All of its parts gleamed: the exterior lacquer, the open keyboard, the interior brightwork. Yet it was clearly not brand new; a soft patina to the black lacquer made it less a mirror than a misted surface of a pool, with traces of matte where the finish was worn. The keyboard was of real ivory, a prohibited material for new pianos since the 1980s, and the keys had yellowed over the years, some of them considerably. Its strings, although far from rusty, had the steel-gray luster of worn metal, and the red felt dampers showed a softer tone of purple than the vivid scarlet felt of new pianos.
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thaddeus Carhart











