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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
n6.
CELLULOID ON ORGANS.
CONNECTICUT STATE FAIR.
THE TRADE OF THE HOGGSON & PETTIS MANUFACTUR-
ING CO., NEW HAVEN, CONN.
THE EXHIBITS OF PIANOS AND ORGANS—LOCAL MUSI-
CAL GENIUS.
T
'HE musical exhibits at the recent annual State
Fair of Connecticut, held at the city of Meriden,
on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th ult., were lar-
ger and more important than ever before, and formed
one of the greatest attractions of the occasion.
Gallup & Metzger, of Hartford, made by far the
largest display of pianos, It consisted of eight Haines
Brothers' uprights, in respect of which the firm received
two first premiums and medals, i. e., first premium and
medal for largest and best exhibit of pianos, also first
premium and medal for Haines Brothers' pianos, for
excellence in tone, action, and general finish. During
the last half day of the fair, Messrs. Gallup & Metzger
sold six of these eight pianos, and took one extra order.
This firm were most active in making the celebration
a pleasant one for visitors. At a very large expense
they gave both afternoon and evening concerts, which
were greatly appreciated and enjoyed. In the after-
noons, Mr. John Francis Gilder, the noted pianist and
composer, assisted by members of the firm and clerks
in their employ, delighted large crowds of listeners,
one number being played by no less than six pianos.
Mr. Gilder is one of the most unostentatious, and at the
same time one of the most accomplished pianists. He
has been long known to the public of Boston, Mass.,
with whom he has the reputation of a finished, graceful,
and artistic player, and a feeling interpreter. During
evenings, Miss Mary Beeman, a violiniste of great local
reputation. Miss Lottie Korn, soprano, Harry F. Trask,
tenor, and William Redfield, solo cornetist of the noted
Colt's Band, entertained a vast concourse of delighted
listeners. The crush upon the space occupied by
Messrs. Gallup & Metzger was so great that it was
feared the surrounding brass railing might give way,
and the police were compelled to keep the crowd in
motion.
HE sample of a novel organ stop shown us by the
Hoggson & Pettis Manufacturing Co., of New
Haven, Conn., caused us to realize to what a
degree celluloid and zylomte have replaced ivory and
porcelain in the manufacture of organ keys and knobs.
Over thirty years ago, when the reed organ industry
was in its infancy, this house, then conducted by
Mr. S. J. Hoggson, supplied hand-engraved ivory checks
to the organ builders to fasten into knobs of their own
turning. As the business increased, the trade demand-
ed different styles, and the orders growing larger each
year, knobs made from solid porcelain, from metal en-
tire, from composition and from wood, lettered in
various ways on the face, were devised and placed on
the market in succession. When Japans began to be
used they were tried on wood by Mr. Hoggson, who
succeeded in obtaining a fine gloss, hard and smooth,
and in getting up neat and tasty porcelain, metal and
glass faces of different designs for the fronts. The
solid porcelain knob quickly fell into disuse, owing to
the cold, unpleasant feeling it gave to the hand of the
player ; the glass faces' would not sell after a time, as
they were frequently broken, and the trade claimed
that they imparted a cheap appearance to the organ
front.
The porcelain face, however, surrounded by metal
rims, nickel, gilt, and colored, cemented into an enam-
eled wood knob, always gave the best satisfaction, and
is now being used quite extensively.
When celluloid was invented and introduced, Mr.
Hoggson experimented with it for a long time, finally
obtaining a patent for a process of making it, which
was sold for $20,000. The house has taken out a num-
ber of other valuable patents on organ knobs and faces,
one of which is on a fibrous backing secured to the
back of the celluloid composing the face, which enables
the face to be readily glued into the knob—a great con-
venience to the manufacturer. Ivory faces were dis-
carded, and celluloid faces replaced them and the glass
faces. The use of ivory for keys on reed organs has
been almost universally discontinued, celluloid being
used instead.
The above firm carry twenty-three or twenty-four styles
of knobs, and keep about 200,000 finished stems of dif-
ferent sizes in stock. They furnish about fifty Amer-
ican organ manufacturers with knobs and stems, and keep
a large stock in London for their Great Britain trade,
while their orders from Sweden are steadily increasing.
They are the largest house of the kind in the country,
and have built up their business by always meeting the
requirements of the trade with punctuality and energy.
T
this special ornamentation-was executed including a lyre,
surrounded by oak and cherry-leaves, with their respec-
tive fruits. Lovely pilasters of onyx imparted an addi-
tional grace n the structure, the lower portions of which
presented a delightful contrast of shades of white maple.
The entire design was drawn, specially, by one of the
leading French decorative artists of this city.
The business of Kranich & Bach is flourishing. They
anticipate a very large fall trade in all sections of the
country. Their new warerooms in One Hundred and
Twenty-fifth street, Harlem, N. Y., are now complete,
having been thoroughly re-decorated, and constituting
a handsome parlor store.
The new case above alluded to is the second of its style
pioduced under the auspices of this house. The gene-
ral effect of this style is extremely light and chaste, and
is well suited to graceful and tasteful surroundings of
similar and approximate hues.
A NOTABLE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE.
