The piano player in the auction house photo was singing his heart out. His scarlet lips and wide open mouth were a little off-putting to me, but I could feel the exuberance of his performance.
He wasn’t a real man, though. He was made of a material called composition, molded into the figure of an African American musician and singer who was literally cracking at the seams. That’s what happens with this material when it is stored away and not protected. Someone had apparently put the piece aside decades ago and hadn’t bothered to check up on it, allowing it to languish in some dusty attic or basement.
Dust and dirt had found a dwelling place in the parts in his hair, the grooves on his face, the folds of his garments, and the ivory and black paint on his keyboard.
Still, he was rather endearing. I could see that he was having big fun playing a loud and fast tune – I could almost hear the song – his hands astride the keyboard, his mouth open wide. He could’ve been any piano player in any juke joint in any small town across the South. There he was on stage, pounding hard on the keys, singing and swaying, couples on the floor swinging to whatever was the dance craze right then.
I wondered if his image was pulled from someone’s imagination. Was his maker inspired by a real piano player or did he meld several juke-joint singers into one? Was the figure a single invention or one of many made in a factory?
The figure was listed on the auction house website as “Composition Piano Player Figure. Condition, some breakage, measures 17″ x 16″ x 13.5”. He was not your dainty tabletop figurine.
He was likely produced during the early 20th century given the material he was made of. I’m familiar with composition because I have come across many dolls at auction that were also made of it. Most dolls from the 1920s to 1940s were made of the material, which was replaced by hard plastic after World War II. Composition tended to crack over time – as in the case of the piano player – while plastic was more light and durable.
When I arrived at the auction house, I searched for the piano player in a room where the auction house was holding a musical, vintage radios, artwork and collectibles sale. I wasn’t necessarily interested in buying him, but I was curious about whether he had a maker’s mark. I found the figure on a table beneath some black and white posters of Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Miles Davis and Bruce Springsteen hanging on a wall.
He was not so easy to find because the room was filled with guitars, saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, speakers, violins, 2 pianos, posters (including the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley), action figures (including Run DMC, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison), Hohner harmonicas, RCA Victor products and much more. Most of these items were in good cosmetic condition, unlike the piano player.
In person, the piano player was as dirty as he was in the website photo. I could find no manufacturer’s name on him. In his condition, I wasn’t about to turn him over to check his bottom for fear of damaging him.
Googling, I could find no African American piano-playing figure as tall or as large as this one. I did find a few tabletop pieces made of resin.
I wasn’t around when the piano player sold, but I learned later that someone bought him for a mere $15. I’d love to see what he looks like when he’s cleaned up and repaired.
