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VOL. XX.
No. 21.
Published Every Saturday at 3 East Fourteenth Street.
In The West. F
STROKES AND DASHES HERE AND THERE
THE
STEINWAY OPENING THE INDICATOR-COU-
RIER COMBINE—GOOD TRADK PAPERS IN
CHICAGO
STRONG CLAIMS
WEBER'S
SILVER MINE J. V. STEGER IN THE
EAST SHINDLER IN THE NORTH.
POPULARITY OF THE HAMILTON
ORGAN
R. W. CROSS THE
ELLINGTON
CATALOGUE.
HARRY RAYMORE HUS-
TLING—POPULARITY
OF THE COMSTOCK-
CHENEY ACTION.
.
•
HE dying 1 echoes of the big opening of
Stein way Hall are still reverberating.
I cut this from the Chicago Musical Times.
I think it's pretty good: "Talk about
your great openings," said Still Harcourt,
the other day, "you wait until we get in
our new consignment of Poole & Stuart
pianos, and we'll show you an opening that
is worth talking about. It will occur right
back in the alley, where we open all of our
piano boxes. It will be a great event, and
we want you all to come."
I have just gotten news of the combine
between the Musical Courier and the In-
dicator. I understand that Mr. Hall will
work for both papers, and have his head-
quarters in the Indicator office. Of course,
it is mighty hard to tell just what the out-
come of this will be, but we all know it was
not many moons ago that Mr. Fox was cut-
ting and slashing the Courier at a tremen-
dous pace in the columns of the Indicator—
in fact, Blamenberg was the most talked
about man in the whole paper, and now
they are united and will get together under
one roof. I question whether it will be a
go for a long time or not. I think there
will be a big absorption; still, I suppose
folks know how to run their own affairs
without any suggestions from me, there-
fore I will quit making any predictions or
suggestions; but I want to say right here,
that we are getting some mighty nice
papers in Chicago. Take the Indicator,
the Presto and Musical Times. The In-
dicator claims "a larger circulation in forty
States," and the Musical Times claims to
be "the recognized leader in the West."
Presto's claims are modest.
That was a mighty good story that Mr.
T
New York, May 25, 1895.
Abbott had on young Weber and his silver
mine. Even Platt Gibbs smiled over that,
and you know it takes a good deal to make
Platt smile.
I suppose J. V. Steger will have reached
New York about the time this communica-
tion strikes. Mr. Steger is going to put in
some nice work in the East, and that you
can bank on. He is a hustler of the first
degree.
The papers here seemed particularly in-
terested in what John E. Hall was going to
do, and now he is nestled right down in
Steinway Hall—Lucky John.
1 understand Alfred Shindler is putting
in pretty good touches through the North-
west for the Hardman interests—in fact, he
is liable to celebrate the Fourth of July in
Winnipeg, where he will need a buffalo
overcoat in all probability.
I want to tell you, I hear the traveling
men talk a great deal about the Hamilton
organ.
I have been in to The Wellington
on several occasions when organs formed a
live topic of conversation, and the Hamil-
ton seemed to take a pretty prominent
place in the talk.
The most unique catalogue that I have
seen for a long time is that issued by the
Ellington Piano Co., of Cincinnati.
Talk
about originality, it's right in that little
booklet, and if it hasn't the ear-marks of
Geo. Armstrong right straight through it
from cover to cover, then I'll treat—that is
if I find a lot of cold water fiends like Omie
Houghton together.
R. W. Cross is now housed with the
Shoninger Co., where he is ready to show
the famous old Shoninger pianos off to the
best possible advantage.
The Wissner warerooms, nearly opposite
Steinway Hall, seem to be getting in shape.
Harry Raymore has been flitting in and
out of Chicago very frequently since last
Spring, and mind you, just keep your eye
on Harry Raymore, for very likely he'll
have a good sized deal under way here
mighty soon. Harry says nothing, but he's
keeping the boys guessing, just the same.
I understand that a new company has
been organized for the manufacture of
pianos at Oregon, 111. It is entitled the
National Piano Co., and is backed by the
Citizens' National Bank, of Des Moines.
John S. Taylor will act as manager.
Clayton F. Summy has not announced
what pianos he will handle in connection
$3.00 PER YEAR-
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
with the Chickering. I understood that
the Braumuller is sure to be one of them.
C. G. Cheney has been out here on a busi-
ness trip, and I understand he has closed
an exceedingly nice business. The Com-
stock-Chcney action is very popular
throughout the West. I have seen it in
numerous pianos where I know that it had
encountered mighty hard usage, and for
years, too; but it stood like a rock. I tried
another piano, a new make, with that ac-
tion in the other day, and I tell you, it was
as easy and responsive as—well, as I could
wish.
There will probably be nearly fifteen
hundred Conover pianos manufactured this
year. It doesn't look like dull times for C.
C. O. C , docs it?
Soon the new home of the Hallet & Davis
piano in Chicago will be opened for inspec-
tion. It would seem that this was an excel-
lent move for the upholding of the position
of this piano in the West. The officers of
the company are: President, George Cook;
Vice-President, Carlos H. Blackman; Sec-
retary, H. J. Strong; Treasurer, R. K. May-
nard. Directors—George Cook, Carlos H.
Blackburn, R. K. Maynard, H. D. French,
I. N. Rice, Frank R. Spear and Wm. H.
Aldrich.
The Sterling people from Derby, Conn.,
were in town in force lately.
Small dinner parties seem to have been
quite the thing of late.
The Times-Herald of last Saturday con-
tained the following opinions regarding the
business outlook: Edwin S. Conway, secre-
tary W. W. Kim ball Co., says: "The piano
trade is better and the prospects are for a
marked improvement. Most all the fac-
tories in Chicago are running. Our goods,
of course, may be called luxuries, and our
business is naturally slow to respond to the
general improvement. It is hard to say
just what are the causes for the revival.
The free silver agitation has had something
to do with the long continued dullness.
Confidence is being restored, and we may
look for better times."
E. A. Potter, of Lyon, Potter & Co.,
says: "Most of the piano factories that
were closed in 1894 are now running. Sales
are increasing, and I look for further im-
provement during the summer and fall.
The silver agitation and uncertainty,
which seems to me to have been largely
Continued on page 7.