A guide to the Casablanca – the most expensive piano ever sold at auction <\/p>
What is the most expensive piano in the world?<\/b><\/p>\n
The most expensive piano<\/a><\/strong> ever sold at auction was the Casablanca (1943) piano, otherwise known as the \u2018As Time Goes By\u2019 piano \u2013 the one that Dooley Wilson\u2019s Sam was playing on when Ingrid Bergman uttered one of Hollywood\u2019s most famous lines: \u2018Play it, Sam, Play \u201cAs Time Goes By.\u201d\u2019\u00a0 I<\/span>t is a symbolic part of one of the greatest love films of all time, representing the love between Bergman\u2019s Ilsa and Humphrey Bogart\u2019s Rick.<\/p>\n How much did it sell for?<\/b><\/p>\n It sold for $3.4 million to an anonymous buyer at Bonham\u2019s Auction House in New York in 2014, complete with a photograph signed by Humphrey Bogart and a piece of chewing gum stuck under the keyboard. Dr Milan, the piano\u2019s previous owner, said that he had tried to ascertain whether the gum was Dooley Wilson\u2019s, but was unable to do so since nobody had Wilson\u2019s fingerprints.<\/p>\n When was it made?<\/b><\/p>\n It was probably made in 1927 by the First National Pictures studio, which later merged with Warner Brothers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> What does it look like?<\/b><\/p>\n Unlike most pianos that have 88\u00a0 <\/span>keys, this upright, wooden piano only has 58. It is golden yellow, with an intricate design of Moroccan green and gold, though of course in the movie you wouldn\u2019t be able to tell, given that it\u2019s black and white.<\/p>\n What does it sound like?<\/b><\/p>\n That is a mystery since nobody actually played it in the film. While Dooley Wilson was a talented singer and musician, he could not play the piano professionally. So the music was played by offstage by the pianist Elliot Carpenter.<\/p>\n Is it the only piano that appears in\u00a0Casablanca?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n No. There is one more, which appears in the Paris flashback scene. That one sold for $602,500 at Sotheby\u2019s in December 2012.<\/p>\n\n