Sale contract from 1961 for my great-grandfather's cello (I need money and a time machine)

[Brian in Texas]

While going through a bunch of old family documents and photos, my Mom, who's interested in our genealogy, came across the sale contract for my great-grandfather's cello from 1961. Just in case anyone needed a glaring reminder of inflation and all that...

My great-grandfather was a cellist like me, but undoubtedly a finer player than I'll ever be. He died decades before I was born, so I never had a chance to know him. But by all accounts, he was a fun and really interesting fellow. He served as principal cello in the El Paso Symphony for decades, were he reportedly never relied on sheet music during a performance, having memorized whatever part he was playing for each concert. Apparently, this allowed him to keep a closer eye on the conductor, as well as checking out the ladies in the front rows.

The family lore is that his cello was attributed to Nicolas Lupot, but not 100% confirmed to be his work. Then there's the casual mention of a Tourte bow being included in the sale! If genuine, that bow alone is probably worth more than my house today. I know there's the inflation factor to think of, but also that the value of antique instruments and bows have exponentially increased over the last few decades. But the idea of the cello and two bows (and one of that quality) selling for $1500 truly boggles the mind. I paid more than $1500 just for my bow, and that was almost 25 years ago.

Upon his retirement from music, my great-grandfather's cello and bows were sold here to his star pupil, who went on to be an acclaimed soloist performing around the world. The story sadly ends in Montreal, where my great-grandfather's former student was on tour and met up with some friends for dinner. He left the cello in his hotel room while they went out, and upon his return, he found that it had been stolen. That always sounded like an inside job to me, and that perhaps one of his "friends" was anything but.

So just in case anyone has a time machine and $1500, let me know. I swear, I'll pay you back.

[deans]

A better use of that time machine would be to buy $1500 of Disney stock, you'll be able to buy a real Lupot, and a house to store it in.

[MikeC]

Jack Benny had a real Stradivari violin.   In the 1950s he bought it for $16,000.   In the early 1970s it was appraised at $50,000.   How many millions is it now?