Music Trade Review

Issue: 1896 Vol. 22 N. 11

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
throughout a well-equipped music empo-
rium. Conversing with him Wednesday,
he said: "I am pleased with my results al-
ready with the'Sohmer.' I have had cus-
tomers who have come in specially to pur-
chase pianos of that make. I have sold
several already."
Gustave Behning has been here and has
gone South. The Behning piano will hold
a prominent position in Henry Detmer's
warerooms.
P. J. Healy said to me that in some de-
partments of his business trade had ex-
ceeded in volume that of any previous
February since the house of Lyon & Healy
had been established.
There has been considerable comment in
trade circles over E. W. Furbush's severance
with the Briggs Piano Co.
There are many conjectures as to Mr.
Furbush's future trade alliance. There are
some who believe that he will at once ally
himself with an old and widely known Bos-
ton house.
E. A. Potter said in answer to my query:
"Yes, in some lines there is not much
activity just now, but in the higher grades
the demand continues steady. Last year
we sold more Steinway pianos than were
ever sold before in one year from Chicago."
So trade goes—a little patch of gloom
here, a splash of sunshine there—but thus
far I have noted in my travels that the men
who just get out and work for trade are the
ones who knock down the ripe persimmons.
Those who sit around ruminating over
gloomy trade conditions are the ones who
have store space to let—more space than
money.
Danger at Auctions.
YOU MAY BUY GOODS, PAY FOR THEM AND
THEN HAVE TO RETURN THEM.
UYERS cannot be too careful at auction
sales. A couple of months ago John
Price bought a piano at Charles Cottenden's
rooms, 609 Queen street West, paying half
down.
The Bell Organ Co. sued to recover the
instrument, claiming that the man who
sent it to the auction rooms had never paid
them for it, and in the Division Court to-
day Judge Morson ordered Price to give
back the piano.
The statute explicitly states that if a
man can prove the ownership of property
he must have it returned to him, no matter
whether or not it has been bought and paid
for by a second party. —Toronto Star.
B
The Plant to be Enlarged.
HE Dolgeville Piano Case Co. will soon
begin the erection of a large stock
shed. The building will be 38x76 feet, and
will be used exclusively as a stock shed.
The building formerly used for the stor-
age of lumber will be converted into a fac-
tory for the manufacture of piano backs.
This will largely increase the number of
employees of the company.
T
Nelson is superb on account of its respon-
siveness, and in that it unites, with absolute
SOMETHING OF THEIR NEW CATALOGUES AR- precision, a delicacy and a pliability seldom
found in any upright piano.
TISTIC DESIGNS OF PIANOS—THE VERTI-
The workmanship of the Schimmel-Nel-
GRAND WHAT THEY CLAIM.
son piano is shown both in the exterior and
T H E Schimmel-Nelson Piano Co., Fari- in the interior finish, every part being fin-
\
bault, Minn., have favored us with ished with equal care, whether visible or
their catalogue for 1896, which has just been invisible. Only the best material and the
issued. It is a highly artistic work of forty most skillful workmen are employed in our
pages, handsomely printed with litho- factories, and the result is a piano no less
graphed covers, and worthy of praise from strong and durable in its construction than
beautiful in its artistic finish.
a literary standpoint.
After a brief introductory bearing on the
merits of the pianos, by whom invented and
manufactured, illustrations are shown of the The Weaver Organ and Piano Co.
Schimmel-Nelson upright scale, the patent
upright piano containing the agraffe bar SHIPPED TWICE AS MANY ORGANS FOR THE
FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR
which was patented in 1893, and a rear view
AS THEY DID DURING ' 9 5 .
of the piano showing the system of con-
struction. Cuts of styles F, R, and B up- "THERE is no talk of "hard times" at the
right pianos, the designs of which are es- Y factory of the Weaver Organ and
pecially to be commended, also appear.
