Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
The interests of Dolge felt—blue and otherwise
—are not languishing in his hands. Well, if
we lose Leonard we can console ourselves with
the thought that we still have Fink and CavalU.
• *
*
*
I had the pleasure of lunching the other day
with Charles H. MacDonald and John D. Pease.
It was in very truth a Peaseful lunch. One
would think from the liberality of Mr. Mac-
Donald's orders that we New Yorkers just came
out to Chicago to sample edibles. That was a
clever stroke, the establishment of the Western
branch of the Pease concern, one which has re-
sulted in the steady augmentation of the Pease
interests in the West.
Said one of the best known men in the Chicago
trade to me Tuesday, '' Does your tarry in
Chicago mean that one of your papers, The Key-
note, will be published in Chicago ? " My reply
was, " No. Why should I contemplate any such
move? I believe in a concentration of forces at
a given point. T H E MUSIC TRADE REVIEW is
rated as one of the successful trade publications
of this country. The Keynote occupies an entire-
ly distinct field. It does not cater to the classes
but to the masses. I have not asked the piano
trade to support me in that enterprise, but I
have endeavored to create a property which
should appeal to the many interests which were
desirous of reaching the homes. The Keynote
I believe has a wonderful future, and no man
lives who can say that I have asked him to
assist me by patronage to strengthen it. I have
pursued an independent policy, believing that
when I had demonstrated that The Keynote was
a valuable advertising medium, that the piano
trade in common with other trades would utilize
it as a vehicle to reach the people." Create a
good thing and men know it.
* *
The following was related to me by a gentle-
man from Arkansas :
Senator Jones, of Arkansas, is called the
nightingale of the Senate. Out in his State he
is a member of a church choir, and his bass solos
are the features of the church services. He en-
joys quite a reputation, too, as an amateur actor,
and has taken part in many comic operas in his
town. Mills has a rich baritone voice, Harris a
tenor voice, while Vest is a good singer al-
though his voice is weak. During the prepar-
ation of the tariff bill this quartet used to give
concerts in the committee room. They call
themselves the " Tarift Reform Quartet."
That may be all right, but why not settle the
tariff dispute and give the rest of us a chance to
sing a few praises.
A New Music Index.
[R. F. G. W. COLEMAN, of London, Eng.,
has patented a new music index of which
the following is a description : The music index
is in the form of a tab of any untearable ma-
terial, to be affixed to separate pieces of music
to form an index. The tabs will be ready
gummed and printed with the title of the piece,
and can either be stuck on each piece of
music in the same place, so that when a number
of pieces are placed one on top of the other the
tabs can be affixed to each piece in a different
position, so that the name of the piece can be
seen at a glance. This will, I believe, obviate
the great loss of time, trouble and wear and tear
which at present occurs in separating any par-
ticular piece of music from a pile of other music.
MR. N. M. CROSBY, representing the different
interests of which F. G. Smith is the commander
and chief, is in the West.
ii
Our Musical Instruments in
Mexico.
In the April number of The Americati Ex-
porter an article appeared bearing on the exports
of musical instruments to Mexico, which has
been further elaborated by Warner P. Sutton, of
Washington, D. C, in the current issue. He
says: We have already displaced in Mexico
more than half the German pianos. One house,
which in 1892 made a systematic effort, built up
within a year a large and profitable trade in one
kind or make of our pianos. As I had some-
what to do as counsel in securing this increase,
I watched the individual result with care. It
was an American-German house, but on con-
sideration they decided to push the sales of the
American pianos, and made good connections in
New York for prices, freights, packing and
credits. They cleared net over $8,000 on this
transaction within 15 months, and now have an
established business worth at least ten thousand
a year net to them, and as much more to the
United States house. This is a suggestion to
other houses, and also to our exporters in other
lines than pianos.
