Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
At the
Capital.
Washington Notes.
A.NY changes are in order at the Bradbury
piano warerooms in this city. Mr. W.
P. Van Wickle is rehabilitating the entire build-
ing. New elevatois, new inferior decorations
and many changes will be made in the establish-
mett. From indications there will be a good
spring trade in th s city. Taken on the whole,
most of the dealers here were well satisfied with
their holiday business.
Plans for the new building to be erected by
Edw. F. Droop & Sons are finished, and the
erection will begin early in March. They are at
present looking for temporary quarters, in which
to move, while the work of tearing down and
rebuilding on the old site is bung effected. The
new building when finished piotuises to be one
of the handsomest and best appointed structures
in the country.
The emplo3es of Sanders & Stayman last
week presented to their marager, Mr. Charles
G. Woodward, a handsome solid mahogany
office chair as a mark of their appieciation and
esteem. Mr. Woodward has always, by his
personal thoughtful demeanor, endeared himself
to all with whom he has come in contact, and
has many friends in musical circles as well, his
talent as an organist long ago having won for
him much recognition.
The German
Piano Tax.
t
MONGST the many foolish suggestions
which are from time to time made to the
British Chancellor eff the Exchequer when that
harassed individual has to face a deficit, is a tax
on pianos. The thing has been tried in one or
two continental countries, but always without
success. A year or so ago we gave an account
of an attempt to force a pianoforte tax into
France. The French manufacturers—backed,
let us freely add, very strongly by their work-
men—at once protested against the proposed
imposition, and the Government were compelled
to give way. It, however, seems that in various
parts of Germany the tax has recently been im-
posed, and a proposal has been made to intro-
duce it in Leipzig. This, of course, has aroused
the German pianoforte manufacturers, who,
wisely enough, some time since formed them-
selves into an association, called the German
Pianoforte Manufacturers' Society. These gen-
tlemen perceive perfectly well that the tax is one
which must seriously damage their trade. It
is not, perhaps, so much the amount of the tax
as the annoyance of it that would disgust the
people, and might, indeed, induce them to re-
linquish pianofortes altogether. Take for ex-
ample, the case of an overworked father of the
family, who already suffers a good deal of an-
noyance from the pianoforte practice of his own
daughters and those of his neighbors. The im-
position of a tax upon the instrument itself
might possibly be the last straw to give the
camel the hump. There are many other objec-
tions to the imposition, which, indeed, seems to
have been devised less from any desire to inter-
fere with the industry, or to abate the nuisance
of piano practising, than for fiscal reasons. A
tax of this sort, however, as a rule, defeats itself,
and the protest which has been formulated by
the Piano Manufacturers' Society is being signed
by many thousands of people who have
nothing whatever to do with music or the musi-
cal instrument trade. In this country such a
tax is, we should imagine, practically impossi-
ble, for it could not be imposed or collected
without the necessity of domicilary visits,
which, as an Englishman's house is still (more
or less) his castle, would certainly not be tole-
rated —Music Trades Review, London.
"The Last of The Danvers."
/SaNE Teels the force of f.uuilv trad tion in this
G3 sketch of historical import, in which the
hero finds it impossible to outlaugh his fear that
his end will come at the same time of the month
and after the same manner as that of his ances-
tors. The story that has been handed down
from one generatic n to another is that the oldest
Danvers all die upon the same day of the month.
His father, his grandfather, and his great-grand-
father, met death in duels, and the date of their
respective deaths strangely supported the tradi-
tion and kept it constantly in the hero's mind.
This Danvtrs, who happens to be the oldtst and
last of the family, plays no slight part in the
civil war, incurring risks and proving his worth
in many ways. After the war is over he resigns
his commission in the army and goes into the
far West, with the hope of breaking the fatal
cloud which has for many generations over-
shadowed the eldest of his clan, with what result
can be quickly learned in Mr. Edward Lyman
Bill's very clear and simple study of clnuin-
stances. The story, aside from this vein of
fatalism, contains many war reminiscences.—
The Boston Herald, December 13th.
