Music Trade Review

14
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
THE PIANO AND ORCJAN TRADE.
November 5th, 1880.
TRADE IN THE WEST.
HE piano trade in this city since our last issue has been exceedingly
active, in both the wholesale and retail trade, and we have the same
account from all the principal towns throughout the country ; in fact the
rush for pianos is unprecedented, and the demand for first-class instruments,
which wo noticed in our last issue, is steadily increasing. Now that the
Our Peripatetic in Chieago.
questions of who is to be the next president, and whether there is to be any
tinkering with the tariff, are finally set at rest for another four years, we may
confidently look forward to the most prosperous business in pianos and
organs which the country has ever seen. In this connection we beg leave to FURTHER ACCOUNTS OF PROMINENT HOUSES.
call the attention of the trade to a few remarks printed in our issue of July
20th—over three months ago—in which we said :
" If our food products should equal in amount the production of last
year, and be marketed at or about the same price, there will be a large sur-
PELTON, POMEROY & CROSS.
plus of money in the hands of a class of our population whose musical tastes
are being rapidly developed, and from whom the demand for musical instru-
ments, particularly pianos and organs, is only limited by the amount of
No. 2.
money left in their hands after the necessaries of Lfe are provided for. A
combination of circumstances such as we have described could hardly fail to
CANNOT imagine it possible for trade to be more active than it was when
inaugurate a "boom " of huge proportions; and even if the latter expectation
I visited Chicago. It was a revelation to me to see it so bustling in
is not completely fulfilled, yet we are sure there will be a healthy fall trade, establishments that were not devoted to manufacturing purposes. In New
and a remunerative advance in prices."
York and Boston we have the very perfection of manufacturing houses, but
What we predicted then has been almost literally fulfilled in every par- in Chicago we can see how business is done by dealers on the largest scale.
ticular, excepting the advance in prices, and this latter is mainly the fault of Chicago being a great distributing point the piano houses there are heavy
the manufacturers themselves.
jobbers, and each one has a list of agents that would make the fortune of
an average piano manufacturer.
One of the largest concerns in Chicago is that of
THE FIRE AT E. (JABLER'S PIANO FACTORY.
BOUT 2 p. m. on Sunday, October 24, a very destructive fire occured
PELTON, POMEROY AND CROSS.
in the piano factory of Ernest .Gabler, Nos. 220, 222 and 224 East
22d street, in this city. The 'fire is supposed to have had its origin in the
During my stay in that city I spent a good many hours with this con-
varnishing room on the fifth floor of the building, and to have been caused cern, and admired the extreme facility with which their business was con-
by the igniting of the very inflammable material contained there, from an ducted. The firm consists of Alonzo Pelton, Andrew J. Pomeroy, and
overheated stove, although nothing positive is known about this. The Richard W. Cross. The plan of selling which they adopt is that of furnish-
factory was a brick building built in 1865, and was owned by Mr. Gabler, ing the very best goods which the market affords. They do not run largely
it was five stories high, having a frontage of 75 feet on 22d street, and running on cheap grades, although they carry all grades so as to suit all classes of
through to 21st street, forming an L.
buyers. They confine themselves to pianos and organs, and have no hand in
The basement was occupied as a storeroom, the first floor as an office the music publishing or band instrument business.
and wareroom, while the remaining stories were devoted to manufacturing.
Their leading pianos are the Chickering & Sons, the Hazleton Bros.,
Three alarms were sent »ut, but the firemen worked for more than an hour Ernst Gabler's, and Decker & Sons; their principal organs are Wilcox &
before they could obtain control. When the fire was at last put out the White's, Taylor & Farley's, besides those of their own make, as they have
walls only of the factory remained standing, all the valuable material which an organ factory in Chicago.
they had enclosed having been destroyed.
As I strolled with Messrs. Pomeroy and Cross through their establishment,
Mr. Gabler employed about 125 workmen, and their tools were all admiring the handsome stock of instruments, I remarked upon the evident
destroyed in the fire, entailing a loss of some $5,000. In the accounts pub- demand for the Chickering and Hazelton pianos.
lished in the daily papers the day after the fire it was stated that the loss on
"Yes," was the reply, "our trade in both these instruments is very
stock and machinery was $30,000, and was fully covered by insurance in large. There are about twice the number of Chickering pianos sold here as
city companies ; we have no doubt that Mr. Gabler would feel delighted if in former years."
these reports were correct, but unfortunately for him, they are far from
demand for first-class instruments appears to be steadily increas-
being so; the loss on stock and machinery contained in the building foots ing," '' I The
said
; "at least I have found it so during my travels."
up $101,660, on which there is an insurance of only $33,166, making
"Yes,
we
have an active demand for all our best instruments in far-off
a net loss of over $68,000. Such a fire is bad enough at any time, parts of the country.
