All this talk about ivory keys has reminded me of a local connection to
these issues.  As a child, I lived just several blocks from the Wood
and Brooks Company in North Buffalo, New York.  They were manufacturers
of piano actions.  They had a huge neon sign on their roof of the head
and shoulders of an elephant.  It could be seen for many miles in every
direction.

They never built pianos but supplied actions to many others who didn't
want to be bothered with that part of the craft.  I clearly remember,
after WW2, seeing railroad flatcars parked on the siding behind their
building loaded with elephant tusks arranged like crown roasts of beef,
tied at the middle, waiting to be off-loaded.
 
Many years later, after I began working for QRS, I had a neighbor who
had worked for Wood & Brooks.  Joseph Sczymczak was in his 90's and
blind, but he told me many stories about his job there and the
management of the company.  I should have recorded his comments.

He claimed that for many years there had been rumors that there would
be a world-wide ban on the use of ivory which would include piano keys.
He said that Wood & Brooks officers laughed at such talk because they
believed that their political friends would shield them from such
action.

He said that one day in the 1960s, without warning, federal marshals
entered the building, confiscated all the ivory and padlocked the
doors.  Everyone was out of a job permanently.  I have never been able
to independently confirm all the details of that story, but it is true
that the company did shut down back then.

Among other things old Joe told me was that the ivory, after having
been shaved to veneer thickness, was regularly laid out in the sun to
improve its color.

There are at least two things to be learned from all this: Keep your
keyboard cover open, and don't trust politicians!

Felix Klempka
Buffalo, New York
QRS Chief Engineer, Retired

P.S.: Wiping the keys with diluted lemon juice also helps.