Music Trade Review

Issue: 1892 Vol. 16 N. 7

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
154
hard at the speaker ; he was convincingly seri-
ous. Contradiction would be useless, so I gave
myself up to reflections upon the peculiar idio-
syncracies of some apparently intelligent per-
sons. The house of Chickering was no longer in
existence, I further learned, together with many
original and astonishing facts. At last pa-
tience gave out and I fled. Altogether, the
individual referred to reminded your correspon-
dent, in some ways, of the man who couldn 't be
made believe that the Franco-German war ever
took place ; " i t was all a concoction of the
newspapers," and he wasn't going to be fooled.
*
*
*
*
*
*
The result of the recent State elections in Ver-
mont has been eagerly watched in London, and
the slight comparative decrease in the Republi-
can majority, in a few instances, has been trans-
lated into an ill omen for the national prospect
of the ruling party in the coming struggle.
Past history has, however, shown how very un-
reliable such fluctuations are in political pre-
dictions. Col. Levi K. Fuller has meanwhile
come in for kindly press notices in some direc-
tions. He is known here very widely as the
head of the Estey Organ Company, whose in-
struments have attained a very high standing
in the United Kingdom. As the Governor of
the '' Green Mountain State,'' he lends a dignity
and distinction to the American music trades,
of which the individuals composing those useful
and artistic branches of industry, may well feel
proud, And, what is significant, he is eminent-
ly fitted for the position. I have spoken with
many members of the London trade, who had
the pleasure of meeting Colonel Fuller at some
time, and they all seemed to know about the honor
for which he has been chosen, and to regard it
with the same feelings as the writer. Despite
the tariff", the members of the music trades of
both countries are inclined to be " clannish '' in
all these matters.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Mr. R. H. Rogers, of whom I spoke last week,
spent two months in Pittsburg, Pa., as the guest
of his brother, Commodore Rogers, of that city,
whose fine war record must be known to a large
number of the readers of THE MUSIC TRADE RE-
Mr. Rogers is much respected by Chap-
pell & Co., and has been in their service for a
lengthy period. Thinking that it was his first
visit to the United States, I tried to elicit his
impressions of what he had seen and heard, but
he surprised your correspondent by informing
him at the start that he spent five years there
back in the '' forties and early fifties.'' Conver-
sation with Mr. Rogers was, therefore, certain
to be most interesting. Returning to the United
States after an absence of forty years, from 1852
to 1892, he was placed in a position to estimate
the wonderful development which had taken
place during the interval, much more effectually
than the native whose eyes and senses are ac-
customed to the growth around him. But Mr.
Rogers' impressions are especially interesting
when they relate to the piano business, for he
was among the first competent tuners who pen-
etrated the South. "Back in 1847, when you
were in the States, what piano was regarded as
the leader? " I asked. " T h e Chickering, of
course," he replied promptly. " I tuned many
of them, and fine instruments they were in
those days. Then there was the Stodart & Dun-
ham, and the Bacon & Raven, good pianos, too."
Coming to the present condition of piano
making in America, Mr. Rogers expressed his
surprise and pleasure at the progress made in
the art since 1852, the year he left for Europe.
But he did not have to go to the United States
for evidence in that connection, for he has been
brought up in contact with American pianos in
London, from time to time ; the Chickering in
VIEW.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
particular, owing to the fact that Chappell &
Co. are their British agents. The extent of piano
making as an American industry he could not
conceive until he went across a few months ago.
While in Boston, Mr. Rogers visited Chickering
& Sons, and was shown through their immense
factory, and was treated with the utmost courtesy
by Mr. G. H. Chickering, and everybody he came
in contact with. He has nothing to say of the
United States but kind words, the outcome of
admiration for the great progress they have
made since 1852, and remembrances of a pleas-
ant trip.
DANIEL SPILLANE.
LONDON, Sept. 10th.
AMOS B. SARGENT.
. AMOS B. SARGENT died in Concord,
N. H., Sept. 12th, 1892, at the age of 78
years, and, at the time of his death, he was pro-
bably the oldest man in the United States, in
continuous service, in the manufacture of reed
instruments.
He entered the employ of Abraham Prescott
in 1836, who was at that time beginning the
manufacture of the so-called '' Elbow '' melode-
ons, and for fifty'-one consecutive years continued
steadily in the employ of the same management,
during its changes from melodeons of the olden
time to the elaborate organs of recent date.