We have recently sold a Chickering piano to a Mr.
but is doubly unfortunate, occurring as it does in the middle of the Briggs,
Oakland, Cal., who is largely interested in mining operations ; a
busiest season of the year ; and the only consolation there is about the Hazelton of piano
to Col. Dudley Evans, manager of the Wells-Fargo Express
business is the fact that Mr. Gabler occupied a building in 22d street oppo-
in Portland, Oregon, and a fine Gabler piano to Mr. John Risque,
site the one destroyed by the fire, as a wareroom or storage room, and we Company,
of Silver City, New Mexico. The latter instrument had to be hauled about
believe had a considerable stock of pianos stored there in anticipation of an 600
miles in a wagon after it left the railroad, and Mr. Risque wrote that it
active fall season ; these of course were untouched, and will serve to partially reached
him in splendid condition."
satisfy the demands of Mr. Gabler's numerous customers until he is in
Messrs. Pelton, Pomeroy & Cross have only handled the Wilcox & White
running order again, which we trust will not be long. The Gabler piano
has such a high reputation that we have no doubt his customers, both organ for a few months, but they are having excellent success with it, and it
wholesale and retail, would endure considerable inconvenience and delay is proving a very valuable instrument in their hands. They have sold the
rather than put up with any other brand of pianos. Mr. Gabler has our sin- Taylor & Farley organ for a great many years ; indeed they have dealt with
cerest sympathy, and we hope at no distant day to see him busily at work that house ever since they have been in business, and the Taylor & Farley
organ is one of their regular standbys. They have been very successful with
in a larger and better factory than the one which he has lost.
these instruments, and in fact have sold an ocean of them.
Referring to the Chickering piano again, it was observed that while it
BAND INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURE IN THE WEST.—Mr. C. G. Conn, of always was exceedingly popular since the introduction of the new metallic
Elkhart, Ind., has, it is stated, the largest and most complete manufactory action it had been meeting with a sale unprecedented in the history of any
of band instruments in the Western States. He employs from 85 to 100 piano in the West.
workmen, and publishes a well-printed magazine called Trumpet Notes, in
While chatting on the main floor of Pelton, Pomeroy, & Cross' establish-
connection Avith his business.
ment with the members of the firm, or with Mr. A. H. Day, who is one of the
COMBINATION OF TRADES.—A western paper prints among "help wanted " best piano salesmen in the country, I observed with much interest the
an advertisement for a good carriage maker, who can play the cornet. We throngs of customers continually passing back and forth, and every few
may expect soon to see among the wants a good organist, who can mend minutes I was introduced to some leading professional or amateur musician
of the city. I soon saw that the place was a general resort for such people,
shoes.
and I came to the conclusion, moreover, that it was the headquarters of a
SUBSCRIBER.—Subscriber is informed that the original of the Spanish very
musical club, which is made up of about 100 of the leading
students troupes, that have come to this country, is the one last year con- ladies recherche
Chicago society. I was informed that this club gave very elegant
trolled by Mr. H. E. Abbey, and now under the management of Major J. musical of entertainments,
and I can readily understand that these entertain-
B. Pond. The genuine originals, known as the "Estudiantina Figaro," who ments must give a life and
intellectual tone during the winter season to
made such a sensation in Paris at the Exposition, have never been in this the social recreations of the an
western metropolis.
country.
Mr. Alonzo Pelton is a Western pioneer. He has been engaged in bus-
DRUM HEADS.—William M. Deutsch, of Elizabeth, and Chrales O.
Kanouse, Newark, assignors of one-third of their right to Alfred N. Lewis, iness in that part of the country since 1839, when he left his home in Massa-
N. J., have taken out a patent for the manufacture of drum heads, one or chusetts.
both surfaces of which are to be treated with a coating of celluloid or other
Mr. Andrew J. Pomeroy is an accomplished musician, and to this fact is
pyroxiline.
due a large part of his success in his present business.
Mr. Richard W. Cross has been in the employ of Pelton & Pomeroy for
HARDMAN, DOWLING & PECK.—Mr. Thomas F. Dowling, of the firm of
Hardman, Dowling & Peck, 57th street and 10th avenue, this city, returned several years, and was admitted to partnership last fall. He has a large city
a few days since from an extended tour through the West. He is extremely I acquaintance, and this, combined with the wholesale tradej of this house,
well pleased with the result of his trip, and reports trade throughout the! gives it a strong hold in the piano and organ business.
West very active, and the demand for the Hardman piano unprecedented.
Messrs. Pomeroy, Pelton & Cross occupy the entire building at, 150 and
BRAINARD'S SONS.—W. R. Swan, Esq., formerly with Brainard Bros., 152 State street, Chicago. This building runs through from street to street,
Cincinnati, and recently of W. R. Swan & Co., publishers of The Musical and gives them excellent facilities at the rear entrance for the handling and
People, Cincinnati, has accepted a position with S. Brainard's Sons, Cleve transporting of goods. Their salesrooms are on the first floor, and are admir-
land, from Nov. 1st.—H. F. Chandler, formerly of Cobb, Andrews & Co., ably appointed for the display of goods, and the convenience and comfort of
Cleveland, will hereafter represent S. Brainard's Sons in Ohio and Indiana, customers.
as travelling agent, and is now on an extended trip among the trade in the
One of the last questions I asked the members of this firm was :
above states.—Mr. Geo. W. Furniss, after a three months'trip through Iowa,
" How has business been with you so far this fall ? "—and they replied :
Kansas, and Nebraska, in the interest of S. Brainard's Sons' Chicago house,
" Business is much better than last fall, although then trade was thriv-
returned to v hio to vote. He has started on another extended trip through ing. We are now doing at least one third more, and with a better class of
the North-west. He reports trade extremely lively, and prospects flattering. pianos."
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