THE HIGH STANDING AND ELEGANT CONTENTS OF TAY-
LOR'S MUSIC HOUSE, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
W
ILLIAM C. TAYLOR, the proprietor of Tay-
lor's Music House, Springfield, Mass., has
accumulated in that far-famed depository a
most attractive and varied assortment of upright pianos
by Steinway & Sons, Albert Weber, and Haines Bro-
thers. Mr. Taylors selection of instruments for the
use of residents of Springfield and its vicinity has always
been marked by great care and judgment, and his mas-
terly conduct of his ever-expanding business has brought
this establishment to a very high point of popularity
among the music lovers of Massachusetts. The pianos
displayed by him have been especially chosen as com-
binirg all the requisites of superiority in material,
workmanship, finish, tone, durability and beauty of
design, and it is his purpose from time to time to add
to his stock instruments of other well known manufac-
The next largest exhibit of pianos was that of Wil- turers of long standing and renown. All of his wares
liam Wander & Son, of Hartford, who displayed a fine are of the highest grades, and can be implicitly re-
assortment of the J. &. C. Fischer (N. Y.), Decker lied upon. Consequently, when the reasonableness of the
Brothers (N. Y.), and Sterling (Derby, Conn.) makers, prices asked for them is considered, purchasers cannot
receiving for those of the second-mentioned firm the but regard these beautiful wares as being among the ; -
•econd premium and diploma.
most satisfactory to be procured.
*
The Keller Piano Company, of Bridgeport, exhibited
The
piano
department
is
under
the
efficient manage-
two of their excellently made pianos, which were criti-
ment
of
N.
G.
Howe,
a
gentleman
of large experi-
cised with a great deal of interest, and highly praised.
ence. The department of sheet music and small goods
The first premium and medal for organ exhibits was
is under the management of Henry B. McCoy, who has
captured by the Wilcox & White Organ Company,
had an experience of seven years with the New England
Meriden, who displayed some of their splendid parlor,
Conservatory store in Boston, and who was until re-
church, and self-playing organs—three reed and two
cently with William Rohlfing & Co., of Milwaukee,
^Eolian. This exhibit was also the subject of much
Wis., one of the largest houses in the music trade in the
enthusiasm on the part of visitors.
west. The services of W. W. Wallace, who has charge
of the large tuning and repair business of this house,
are everywhere appreciated and are in conslant demand.
AN IMPROVED MUSIC LEAF TURNER.
FARRAND & VOTEY.
Five years have elapsed since Mr. Taylor opened his
salesrooms at No. 416 Main street and No. 7 Pynchon
N invention designed to provide for the automatic
EXTENSION OF FACILITIES.
street, Springfield, and within this brief period his name
turning of pages of music to be read at a piano
has
become a synonym in that section for all that is re-
has been patented by Lieut. Gianni Bettini, of
E learn from the Farrand & Votey Organ Co..
334 Fifth avenue, New York city. * The frame of the
Detroit, Mich., that they have just completed fined, chaste, and elegant in the business of a music
device centrally supports a tube in which a series of
the purchase of the Granville, Wood & Son dealer.
leaf-turning wire rods are held to turn, each rod having pipe organ factory of Northville, Mich., and will run it
at its outer end a clip for holding the pages to be turned. until an addition to the Farrand & Votey factory in
IMPORTANT TO ORGANISTS.
These rods are bent out at right angles from the top and Detroit can be erected. Mr. Wood and his son will re-
bottom to form arms, and, in connection with the bot- main in Farrand & Votey's employ. The Northville A MARVELLOUS CONTRIVANCE FOR CONTROLLING AND
tom arms, springs, and spring-actuated pivoted fingers, firm have put about seventy-five large organs into use,
MANIPULATING STOPS.
are attached to the base bar of the frame, to engage and one of them being in the new St. Anne's church, Detroit,
OMAINE CALLENDER, for many years an
hold the arms in place, and turn them when released. and are building a large one for the , Trumbull Avenue
organist of Brantford, Ont., has perfected an in-
In using this music turner, the several leaves of a piece Presbyterian church. They also have a contract on
vention whereby he claims to have brought the
of music are placed in engagement, successively, with hand for a large organ at Johnstown, Pa., another in
the clips on the different arms at the top, and the lower Columbus, O., and a third in Wayne, Mich. They em- control and manipulation of the stops of the largest
horizontal arms corresponding therewith are brought to ploy about fifteen men, which number will be increased organs to a higher degree of perfection than has hitherto
been reached. It has been intrcduced into a new organ
the right of the frame and engaged by the fingers, when, when the factory is moved to Detroit.
just erected in St. James' Roman Catholic Church, N. Y.
upon touching the first or lower finger, the first page
The organist, at any movement, by simply touching
will be turned, and then the second and third, etc.. as
with the tips of his fingers a slender horrizontal bar
the several fingers are pressed. Before repeating a
KRANICH & BACH.
placed over each set of keys, brings out an entirely new
page the arm is pressed back to the right, and to repeat
set of stops without removing either hand from the
the whole piece all the arms are pressed back together.
An adjustable rest bar for supporting the music is held A NEW AND GRACEFUL STYLE OF CASE—COMPLETION OF keyboard or interrupting, even lor a second, the rendi-
THE HARLEM WAREROOMS—A GREAT FALL
tion of the music before him. By a, most ingenious
to slide vertically on the frame, and has near each end
TRADE LOOKED FOR.
contrivance he sets beforehand the various consecutive
a pivoted stop of spring metal for retaining the divisions
of the music in place, pressing them against the side
N unusually fine specimen of piano-case manufac- combinations of stops which he intends to use during
bars of the frame.—Scientific A merican.
ture was on view last week in the always attrac- his performance, and as he touches the bar these com-
tive warerooms of Kranich & Bach, East twenty- binations present themselves in their proper order and
third street, N. Y. It consisted of a case of white maple at the exact moment required. The organ at St.
FRANK ROOSEVELT, N. Y., the eminent pipe organ
and satinwood, the panels being of the latter material. James' is a Roosevelt, costing $10,000. It will be heard
builder, is making headway with the great instrument The front was embellished with some of the best hand- for the first time at a public recital to-morrow evening,
that is destined for the Chicago Auditorium.
carving that we have ever seen, the design in which Oct. 6, in the church at James street and New Bowery.
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