国立アメリカ歴史博物館のインスタグラム(amhistorymuseum) - 8月12日 22時54分

When we talk about “tickling the ivories,” do we think about what that means? 🎹
Hundreds of thousands of pianos were made and sold between 1850 and 1930—and elephant ivory covered the white keys. When we talk about “ivory,” we’re actually talking about teeth. In the case of elephants, we’re talking about a certain kind of teeth: tusks.
In 1988, the United States took a ground breaking step when it passed the African Elephant Conservation Act. The United States, a large ivory-importing nation, aimed to combat unrestricted ivory trade in order to protect elephants far beyond our borders. To eliminate an incentive to kill elephants, the act authorized strict controls over U.S. ivory imports and funded international conservation programs. 🐘
We’re exploring this history in a new exhibit, “Elephants and Us: Considering Extinction,” opening this fall. “This exhibition places the human-elephant relationship in the context of American history,” said curator Carlene Stephens. “Within a time span of about 150 years, Americans transitioned from being mass consumers of ivory goods to enacting legal measures aimed at supporting elephant conservation. Yet these recent efforts may not be enough to counter centuries of consuming ivory.” Click the link in the bio to learn more: https://s.si.edu/ElephantsAndUs
#WorldElephantDay #AmericanHistory #ElephantDay #WorldElephantDay2019 #Conservation #ConservationHistory #MusicHistory #SmithsonianMusic #BusinessHistory #Piano #NaturalHistory #SciComm #EarthOptimism

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sacredpauses Things might have gone a bit far in the state-level regulations on moving Ivory objects between States in the US: as example, it might be possible for me to purchase a vintage/antique Steinway piano from their New York studio, but they wouldn't be able to ship me the keys because...interstate Ivory transport laws. I'm assuming the same if I sent them my piano to NY for restoration... Maybe the piano but not the keys could be sent (?) I'm not sure if there is an product age cutoff for these regulations as there is for selling antique firearms at auction (etc), but it does complicate things even though no (legit) company in the world builds pianos with new Ivory keys (I welcome correction if I'm missing some!) I most certainly DO want control over new Ivory imports! For art-related things like piano keys there are too many suitable man-made substances to substitute. 🙂 if my hypothetical piano had damaged (Ivory) keys that *had to* be replaced, I'd opt for man-made. If it was only select keys, color match the material as best you can via 3-D printing. Ultimately the goal (for me) is sound and playability over looks!

amy_edelen I love this story!! I live in Louisville KY, and there was a huge flood in 1937 and I heard of people going around and taking the ivory of the pianos that were in the streets because they were ruined.

gwenmgal So glad that you are showing all the work that needs to still be done in the conservation of elephants, one of the most intelligent and precious big mammals❤️🐘❤️

historialaxy 🇺🇸 If you interested in history you can visit our page I am sure you wont regret it. 👈

hippiechick52 How wonderful ... They are beautiful animals and should be allowed to live in peace

resnicowculture Such an interesting topic Thank you for sharing and highlighting this! 💫

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