Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
Made in Prison.
A Violin with a History Connected with
the Late War.
m£ VIOLIN with a somewhat remarkable his-
© ^ tory is owned by Mr. William Bradbury
Ryan, of Washington city. The instrument
was repaired by him while he was confined as a
prisoner, during the Rebellion, at Richmond,
Va., October, i86r, in what was called Tobacco
Factory, No. 2.
The prisoners at this time were captured at
the first battle of Bull Run, and Mr. Ryan was
among the number, he being a member of the
band of the Second Regiment of Rhode Island.
During their confinement the prisoners grew
restless under the monotony of their daily exist-
ence, and, to vary the tediousness, a dramatic
association was formed, with the consent of the
officers in charge, and vocal music formed part
of the programme.
The officer of the day was much interested in
the scheme, and thought some instrumental
music would add to its success, so one day he
brought into the prison the back, neck and sides
of a violin, saying to Mr. Ryan perhaps it could
be fixed. Said Mr. Ryan :
" I have no tools, nothing to work with."
'' Well,'' replied the officer, " there is nothing
but what you Yanks can do."
Wood was taken from an old door, and, with
a jackknife for his only tool, he began violin-
making.
After much labor the instrument was pro-
duced, and the corporal of the guard was so in-
terested in the matter that he obtained some
glue, a bow and strings.
Knowing Mr. Ryan to be a violinist, the
"boys " couldn't wait till it was tuned before
they were on the floor ready for a dance, and
that violin did duty such as no other instrument
ever did before.
The officers and prisoners were enthusiastic,
and the fiddle was in constant demand. The
prisoners were transferred to Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
and Salisbury, N. C ; the violin went also, and
on many occasions this famous instrument made
happy the hours that would otherwise have been
gloomy for the boys of '61.
After his release from imprisonment Mr. Ryan
always kept the violin with him, and at one
time when on a long march, out of money, out
of clothing, short of rations and in need of even
the necessaries of existence, he was offered $25
for the queer fiddle. It was a great temptation,
but Mr. Ryan hugged the instrument a little
closer and trudged along, refusing the money.
"The Hi
Type."
RUSSELL
(Successors to STARK & STRACK.)
PIANOS
MANUFACTURED BY
Hos. 171 and 173 South Canal Street,
CHICAGO.
THE
Sterling Company,
Ohio laws governing sales on install-
ment are very strict and, from a piano
dealer's standpoint, not altogether reasonable
and just. The provisions of the Ohio conditional
sales law which in some other states, Indiana for
example, acts the same as a chattel mortgage,
bear heavily upon the dealer. The Ohio statute
provides that when it is sought to retake property
which has been conditionally sold, the title to
remain in the seller until fully paid, the seller
cannot retake until he has paid back the money
he has received, except so much as will be a
reasonable compensation for the article sold.
And this sum can in no case be more than one-
half the amount paid, unless the property has
been broken or otherwise damaged, in which
case a reasonable amount of damages may be
deducted. The statute provides, further, that
this requirement cannot be waived even by the
purchaser—a very rigid provision, based, pre-
sumably, upon some reason of public policy not
readily discernible to the piano dealer.
It may easily be seen that the law referred to
renders it more difficult to do business with per-
fect security in Ohio than in some other states ;
but the same laws are calculated to make the
seller more cautious as to the character and
ability of his customers to pay for what they
buy. Another feature of the installment law, as
it operates in Ohio, is shown in the verdict
recently rendered by a 'Squire Goss, of Cincin-
nati. A piano dealer had sued a second-hand
furniture dealer for $250 damages for holding an
Instrument on which the piano man held con-
ditional sales paper signed by a customer who,
after buying, had resold the article to the furni-
ture dealer. The piano dealer held a mortgage,
on the installment plan, " until the instrument
is fully paid for,'' but for some unaccountable
reason the mortgage had not been filed. On
July 30 the same instrument was brought to the
second-hand store and sold. When the dealer
from whom it had been purchased learned of this
fact he brought suit, as already stated, fixing
damages at the sum still due on the piano.
After the trial, however, the jury rendered a
verdict in favor of the second-hand dealer, on
the ground that in Ohio a chattel mortgage to
be valid must be properly filed.—Presto.
Still Waiting.
IT is very evident that John Boyd Thacher is
not in a hurry to distribute the Columbian Ex-
position awards to the successful exhibitors.
These diplomas and medals were promised, we
believe, on the first of August; that is now
over ten weeks ago, and in the meantime Mr.
Thacher has not signified a willingness to en-
lighten us any further on the subject. Mr.
Thacher is evidently not disposed to over exert
himself in this affair, and we are not surprised
to learn that the disgusted exhibitors are asking
him " to do something.''
Doing Well.
MANUFACTURERS OF
A Severe Verdict.
i5
Pianos and Organs,
• " _ .
W E were shown a photograph of the interior
of the store of Dennis & Deterling, of Muncie,
taken at their grand opening the other day. It
is one of the finest music houses in Indiana.
Both of these gentlemen were formerly of this
city, having been employed at the Starr Piano
Works and their friends will be pleased to hear
of their doing well in their new business.—Rich-
mond (Ind.), Register.
" Common and Proper."
1
FACTORY:
' What part of speech is kiss ? '' asked the
high school teacher.
" A conjunction," replied one of the smart
It is admitted by all that no piano ever put upon the girls.
market has met with such success as THE STERLING
"Wrong," said the teacher, severely ; " next
and thousands will testify to their superiority of work- girl."
manship and durability. Why ? Because they are made
" A noun," put in a demure maiden.
"What kind of a noun ? " continued the pre-
just as perfect as a piano can be made.
ceptress.
THE STERLING ORGAH has always taken the lead, and
1
' Well—er—it is both common and proper,''
the improvements made this year puts it far ahead ol
answered the shy girl, and she was promoted to
all others. |Bf~ Send for Catalogue.
the head of her class.
DERBY, CONN.
Hallet £ Davis Pianos
GRAND, SQUARE AND UPRIGHT.
Indorsed by Liszt, Gottschalk, Wehli, Bendel, Straus, Soro, Abt,
Paulus, Titiens, Heilbron and Germany's Greatest Masters.
Established over Half a Century.
BOSTON, MASS.