The management of the business, in the mean-
time, changed from Abr. Prescott to A. Prescott
& Son, then to Prescott Bros., then to Prescott
Organ Co., and now, Prescott Piano Co.
When Mr. Sargent began his work, the pres-
ent treasurer of the company, Mr. Geo. D. B.
Prescott, and the last of four sons, was a
boy but two years old, and a further item of in-
terest is the fact that a son of Mr. Sargent's be-
gan, twenty years ago, to learn his trade in the
same factory, and is still in the employ of this
company.
Mr. Sargent was withal a very skillful me-
chanic, and noted for his ability to perform dif-
ficult jobs.
EdQa Enterprise.
t
MONG the Western firms that are rapidly
coming to the front may be reckoned the
Edna Piano and Organ Co., of Monroeville, Ohio.
Their organs are meeting with great demand
among the dealers. Their piano-case organ is
becoming a great favorite, and ranks today as
one of the best instruments of its kind on the
market. The firm have recently opened large
retail warerooms in Adrian, Mich., which are
handsomely fitted up and may be classed among
the largest and most commodious musical estab-
lishments in Southern Michigan. Mr. B. W.
Price, the secretary of the company, will visit
many of the State Fairs, at which he will exhibit
the Edna instruments. Among the cities to be
visited are Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburg, Pa.
NOTICE.
first annual meeting of the " National
Association of Piano and Organ Tuner's
Association," will be held at the "Royal Arca-
num Hall, "room 4, No. 52 Union Square, east,
opposite the Everett House, on Tuesday even-
ing, Sept. 27th. Officers for the ensuing year,
comprising president, vice-president, secretary,
treasurer, and the standing committees, are to
be elected. The board of examiners are to be ap-
pointed, and action taken relative to the Na-
tional Convention, to be held at Chicago during
the World's Fair. It is hoped that every tuner
in New York and adjacent cities will be present.
E. E. TODD, Secretary.
White-Smith Publishing Co., Boston. Voice :
" Golden Wedding," song and chorus, by Ch.
Godfrey, arranged by E. H. Bailey, pleasing and
popular; " Up In The Moon," words by F. E.
Weatherley, music by Win. M. Hutchinson, an
attractive honey-moon song; " Dar's A New
Coon Weddin','' a jolly darky dialect ditty.
Piano : " The Andalusian," a valse Espagnole,
by Josef Meissler, smooth and graceful; '' Gold-
en Wedding Waltz," by Ch. Godfrey, arranged
by E. H. Bailey, simple and charming ; " Up In
The Moon Waltz,'' arranged by Josef Meissler,
a pleasant arrangement of the popular song of
the same name.
Hamilton S. Gordon, New York. Voice:
Morning service for mixed voices, consisting of
" Te Deum Laudamus," "Jubilate Deo, " " Ky-
rie,"and "Gloria Tibi," composed by Arthur
A. Clappe, this service is of a high order of
merit; Modern opening pieces for quartet or
chorus choirs, by Harrison Millard, comprise
"Abide With Me," " A s Pants The Hart,"
"Calm On The Listening Ear," "Glorious
Things Of Thee Are Spoken," "Guide Me O
Thou Great Jehovah," " I Heard The Voice Of
Jesus, " " It Came Upon The Midnight Clear, "
"Jesus, Lover Of My Soul," "Just As I Am,"
"Lead Kindly Light," "Like Noah's Weary
Dove," "My Faith Looks Up To Thee," " O
Worship The King, " " Saviour Again, " " Soft-
ly Now The Light," "Sun Of My Soul,"
"Through The Day," " T h y Will Be Done,"
" Watchman ! Tell Us Of The Night," a splen-
did series of sacred melodies; "Still As The
Night," a fine song, by Carl Bohm ; "Upon
The Shore Of That Bright Land," a noble sacred
song. Piano: " Amitie Waltzes," "Invitation
To The Dance," " T h e Market Maid," all of
first-class quality.
William A. Pond & Co., New York. Voice :
" Think Of The Loved Ones At Home," writ-
ten and composed by Otto M. Heinzman, and
dedicated to Arthur E. Thomas, full of melodic
beauty ; " Kelly's Masquerade B?.ll " and " Gil-
hooley You're A Terror," are two rollicking
comic songs by the same author that are very
popular.
Thos. Goggan & Bro., Galveston, Texas.
Piano : " On The Wings Of Wind Waltzes, " by
G. Capitani, and " Roses And Thorns Gavotte,"
by A. Viderique, two delightful selections of
"Mexican Gems," revised and arranged by
Theo. H. Northrup. This Mexican music is
characterized by great depth of feeling and vivid
expression.
