Music Trade Review

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October 20th,
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
Wixt Sfeuto
DOMESTIC
YOL. Y.
.AJSTO FOIREIGKN" T R A D E .
No. 6.
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 20TH, 1881.
because, now-a-days, only piano makers who are copies of French & Son's edition was sold in the
struggling to lift themselves from obscurity go Academy Monday night.
The redoubtable Angelo, Mapleson's Behemoth,
regularly into the concert business, and with
who purchases the " authorized " librettos from
malice aforethought.
Weber having rescued his concert grand piano French & Son and reaps the profit from their sale
from the hands of Newell, gave it over to Stern- in the house, was bitterly bemoaning his losses
; not, as some of his idiotic touters claim, for during the performance of "Lohengrin."
THE LATEST LIBRETTO WAR. berg
$10,000 for 100 concerts, but still for a sufficiently
large sum, namely, $1,000 for the season of six
A BATTLE OF WITS BETWEEN HAINES
months. This with the other expenses of the con-
AND WEB£R.
cert organization brought the total up to a sum
that would hardly balance with the benefits deriv-
THE EMERSON PIANO CO.'S ANSWER.
WEBER BUYS U P ALL THE ADVERTISING PAGES IN ed from it as an advertising scheme.
The man who does not advertise has it
done tor him finally under the head ot
'* failures in business."
STEINWAY vs. EMERSON.
FRENCH'S LIBRETTO, AND HAINES PUBLISHES
HIS
OWN BOOK OF THE OPERA, IN ITALIAN
AND ENGLISH.—WEBER PAYING DEARLY FOR
HIS WHISTLE.—HAINES VERY JUBILANT.
WHAT IT COSTS TO RUN A LIBRETTO.
Circuit Court oj the United States, District of Massa-
chusetts.
This Fall, irritated beyond endurance by Haines
Bros, rivalry, Mr. Weber struck out what he evi-
IN EQUITY.
dently thought was a new line, and to this end ar-
C. F. T. STEINWAY et al.
ranged with Messrs. French & Son, the play pub-
vs.
lishers, and also publishers of the "authorized"
HOW THE WAR BEGAN.
GEORGE W. CARTER et al.
libretto
of
the
Mapleson
opera
season,
to
buy
up
N Italian opera season in this city has little all the advertising pages of their book for his own
HE answer of George W. Carter, Patrick H.
interest for the present public if unattended
Powers, Orrin A. Kimball and Joseph Gramer,
by what the advertising agents, ticket speculators, use, at $5,01)0 for the season.
defendants, to the bill of complaint of Christian F.
and Academy of Music runners call a "Libretto It may be remarked here that an " authorized " Theodore Steinway and William Steinway, com-
War." As for a Mapleson operatic season, hardly version of an opera libretto differs from other ver- plainants.
any interest would be manifested in it if rival pub- sions only in this respect, that the publisher pays The defendants, reserving unto themselves all
lishers of librettos did not make the welkin ring the manager a royalty of about $30 a night for the right of exception as to all matter contained in said
with their fulminations against each other. Where privilege of selling it within the walls of the Aca- bill of complaint, for answer thereto, or to so much
as they are advised is material to be answered unto,
other operatic managers have endeavored to draw demy at twenty-five cents a copy.
Unauthorized versions must stay outside of the answering say :
attention to their schemes by the engagement of
1. That they knew nothing of the patent No. 81,-
great lyric artists, Mr. Mapleson has put such an walls of the opera house.
idea aside as unworthy the abilities of a managerial Now Judas reports it that when Mr. Weber 306, and patent reissue No. 9,012, in said bill
and are not informed in regard thereto,
Richelieu, and has substituted a war among lib- clamored for all the advertising pages in the lib- mentioned,
by said bill of complaint, and therefore leave
retto publishers which he has always been success- retto, he said that he would not allow any surrep- save
titious advertising by Haines Bros, in the Academy the complainants to make such proof thereof as they
ful in arousing.
of Music this Winter. There are five pages de- may be advised.
This season Mr. Mapleson came with a lighter voted
2. Further answering, on information and belief,
to advertising in the French libretto at $15.00 these
defendants say that the patentee in said letters
list of attractions than ever, and with a repertoire per page,
which,
with
the
sale
of
500
copies
each
patent
No. 81,306, or reissue No. 9,012, was not the
consisting mainly of such works of antiquity as night at 10 cents a copy, to the publisher's agent,
"Lucia," "Trovatore," " Sonambula,"etc. It was leaves the publisher a profit of only from $125.00 uriginal and first inventor or discoverer of any mate-
rial and substantial part of the thing patented, and
at once predicted thai; his season would be a fail-
$130.00 each night, and Mr. Weber took the that said alleged invention is described in the
ure because the " Libretto War " of past seasons to
whole five pages. Now Mr. Haines claims that following letters patent granted in the United States :
would take on no new life and vigor, and there Academy
of Music advertising had lost all charm Letters patent No. 00,6(53, granted to Geo. Trayser,
seemed no way of stirring up afresh "ruction," as for him ; but
when he heard what Mr. Weber had dated July 9, 1807.
our Hibernian friends would say.
said about "surreptitious advertising," he became Letters patent No. 52,725, granted to A. Ludolff,
But Her Majesty's Colonel is one of those pecu- eager for the fray. So he buckled on his armor, Feb. 20, 1866.
liarly fortunate people, who, the less they do for engaged a printer, and last Monday night, the first Letters patent granted to J. Dwight, July 29,1824.
themselves, the more Providence seems to do for night of the opera season, he distributed 1,000 free Letters patent No. 13,942, granted to S. B. Driggs
them.
librettos containing no advertising matter but that Nov. 1, 1855.
