speaking of lost causes (or, if you love me, you will buy me this harp...)

This one may be a lost cause, although from the looks of it, it would do a perfectly good job sitting in the corner of someone's livingroom.....
Pictured here, a beautiful Erat harp on ebay. It is beautiful. I don't think I've seen an Erat up close and personal before. Gold harps are nice but i am not dying to have one...but this harp has no strings and just gold thread instead.....which I find gaudy and gorgeous all at once.

It's a rare beauty, but no telling what playing shape it's in, and if any of the work probably done over the years to keep it pretty has harmed it. It's got the 8th pedal, which operates the swell doors. A neat little trick that never quite caught on, and I think modern ears wouldn't pick up the subtle changes it produces in the sound. I think I read somewhere that the doors also had a tendency to squeak.
But many of the pianos I've banged out songs on over the years, or those beat-up old public school bassoons made funny noises, so I would be used to it. I'd just be so thrilled to have it sitting in my living room...
..okay, not my living room. Not enough space, although antique harps are smaller. Most likely it would be in my mom's living room with my fullsized pedal harp and my brother's upright bass. She wouldn't be too happy about that, seeing as she already has an old Dodd in the dining room awaiting extensive repairs. It's collecting dust, but it's not nearly as pretty to look at as the Erat. Someone at some point decided to cover what was left of the gilding in GOLD PAINT. A sin, a sin, a sin indeed! Plus it's a bit wounded here and there.

Disclaimer....
Oh and of course I don't expect my loved ones to go out and purchase this harp for me. That would just be silly.