Piano Co., York, Pa. They have had little
Then follows a description of the Schim- time to give any thought to this "epidemic,"
mel-Nelson verti-grand piano, which has for the very good reason that they have
created a decidedly favorable impression, been busy making organs and shipping as
owing to the novelty and originality of de- fast as they could make them to all parts of
sign and beautiful appearance. The verti- the world.
grand is built in three sizes, parlor, concert
In looking over their shipping record last
and baby grand. This instrument is in
week for the past three months and compar-
very truth an inverted grand, as its name
ing it with same months in 1895, we find
implies. The case design is unique, and
that they have shipped more than twice as
the long sweeping curves are a relief from
many organs for the first three months of
the staid upright. In the verti-grand the
this year as compared with the same period
action is placed below the keyboard, and it
last year. This speaks for itself. It is an
has the powerful upper stroke of the grand
"object lesson," and means that those who
action as well as its repeating qualities.
want trade must chip right in and make it.
It is built with a straight strung or
The Weaver Co. are at present working
over-strung scale. At a future time we
extra time to fill orders. This is the way
will refer to this instrument at greater
it should be in all parts of the country, and
length.
will be, when there is a little more confidence
This interesting catalogue closes with a and faith in ourselves and in the future.
number of testimonials from leading musi- It must not be overlooked, however, that
cians, teachers and dealers. The following, the Weaver organs are great value for the
which we cull from the introductory of this money, and this has had much to do with
catalogue, will awaken interest in this pro- their success.
gressive piano making firm of the great
Northwest:
The educated musical public of to-day is
Keller Bros. & Blight.
so critical and exacting in its demands that
A PROGRESSIVE INSTITUTION.
but few piano-fortes can attain to its high
standard.
HE business of Keller Bros. & Blight,
We rank among the very few who are
Bridgeport, Conn., has made unusu-
actually making a strictly high-grade piano-
ally
satisfactory
progress during the de-
forte. In these days of active competition
pression
which
has
been so general in com-
many manufacturers plead the low price of
their goods as an inducement to purchase, mercial circles for the past two years. The
ignoring entirely the quality, but it is an increase in the output of their pianos has
established fact that qualit) T and price go been such that they have been compelled
hand in hand, and the one cannot be ex- to make additions to their factory, which
will be ready for operation before long.
pected without the other.
We do not pretend to manufacture a cheap Their success so far can be attributed to
piano, but taking into consideration the high- progressive methods and a conscientious
grade quality of our instrument, the price determination to give the best possible
value for the money asked.
will be found to be very low indeed.
Judging from the reputation in the past
In the selection of a piano three qualities
and
their standing to-day, the Keller Bros,
should be considered, viz.: The tone, the
pianos
are destined to increase in prestige
touch and the workmanship.
and
popularity
in all sections of the country
The tone of the Schimmel-Nelson piano is
before
the
curtain
falls on the year 1896.
superior to all others on account of its vol-
ume, purity, richness and singing qualities,
approaching, more nearly than an}' upright
THE Cooper Music Co., of Sacramento,
Cal., are about to remove into new and
piano made, the tone of a concert grand.
The touch, or action, of the Schimmel- larger quarters, at 716 Jay street.
The Schimmel-Nelson Piano Co.
T
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
DYER & HUGHES PIANO STYLE 15
Their exports were $722,000,000, of which
$207,000,000 went to the United States.
Thus we import from those countries twice
as much as we export. On the other hand,
England exports to them just about twice as
much ($177,000,000) as she imports ($89,-
000,000). The exports from France ($110,-
000,000) are $20,000,000 in excess of those
from the United States. The United States
imports nearly as much from these countries
as England and France together; but, while
the United States' exports to them are only
18 per cent, of the total, the exports of Eng-
land and France together are 57 per cent.
Plainly, we need their products; but they,
too, need ours.
"The Ideal Piano."
THE STORY & CLARK PIANO CO. DISCOURSES ON
THIS INTERESTING SUBJECT.
T
W
E present herewith an illustration of one of the popular styles ("15") of pianos man-
ufactured by J. F. Hughes & Son, of Foxcroft, Me. This instrument is modern
and satisfactory in every way—in construction, in tone, and its handsome appearance
speaks for itself. It contains new improved scale, full iron frame; overstrung bass;
three unisons; French grand repeating action; double veneered case; continuous
nickel plated hinges on top and fall; grand fall board and automatic swinging desk;
elegant designs in sawed and engraved panels; richly carved trusses; best ivory
keys; polished ebony sharps. Seven and one-third octaves. Nickel plated finger-
board protector.