Why the Key Would not Work.
story is going the rounds, says
§ CAPITAL
the Music Trades Review, of London, con
THE death of Henry Y. Simpson is announced.
Dr Simpson was formerly of the Brown & Simp-
son Piano Co., Worcester, Mass.
THE regular annual meeting of the Mc-
Cammon Piano Company was held at Oneonta,
N Y., during the week. The following gentle-
men were re-tlected to their respective offices :
President, G. B. Baird ; vice-president, R. D.
Baird ; secretary and treasurer, C. F. Shelland ;
directors, G. B. Baird, S. M. Baird, Geo. C.
Adams, C. F. Shelland, R. D. Baird.
THE Bratubach factory, Dolgeville, N. Y.,
has been fitted out with electric lights.
THE Mason & Hamlin Company received
many favorable notices from the daily press as
well as several complimentary letters from mu-
sicians on the great success scored by their new
grand piano, which was used on December 28th
and 29th in the Boston Symphony concerts,
Boston.
THE Boston warerooms of the Estey Company
will remove from their present quarters on Tre-
mont street to 180 Tremont street, which is par-
tially occupied by Bourne & Son.
FRANK CONOVER, of the Chicago Cottage
Organ
Comp my, Chicago, was in town last
cerning a complaint which was made by a lady
week.
All his old friends were delighted to see
who had purchased a grand piano, and used it
at a charitable concert in the country. In the him looking so well and hearty. Mr. Coaover
middle of her performance (for the lady, although was accompanied by his wife and daughter.
an amateur, fancied herself a good deal as an
FRANK A. INGERSOLL, who has been con-
executant) she declared that one of the keys nected with the house of John F. Stratton for
stuck, and would not strike a note. Conse- the past six years, will represent the house of
quently she wrote to the manufacturer and in- Frank A. Stratton & Co., musical instrument
sisted that he should take the instrument back. imp rters, 37 Howard strtet, on the road here-
The maker could not quite make out what was after. He starts the latter part of this month
the matter, but subsequently, at some trouble on a Spring trip, and he will be accompanied by
and expense, he sent over a qualified man to see Mr. Frank A. Stratton, the senior member of
what the bother was all about. The key was the firm.
taken out, and underneath was found a diamond
THOMAS R. DEVERELL, the noted Brooklyn
of a considerable size. The gem had, it appears,
dropped from an ornament while the lady was band master, who was mixed up in the Colum-
playing at the concert, and had somehow got bian celebration scandal, committed suicide by
under the key. Then the fun began. The turning on the gas at full force in his bedroom
maker expressed himself as wholly satisfied to at his home, 627 Fulton street, last Monday
take back the instrument as it stopd, but he night. It is thought that worry over the legal
suggested to the lady that, under the circum- proceedings threatening him caused him to com-
stances, he thought, as the diamond was a valu- mit suicide. He was sixty-seven years old.
able one, the transfer might be more profitable
A TRADE journal with a thousand subscribers
to him than she imagined. That was an end of often has a greater number of readers of the sort
the matter. The key was replaced by two fingers the advertiser wishes to appeal to than the daily
of one hand, and the lady, immensely pleased to paper circulating a hundred thousand copies.—
get back her jewel, was gracious enough to write Printers' 1 Ink.
a letter of apology. The moral is obvious :
Next time a key sticks, look underneath, and
see whether you can find diamonds. In most
Over 17,000.
cases you will not.
THE Imperial Music Company, Texarkana,
Tex., which was recently organized with a capi-
tal stock of $75,000, expect to open up their
establishment the early part of February. Fred.
A. Church, manager of the company, will come
North this week or next for the purpose of mak-
ing a selection of pianos and organs for the
house.
" •*•
#
seventeen thousand autoharps were
shipped by the C. F. Zimmermann Auto-
harp Company, Dolgeville, N. Y., to various
parts of the country during the month of De-
cember. It was, indeed, a banner month. If
orders continue to multiply as they have for the
past few months, an annex to the factory will
have to be built.
. .