D. F. Dunbar, the well-known traveling re-
presentative of the Estey Piano Co., was a caller
at our office this week. His next trip will em-
brace New York State and Pennsylvania, and
the Estey people may look forward to many
orders from the towns visited by their able re-
presentative.
MR. GEO. FEANTZ, piano maker, of West
Hoboken, N. J., committed suicide recently by
shooting himself in the head. Insanity was
the cause.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
AND
THE NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY,
JJJK PRIVATE letter, dated Chicago, Septem-
®h ber 3d, says : "The New England Con-
servatory is coming here to start a school for
tuning. . . . Mr. Tourjee, Jr., called on
me and got points on the N. A. of P. T. He
wants me to take the principalship of the tuning
department, and run it in conjunction with the
Association." As a bit of news, this is choice.
It is also a '' straw '' that shows that the As-
sociation has been heard of, and an admission
that it is likely to become a power in the musical
world.
While the writer of the above extract no doubt
feels himself highly honored by Mr. Tourjee's
offer, I am inclined to hazard the opinion that
the chair of the principal in this to-be temple or
college of tuning will be vacant for many moons
before it is occupied by any member of the N. A.
of P. T.
The Association has started out with high
aims and an ambition to become a power in the
land for good. It proposes to include in its
membership those, and those only, who are tun-
ers. It proposes to force a dividing line between
those who arc tuners, and those who pretend,
to be, but are not. It is not the mission of the
Association to go out into the highways and in-
vite people to learn the art of tuning. Neither
does it stand in the way of any one learning in
a proper way, and when they become competent
to meet all the requirements of the Association,
its doors are open to them. We do not ques-
tion Mr. Tourjee's right to attach to the New
England Conservatory of Music a '' department
for the propagation of wire-pullers,'' but the As-
sociation cannot endorse his scheme, because
the art of tuning and the many etceteras that
go to make up the requirements of a first-class
tuner, can no more be learned in a school than a
man can learn to swim in a bath-tub. The As-
sociation doubts if there ever was a graduate
from the New England Conservatory, or any
other similar institution, that was fitted to be
trusted as a tuner. It also doubts if one of
them could come fresh from the school and pass
the examination required by the N. A. of P. T.,
even if it were four times as easy as it is. The
factory and repair shop is the only school that
turns out good workmen, and the only one that
ever will. It was your writer's fortune to run
against a specimen of this school-graduate tuner's
work but a few weeks ago. The piano, a square
grand, had just been brought from Massachusetts
to a town in New Jersey. It was in a fearful
condition, and, upon examination, I found over
a dozen cork wedges driven betweenth e strings,
completely damping two, thus leaving it a
unichord instead of a trichord. Investigation
for the reason of this unique treatment disclosed
the fact that many of the tuning pins were too
loose to stand any strain, so instead of wedging
or using larger pins, he resorted to the cork
treatment. The old lady who owned the piano
remarked with unmistakable pride: "The last
time that piano was tuned, it was tuned in Mas-
sachusetts, and done by a Massachusetts tuner.''
I intimated that if that style of work was peculiar
to Massachusetts, I hoped it would remain there,
as it was entirely out of place in New Jersey.
There was anger in her voice now, as she re-
torted, " he was a first-class man, sir ; a gradu-
ate from a Boston school of tuning, which I
think is more than can be said of many Jersey
tuners." Who could combat such a conclusive
argument? I didn't try. A few years ago
'' telegraph colleges '' were in full blast all over
the country ; now, but few exist. They were
without exception absolutely fraudulent. They
were so necessarily, for, beyond the simplest ru-
diments, nothing was taught, and even that
much often taught erroneously. The '' gradu-
ate " invariably found that instead of having
mastered the art, he had been made a fool of,
and usually secured the privilege of practicing
in some country office for a year or so, or gave
up the whole thing in disgust.
The first-class telegrapher almost invariably
begins in the office as messenger and works his
way up by actual practice. So, too, it is with
1
' commercial colleges.'' The merchant who
wants a first-class book-keeper does not send to
the college for a graduate. He has no time to
spend in instructing him how to keep a set of
books. The only experts are those brought up
on actual practice and not on theory. I believe
the same rule to hold good in tuning. There
are a thousand and one things that the tuner
must be familiar with or he is not a tuner. He
must have actual practice on pianos of different
makes and in all stages of debility. He must
be able to know exactly what to do in all cases
without resorting to guess-work experiments.