J. F. Hughes & Son are at present at work on a line of new styles, illustrations
of which will be presented to the trade in a new catalogue later in the year. We
would earnestly advise dealers who desire a reliable instrument at a satisfactory price
to look up the Dyer & Hughes pianos.
Cisatlantic Commerce.
WHY OUR TRADE WITH THE SOUTH SHOULD BE
LARGER MR. AMORES MAKES SOME TELLING
POINTS WHICH APPEAL TO BUSINESS MEN.
THE INACTIVITY OF OUR NATION CAN-
NOT BE TOO OFTEN EMPHASIZED.
MAY INSURE A NEW POLICY.
T
HE opportunities for trade with Sotith
and Central America are so obvious,
that to state and restate them might seem
like demonstrating and demonstrating again
a proposition in simple addition; neverthe-
less, as there exists a very considerable
"force of inertia" to be countervailed be-
fore American commercial enterprise can
be directed effectively into the inviting
regions south of us, one has no choice but
to repeat the familiar story, says "Interna-
tional Trade." It is well told by Mr. Emi-
lio M. Amores: The relations between the
people and governments of those Latin-
American Republics and the people of this
country and their government have ever
been for the most part friendly and cordial.
Just at present those fifty-odd millions of
people and the people of the United States
are united in a community of sentiment
very rarely seen among nations. But, per-
haps, business has nothing to do with sen-
timent? That would be a rather curious
thing, seeing that sentiment, the heart, is
about the only thing worthy of any respect
in nine-tenths of us. If one asks what is
the foundation of national credit, the truest
answer is, Not gold, but sentiment; it is an
act of "civic faith" that makes a small re-
serve of yellow metal equal to the task of
sustaining a currency very many times more
voluminous than itself. State the case in
its lowest terms, and surely it is some ad-
vantage to the commercial world of the
United States that this country is regarded
as a friend by its neighbors southward.
But the United States does not enter the
South American field as a cozener on plea
of friendship. We are producing here all
the commodities which our neighbors have
need of, and are able to supply them of the
best quality, and on terms as favorable as
can any transatlantic country.
Through inertia we have hitherto done
but little toward establishing broad and in-
timate trade relations with our neighbors
south of us. The sum of our reciprocal trade
with Central and South America and the
West Indies is very much less than that of
England with them. We are not second,
but only a weak third with regard to exports
to those countries.
Mr. Amores takes the trade statistics of
all these countries, not all for the same year,
but for the years ranging form 1887 to 1891,
and shows the total of their annual imports
to be $557,500,000, in which the United
States was represented by $90,000,000.
HE Story & Clark Piano Co., of Chica-
go, evidently know how to push a
good piano as well as to make it. Much of
the literature which they have recently is-
sued is convincing and a model of good
taste. It cannot fail to make friends for
the house, arouse the interest of the dealers,
and tend to the general popularity of the
Story & Clark piano. We append one of
their latest circulars, which is well worthy
of perusal:
"The ideal piano" is what one of our
friends called it the other day, in a letter to
us, after receiving three S. & C.'s. He
says: "Your pianos are perfect models of
art, and the tone, workmanship and ma-
terials cannot be surpassed. The whole
thing expressed concisely would be that
they are the ideal piano of America."
Strong language, but not too strong for the
subject. The goods will bear out the most
extravagant statements, simply because
pianos can not have better materal in them
than the Story & Clark has, for no better
material is in existence; and as to work-
manship, you know what we have done in
the organ business in the last ten years,
and we are satisfied to refer to our reputa-
tion as to that part. We do not believe we
are making a mistake in producing such fine
goods in place of cheap ones, but, as our
first circular stated, it takes time to have
the grade become known. We always have
had, and hope always to have, the name of
Story & Clark on an instrument synony-
mous with "high grade"—"first-class"—
"the ideal piano of America."
The Marshall & Wendell Piano Co.
HE Marshall & Wendell Piano Co., Al-
bany, N. Y., are well pleased with the
prospects for spring trade. Their business
has manifested a decided spurt recently.
Mr. Schindler, their road representative, is
doing some very excellent work for the
house during his present trip West. Many
new agencies have been established, and
the outlook for this old and distinguished
firm is very bright indeed.
T

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