he was known to bite into phonographs and pianos to help him experience music as his hearing faded. His daughter once recalled a guest weeping at the sight of Edison clamped on to a piano as someone played it.