Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
T
HE ways of deciding law suits in differ-
ent countries is decidedly interesting as
well as instructive, now that some of our
contemporaries have law suits on hand.
In North Siam they have the most curious
way of settling matters. Both parties are
put under cold water, and the one staying
the longest wins the suit. In the United
States we adopt a different plan. Both
parties are usually put into hot water and
kept there as long as possible. Meanwhile
they may manage things differently in
Chicago.
*
Rumors are rife in Cincinnati to the
effect that some very important changes
will occur shortly in the agencies of certain
leading makes of pianos in that city. If
the changes materialize they will create
considerable surprise among dealers
throughout the country.
A curious instance of Dupuytren's con-
traction was described in last Sunday's
World. A piano-tuner came to the hospital
with a finger on each hand bent down to
about right angles with the palms. He was
unable to straighten them. It was learned
that in his trade he had been accustomed to
strike the piano keys with a finger of his
right hand while tuning. None of the
fingers of the left hand, however, was so
used, and the contraction of one of them
must have taken place in a sort of sym-
pathy. The difficulty was removed by
cutting the tendons in the palms about an
inch below the base of the finger.
* *
*
I am in receipt of an elaborately designed
and printed invitation to attend the
Thirteenth Anniversary and Reception
tendered to Hon. C. G. Conn by his
employees, which will take place at the
Bucklen Opera House, Elkhart, Ind., on
Wednesday evening, Jan. 29th, 1896.
There will be an interesting program, con-
sisting of vocal and instrumental selections,
and the entire affair will close with an
address by Mr. E. W. Brown, which it is
expected will be responded toby Mr. Conn.
* *
It is the consensus of opinion among
prominent inventors who have extensive
dealings with the Patent Office, that the
laws regarding patents are sadly in need of
amendation. Steps will be taken to have
the present Congress introduce some
reforms that will prevent piracy, so that
the granting of a patent will not entail an have all been interested in Keely—at least
inheritance of life-long and vexatious liti- anxious to know how he is going to make
clear that "the chord of the neutral center
gation upon the grantee.
of
the polar attractive currents of the earth
*
represents the sympathetic chord of B flat,
Henry L. Mason, of Mason & Hamlin, third octave, one one-hundredth of a note
has received a letter from M. Sieveking, below the octave, according to sympathetic
pianist, whose mysterious disappearance subdivision." Just think, this unending
was recently recorded, dated from South- and immeasurable force is hiddeu in "the
ampton, to the effect that "he had a pleas- sympathetic chord of B flat."
ant voyage, and was on his way to Paris,"
* * *
closing with the compliments of the season.
This is pretty cool—French leave with a
Mr. Thomas, who designed Sir George
vengeance.
Stephens' piano, was in the city the other
• *
day. You do not often hear of architects
*
designing
pianos, but here was a case.
Since the announcement that Karl Fink
Thomas
had
drawn the plans for Sir
was about to make a tour of Japan, I have
George's
house,
and the piano must har-
been wondering if he was the owner of a
monize
with
the
interior decoration. Sir
number of lots in that favored country,
George
was
president
of- the Canadian
like one of our local ex-Police Inspectors,
Pacific
Railroad
at
the
time,
and lavished
or if he was going there in the interest of
a fortune on his new home. A well-known
blue felt or health, or
. The Indicator
manufacturer of this city built the piano.
has given the secret away, however, and
The case was made of nine pieces of satin
the story runs as follows: His mission is to
wood veneering glued together to form one
secure from the Chinese Emperor the right
continuous body. This was inlaid with
of way for the new Russian trans-Siberian
the rarest of tropical woods and bright
road and to establish a winter port where
metal. The legs of the instrument were
the Russian bear may have communication
like the arched doorways of a palace, and
with the outer world all the year round.
the lyre of tulip wood in one of the panels
The Russian Kaiser, knowing full well the
had strings of gold. The color of the case
irresistible blandishments of Prince Fink,
was the natural color of the wood, and the
thought him better fitted to settle this
cost of the instrument was $4,000.
matter than any one else. It is quietly
given out by Prince Karl's friends that
*
when he adjusts this matter he will receive
That libel suit is apparently affording as
5,000,000 roubles from the Emperor of all much pleasure to the Indicator as a new
the Russias, besides his thanks in an elab- doll to a child. If it had the experience of
orate silver case. We congratulate the some of our local contemporaries it would
new Emperor on his astuteness.
look upon this matter as a very ordinary
* *
occurrence.
* *
Strangers passing through Union Square
One is apt to read some interesting
in the night time are reminded that' they
are in the famed "piano district" by the statistics about the production of pianos in
showy sign "Steinway Pianos," on top of the newspapers. The following, which
the Steinway building, and the equally appeared in an English paper, is a
handsome design "Needham Pianos," in specimen:
colored lights, in front of the Needham
"One of the largest London piano man-
warerooms. It is a common occurrence ufacturers says his firm alone turns out two
in passing through that locality to hear thousand pianos a year, and that thirty-five
passers-by commenting very favorably on thousand are turned out in that city
this fin-de-siecle mode of advertising.
annually. Germany makes seventy-four
thousand, France twenty thousand, and the
United States twenty-five thousand (?)"
The village churches in Rockville Centre,
This is about as accurate as the statistics
L. I., have combined to bring about a in a local contemporary recently about the
religious awakening in that place, and piano and organ industries of this country,
missionaries are visiting the village fac- when Chicago was credited with eight piano
tories for the purpose of holding praj^er factories, Philadelphia with ten and Boston
meetings. One of the closing daj r s of last with twenty-nine, with the number of
week they camped in Robt. M. Webb's employees in Chicago at 439. Just think
spacious factory. We have no information of this appearing in the columns of a paper
as to the number of converts made.
whose editor is looked upon by some as an
* *
oracle.
*
John W. Keely, of perpetual motor fame,
has got to "show his hand" or stand trial
on a charge of conspiracy. This is the
latest development of the Keely scheme.
The Board of Directors are convinced that
he is now possessed of a commercial engine
which is theirs by right of purchase, and a
demand has been made upon him to demon-
strate to the directors of the Keely Motor
Co. the exact status of his discovery. We
* *
*
THE Invitation Musicale at Chickering
Hall last Tuesday afternoon was a great
success in every respect. There was a
large and fashionable attendance, and
Ernest Perabo displayed the charms of the
Chickering grand to great advantage in a
well chosen program. Miss Lemon sang
several soprano solos charmingly to Mr.
Sauvage's accompaniment.