Letters patent No. 29,081, granted to G. H. Hul-
And it has all come about through two piano of Haines Bros., at the doors of the Academy of
July 10, 1860.
manufacturers.
Music. Mr. Haines says he will continue to do this skamp,
Letters
patent No. 30,279, granted to F. Mathushek,
It is a good story and one that the readers of through the season as the entire expense of a Oct. 2, 1860.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW are sure libretto per night costs but a trifle more than it
Letters patent No. 4,832, granted to J. Schiber,
to enjoy.
would to have occupied a couple of advertising Oct. 29, 1846.
A HAINES-WEBER CONTEST.
pages of French's libretto.
3. Further answering, these defendants say, on
For some time Haines Bros, and the house of
And it looks as though Mr. Weber was paying information and belief, that said patentee was not the
owner
and first inventor or discoverer of any materi-
Albert Weber have been keenly striving to see French & Son a neat little profit per night for ad-
which could reach and maintain the highest seat vertising in a libretto which meets with compara- al and substantial parts of the thing patented, and
in the ranks of piano makers. Now a contest for tively little sale on account of the distribution of that the following-named persons, residing at the
places set opposite their names, had the prior knowl-
supremacy among piano makers is not like a con- the free editions outside.
edge of the thing patented, and used the same at the
test in any other form of business It is a battle
said places, viz. :
of giants, and the man who wins is the man whose
S. B. Driggs, of and at Detroit, Mich.;
LIBRETTO DISTRIBUTEE ARRESTED.
wits are keen, whose pluck is assured, whose capi-
J. Dwight, of and at Boston, Mass. :
tal is abundant, whose wares are good, and, in fact,
HAT appears to have been a gross outrage G. H. Hulskamp, of and at Troy, N. Y.;
who unites in one person all those wonderful qual-
was perpetrated at the Academy of Music, F. Mathushek, of and at New York. ;
ities wnich the Colonel in the new opera of in this city, on the night of October 17th.
One of J. Schiber, of New York, in 1846,
" Patience" tells us in song distinguishes a " Heavy the distributors of Haines Bros.' free librettos, and that the same was known to and used at divers
Dragoon."
who was peaceably and quietly pursuing his occu- other places by persons whose names are not now
Haines and Weber have been struggling shoulder pation, was (probably at the instigation of a rival known to these defendants, but which they ask leave
in this answer as soon a i they shall ascer-
to shoulder ever since the elder Albert Weber libretto publisher) arrested by order of Captain to insert
the same.
died. It has been a contest between the two Clinchy, in whose precinct the Academy of Music tain
4. Further answering on information and belief,
young heads of each establishment, and has had is situated, and was locked up for the night. these
defendants deny that, by virtue of any such as-
When the case came up before a Justice the fol- signment
both its admirable and amusing episodes.
as mentioned in said bill of complaint, the
lowing
morning,
Captain
Clinchy
was
repremanded
Mr. N. J. Haines, Jr., has the advantage of be-
said invention and letters patent became vested in
by
the
Justice
for
the
arrest
of
an
unoffending
ing slower and correspondingly surer in acting, and
the complainants as the legal owners thereof, and
displays less impulse and whim than Mr. Weber. man, and the Justice advised the distributor to go deny that they are the legal owners thereof, and
on
with
his
business.
leave the complainants to prove the same.
Mr. Weber has plenty of bull-dog (we had almost
said bull-headed) pluck, but he leaps over an ob- It is all very well for piano makers to carry on a 5. On information and belief, these defendants
stacle rather than undermine it or climb carefully rivalry in the matter of advertising themselves deny that said original letters patent were inoper-
over it, and sometimes is rewarded for his impet- through librettos; but, when rivalry is pushed so ative or invalid by reason of a defective or insuffi-
cient specification, or by reason of the patentee
uosity by lodging himself in a bog up to his neck. far that it leads to the arrest of an unoffending claiming
as his own invention or discovery more
A year ago, at the beginning of the last season, man, and his incarceration for the night in a sta- than he had
a right to claim as new; and also that
feeling the necessity of making a great advertis- tion house cell, it passes the bounds of decency, said original letters patent were operative and
and
the
perpetrator
should
be
denounced
as
he
ing effort, he organized a concert company, and
valid, and not capable of being lawfully surrendered
hired Sternberg, a quite nice, but totally unknown deserves.
and reissued ; and they also aver that said original
pianist, to play his piano exclusively about the It is said that on account of the free distribution letters patent were surrendered and reissued not for
country. The scheme in general was a mistake, of Haines Bros.' Librettos not more than fifty the purpose of concealing any defect or insufficiency
A
T
W