Five batons made for Arturo Toscanini (1867–1957)

On May 25, 1944, Arturo Toscanini conducted a massive benefit concert for the American Red Cross at Madison Square Garden. To be visible to the large ensemble—the NBC Symphony and New York Philharmonic orchestras, a 600-member chorus made up of the All-City Chorus, and 350 members of various New York City high school glee clubs—plus an audience of 18,000, Toscanini required an extra-large baton. His usual supplier refused, so Toscanini commissioned one from his physician, neurologist Hubert Howe, who had recently taken up woodworking as a hobby. The doctor made more than 20 batons and painted Toscanini’s choice white to imitate pure ivory. After the concert, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia auctioned that baton, which measured more than 30 inches long, for $10,000. The “outtakes” displayed here now belong to the Library.