The particular point to which I desire to call
your attention is the remarkable falling off in
our exports of pianos in 1894. While the house
I speak of has held its own, and has even gained
some 10 per cent, in 1894, our total exports have
fallen off remarkably. In the eight months
ending February 28, 1893, we exported piano-
fortes valued at $635,985. In the succeeding
eight months ending February 28, 1894, the
value only reached $118,714. This is a phe-
nomenal loss, and one which deserves the care-
ful consideration of our piano manufacturers. It
is a case where each principal house should be-
stir itself to make some close arrangement with
one or more good houses in each country to the
South, so as to build up and maintain a secure
outlet for their surplus stock, and eventually to
make a particular grade adapted to the needs of
the market in such countries. This can be done ;
all that is required is prompt and intelligent
action.
Our goods are well liked ; they are better,
stand the climate fully as well, and can be put
there to compete at profitable rates. Germany
is making special efforts to increase her exports,
and it behooves those in the United States who
are interested to take equal measures to win a
growing market.
Recent English Patents,
AMERICAN ORGANS.—6,404 (1893). C. H.
Wagener, London. Describes an American or
reed organ having a sub-bass or other stop, con-
sisting of a series of reeds independent of the
usual reeds, and arranged to be sounded by means
of independent keys placed in front of the ordin-
ary key-board so that any of such keys can be
operated in connection with or independently of
the keys of the other reeds.
UPRIGHT
PIANOFORTES.—7,267 (1893).
J.
Herrburger, Paris. At the bottom of the sticker
is placed a screw, on the head of which the end
of the key acts. By adjusting the screw the
force of the blow can be regulated.
SUSTAINING ACTION FOR PIANOFORTES.—7,178
(1893). W. Simkins and G. Ajello, London.
By the attachment described the hammer is
caused to continue striking the string in a rapid
manner from the check position so long as the
key is depressed. The attachment, which can
be applied to most existing instruments, com-
prises a reciprocating bar, adjustable so as to be
brought into or thrown out of the path of pro-
jection on the hammer butts. The bar is reci-
procated by a pedal or a suitable motor.
ORGANS AND WIND
INSTRUMENTS.—3,602
(1893). W. Alexander, Birkenhead. The object
is to reduce the labor and power required to
operate an organ, and to facilitate the formation
of combinations of the register. The arrange-
ment is adapted more particularly to electro-
pneumatic organs. Its main feature appears to
be a method of forming and attaching the keys
by which they have their fulcrums at one end,
and the pneumatic or mechanical attachments
or electrical contacts near the other end, springs
being employed to cause them to return to their
normal positions after being depressed. The
keys are so mounted that they may be lifted up
from the front to admit of examination of the
mechanism.
TURNING OVER MUSIC LEAVES.—23,839 (1893.)
Profits from Song Writing in
France.
rStNE of the French papers has been making
GJT inquiries on the subject of the profits de-
rived from the sale of popular comic songs. It
hardly pays, it seems, to publish songs that
only have a moderate success at the music halls,
as up to i, 000 copies or more the sale barely
pays for the cost of printing and paper. After
that figure is reached, however, the profits are
large. There are two sorts of copies—those
which have only the words and the notes of the
air, and those which give besides the pianoforte
accompaniment. Comparatively few of the
latter are sold. " E n revenant de la Revue,"
commonly called the Boulanger March, brought
its happy composer alone 5o,ooof. from the sale
of copies. The author of the verses is believed
to have received much more than this. Never-
theless, the business of song writing is not a
very lucrative one, for successes such as that
are rare. Even the best-known men, such as
M. Delormel, M. Petit and M. Garnler are be-
lieved to earn less than $1,500 a year on an
average.
W. Coates, Wellington, New Zealand. Consists
of an attachment for a piano which may be
operated by levers worked by the knees of the
operator. The levers operate arms, which oper-
ate in turn a segment and arms.
United States Patents.
Piano Action, No. 517,951, F. W. Kringel.
Child's Piano, No. 518,200, G. Schormig.
Piano Pedal Locking Device, No. 518,163, G.
B. Shearer.
One of the Host Readable flusical Maga-
zines Published.
for May, published by Ed-
§ HE ward KEYNOTE
Lyman Bill, New York, is one of the
most readable musical magazines published. It
contains also a number of pieces of music for
piano and the voice.—The Times, Boston, May
13th.
A NEW brass band is to be organized at Mil-
ford, Del.