To master all the details of the business in a
school is simply impossible. To attempt it is
an absurdity ; and to accept money for tuition
whereby anything near competency is promised
is little short of false pretence. As an institu-
tion of musical learning, the New England Con-
servatory ranks high, and the elder Tourgee has
earned well-merited fame. If his son will limit
himself to teaching or causing to be taught, in
conjunction with the regular musical course, the
principles of temperament, thirds, fourths, fifths
and sixths, and their relation to each other, so
that people can tell when their pianos are pro-
perly tuned, the Association will not only endorse
him but do all in their power to assist him, for
its members had far rather do work for people
who know good work from bad than for those
whose complete ignorance leads them to find
fault or be as well satisfied with poor work as
with good. This it is possible to do without
much difficulty, but to teach people how to do
it is another thing. A man may be a critic on
painting, and yet not be able to paint a picture
that would do credit to a Bowery dime museum.
Farther than this the Association cannot afford
to be in conjunction with the tuning school, for
the simple reason that there is but one way in
which the art can possibly be acquired, which
we have already mentioned.
Mr. Tourjee, Jr., says his tuning department
is the best paying of any in the Conservatory.
This would seem to indicate that money is the
mainspring, of his scheme. The Association
admits none to membership who have not had
at least four years' experience, for the reason
that it is considered impossible to become an
expert in less time, even under the most favor-
able conditions. By the time young men have
paid for four years' tuition and spent all this
time in constant application and practice, which
they must do, we predict they will feel that
their time and money might have been put to a
far better use.
We don't know how rapidly Mr. Tourjee pro-
poses to turn out " graduates," but if, with all
the facilities of the factory and repair shop, it
takes four to five years to become proficient, we
are naturally curious to know how long it will
take when facilities are necessarily meagre. No,
gentlemen, the N. A. of P. T. cannot, and will
not, endorse your tuning school. To do so
would be to give the lie to all its pretentious
and promises, by lending its aid to increase the
already great army of incompetents. There is
i55
no feeling of jealousy in this. We oppose you
because we believe you are wrong, because you
attempt the impossible. When, however, you
can bring one of your "graduates" to our
examining board who can pass the same exam-
ination that other members have, then we will
admit we were mistaken—not before.
CUSTOM HOUSE, BOSTON, MASS.,
)
Collector's Office, Sept. 17, 1892. }
Exportation of Musical Instruments from the
Port of Boston, Month ending Aug. 31st, 1892.
To Netherlands :
Two (2) organs
-
-
-
-
To Turkey in Europe
One (1) organ
- - - - -
To England :
One hundred and eighty-one
(I8I) organs
-
-
$9,813
One (1) piano
. . .
225
All other and parts of
-
- 3
$100
$75
$13,509
To Nova Scotia:
Four (4) organs
Eight (8) pianos
All other and parts of
-
- $280
1.725
220
:
$2,225
To British East Indies :
One (1) organ
One (1) piano
All other and parts of
$75
242
222
-
$539
$16,448
Total
Importations of Musical Instruments into the
Port of Boston, Month of August, 1892.
Countries :
Germany
-
-
Switzerland
. .
England
-
-
-
.
-
-
$7,185
5,390
-
177
-$12,752
U/«?ll U/ortl? S e e i t ^ .
of the best stage delineators of the ludi-
^5
crous side of English character that has
visited America recently is Mr. Charles Blake
Cochran, who is now in this city as a competitor
for American renown. Mr. Cochran is a humor-
ous vocalist of the funniest and most able order.
He has a choice repertoire of racy comic songs,
and his imitations of the London cabman, coster-
monger and other grotesque and outlandish
types of English eccentric character are true to
nature and irresistibly laughable. His power
of imitative facial expression is wonderful, he
gives the English dialect '' patter '' to perfec-
tion, and altogether his characterizations are
inimitable. Mr. Cochran has delighted large
and fashionable audiences at St. James' Hall,
London, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and in
the principal cities throughout England, Ireland
and Scotland, and has won the most favorable
encomiums from the'press of those countries.
T|QNE
MR. WALES, late with W. J. Dyer & Bro., St.
Paul, Minn., has been engaged to take charge
of the tuning department of Messrs. Kops Bros,
music store in Fargo, N. D. He will divide his
time between Fargo and Grand Forks.

Download Page 6: PDF File | Image

Download Page 7 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.