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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
THE TUNERS AND
MR, THACHER,
A NEW 3AND FOLIO,
Band Folio, the invention of W. H.
§ NEW
Ayres, of Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., is
shown in the illustration from the Scientific
American, which is given here.
The Folio dispenses with gum, the music
being held by metallic bindings.
The covers are adapted to be folded back to
back, and any desired number of sheets may be
quickly and strongly fastened in place.
The covers are of board, having at their meet-
ing ends strips of metallic binding, each strip
being doubled over the edge of the board, while
near opposite ends are eyes formed of wires,
held in the loops of the strips. These eyes
engage split rings, which serve as hinges for
the covers; also serving as means of attach-
ment for the sheets of music. The sheets are
held at their ends between metallic strips, one
of which has prods struck up from the body of
the metal, to be passed through the sheets and
through slots in the opposite strip. The prod-
ded slip holds in place a wire forming eyes
adapted to engage the rings, as shown in the
sectional view, Fig. 2, any number of the bind-
ing strips holding sheets of music being placed
between the covers until the rings are full.
the recent convention of tuners in Chi-
cago, Mr. John Fea gave the following
account of visits paid to Mr. Thacher in connec-
tion with the appointment of one of their body
as judge of musical instrument awards :
1
' As you well know, I was delegated to appear
before Mr. Thacher, and -present our claims for
a juror or judge on pianos, from this Associa-
tion, that is, a representative from this Associa-
tion on that jury. At that time it was under-
stood that there would be a jury. I presented
our claim in type-written form, what I consid-
ered to be a fair argument on behalf of the
tuners. Mr. Thacher read it over very carefully,
and seemed to be pleased with it. He then dic-
tated a notice which he said I could have pub-
lished in the trade journals, to the effect that
he would be glad if the manufacturers, the
musical artists, and the National Association
of Piano Tuners would present the names of
one or more men whom they considered to be
qualified to judge of the piano or musical ex-
hibit, and then—and here is where the trouble
comes in between Mr. Thacher and myself, he
stated that each man was to pass upon the
pianos individually, not in concert with each
other, and each to present his report to the
committee in that department. At the same
time he drew on a piece of paper on his desk, a
plan, by which these judges would make report.
Remember, it was distinctly represented to me
that these three were not to act in concert at all.
I telegraphed that statement to the Musical
Courier. They printed it. A copy was sent to
Mr. Thacher. A short time after that I called
at his office, in Albany, and he was absent in
Chicago, but his stenographer took my card,
and informed me that he was expected home on
the following Saturday. I took the 1 o'clock
train out of Albany that day, and he arrived on
the 1 o'clock train from the West, and as soon
as he got to his office he telegraphed me to come
to Albany the following week, at any hour on
Tuesday that I would name. I telegraphed him
that I would appear there at 10 o'clock Tues-
day morning. He was all ready to meet me,
and the first thing when I entered he picked up
this clipping from the Musical Courier, and he
also had some letters that had been sent from
Chicago to New York, and he spread them out,
and said :
Thacher and myself was on that point, that the
three were not to act in concert, but each to
submit his report individually to a board com-
posed of all the judges in the Manufacturers'
and Liberal Arts Building, which he represented
to me would be about forty judges.
At the time he dictated the notice, he took a
piece of paper and drew up a plan, and I fol-
lowed him on a card, and I have that card in my
possession now. He drew a large oblong, re-
presenting a table, and he said : '' There will be
the President and Secretary elected from that
board, and now," and he drew three square
forms at one end of the table, and said : " now,
here will be your three men ; your manufact-
urer, your musical artist, and your piano tuner."
J\)
f
HE Chicago correspondent of the Times is
responsible for the following. It appear-
ed in the issue of August 24th :
1
' Another warfare is on among the piano
manufacturers exhibiting at the Fair, and sen-
sational charges are being made.
'' Several firms have attempted to draw out of
the competition. Only one has succeeded, the
J. & C. Fischer Company, of New York, the re-
presentative of which, C. S. Howard, makes
statements that he would be forced to support
with proof, did he not fail to designate any per-
sons.
" A t a meeting of the National Commission
last Saturday there was a big fight over the
confirmation of the piano jurors. After a lot of
wrangling George Steck, of New York, D. S.
Clark, of Pennsylvania, D. D. Florence Zieg-
field and E. D. Carpenter, of Chicago, were
confirmed.
" George Kunkel, of Missouri, was nominated
by Chairman Thacher of the Awards Committee,
upon the recommendation of Hale V. Parker,
Commissioner at Large from Missouri. His
name was objected to, the controversy bringing
out an assertion that he had written a testi-
monial in favor of a Chicago piano house which
had an exhibit in the Liberal Arts building.
Mr. Kunkel himself caused the withdrawal of
his name and the other nominees were con-
firmed.
"The piano exhibitors did not appear to be
satisfied, and the following firms addressed an
application to Chairman Thacher asking to be
declared out of the competition, after posting
placards over their pavilions, "For exhibition
only " : Vose & Son, Boston ; Shaw Piano Co.,
Erie, Pa. ; A. B. Chase & Co., Norwalk, Ohio ;
" Mr. Fea, you are off the track entirely ; you J. & C. Fischer Company, New York.
1
are entirely off. That is all right, but my plan
' Chase & Co. and other exhibitors were noti-
is to have an individual judge on that exhibit. fied that they could not at this time withdraw
Now, if I take this plan, as laid out here, it will their exhibits from competition for awards.
knock my plans all endways."
Fischer & Co. were more successful in their
" W h y , " I said to him, "Mr. Thacher, you efforts to get out because of some technicality
On one of the covers, near its outer end, is a
metal strip carrying a keeper with an elastic dictated this card to me, did you not ?''
operating in their behalf. The other firms were
" Yes, " he said.
band, which may be adjusted to fit over the
notified, however, that they could not be com-
ends of the sheets and not obscure the music.
'' Well,'' I said, '' you did it very carefully pelled to submit to an examination of their in-
Beside holding the sheets so that they will not and deliberately ?''
struments, so that practically they are not com-
be blown about by the wind, the band admits
•' Yes,'' he said, '' but the manufacturers have petitors.
of placing the music rack behind the sheet in not named a candidate; the musical artists
C. S. Howard, representative of the New
use so that the rack will not hide any of the have not named a candidate, for which I am York firm at Jackson Park, declares that some-
notes.
very sorry. You people have named your can- thing is radically wrong with the National
In binding, two sheets are bound back to didate, but what is the matter with the manu- Commission as well as with the jurors.
back, forming one leaf. The leaves may be in- facturers ? What is the matter with the musi-
'' ' We are satisfied we could not get fair treat-
serted in, or removed from, the Folio at any cal artists ?' '„
ment or we should not have withdrawn, said
place desired, as each leaf and cover is attached
Well, of course I did not know what was the he. While all this fixing has been going on
independently of the rest.
matter with them. (Laughter) He said that we have not been asleep.
The rings are split in such a manner that his idea was, that if I had that notice published
'' ' We employed a man who discovered that
they are very easily attached. By the use of in the music trade papers, the manufacturers one firm had expended $5,000 to secure favorable
this Folio, bandmasters will be able to pick out would jump right in and name their candidate, results in the competition.
just the pieces they want for a certain engage- and the musical artists would do the same, and
'' ' We also discovered enough to warrant us in
ment and place them in the Folio in a few then he could select from those names his indi- the conclusion that $10,000 would swing the
vidual judge.
The difficulty between Mr. result our way.' "
seconds.