Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
VOL XXIII.
N o . 8.
Published Every Saturday, at 3 Bast Fourteenth Street, New York, September 12,1896.
In The West.
WANTS ASSESSMENTS CHANGED ADAM SCHAAF S NEW liUILDING GOOD DEMAND FOR STEINWAY
PIANOS J. V. STEGER CONTRIBUTES AND MAKES A SPEECH RUSSELL EMPLOYEES
SECURE AN INJUNCTION—SMITH & BARNES CO.—SOME RECENT CHANGES.
BUSINESS LOOKING UP HERE AND THERE.
MOVE is under way for the purpose
of placing property valuations in all
parts of Cook county upon an equal basis.
At a recent meeting of the County Board,
President Healy said in the course of his
remarks that pianos in the country are as-
sessed at $20.00 each and $70.00 in Chi-
cago. These are inequalities that ought
to be done away with, and to that end it is
proposed to abolish the township organi-
zation and the people will be asked to vote
on the proposition.
Adam Schaaf, the piano manufacturer,
has placed a contract with Architect Wi •
erzbieniec, for the erection of a store and
flat building on Madison and Union streets,
which he will occupy himself. It will be
three stories in height with stone front
and all the latest improvements. It will
The Smith & Barnes Piano Co. report a
splendid business and claim to be working
full time. Chas. H. Becht, their road rep-
resentative, is now in your city, I believe,
for the purpose of making the Smith &
Barnes pianos better known to dealers in
the East.
There have been some recent changes in
the wareroom forces here. S. R. Harcourt,
head salesman for J. O. Twitchell, and
Joseph K. Rapp, valued salesman with
Steger & Co., have been compelled to sever
their connection owing to ill health. Mr.
Harcourt will rest at his old home in
Springfield, 111., while Mr. Rapp will visit
San Antonio, Tex.
Among the recent visitors to town were
Peter Duffy of the Schubert Piano Co.;
Henry Behning of the Behning Piano Co.;
Geo. Ambuhl and J. L. Grinnell, of De-
cost $25,000.
Trade with Lyon, Potter & Co. is show- troit.
The Emerson branch is doing a very
ing up well this week, and the demand for
Steinway pianos is such that it points to fair trade and the temporary suspension of
the Boston house has had no bad effect
an early return of the good old days.
John V. Steger made a liberal donation upon business here.
Geo. P. Bent left the early part of the
toward the Labor Day parade, in which the
majority of the men connected with the week for a flying trip East.
General Estey is expected in town this
Steger and Singer factories took part.
The float upon which was carried a hand- week in connection with the Estey & Camp
some Steger and Singer piano made a fine meeting for the election of officers.
Business is looking up fairly well, par-
showing. After the parade Mr. Steger
with others made a very interesting ad- ticularly in retail lines. Manufacturers,
dress, in which he explained to his men however, are quite hopeful that business
how he achieved success in this great will be considerably better throughout the
country of ours. I understand that Mr. country the closing weeks of this month.
vSteger also contributed quite liberally to-
ward the building of a church on Columbia
The Smith & Nixon Sale.
Heights. His donation will amount to
$900.
HE auction sale of the Smith & Nixon
Last week the employees of the Russell
stock took place as announced on Sept.
Piano Co., whose wages were unpaid when 4th. The thousand shares of stock of the
the concern was suspended, secured an in- Smith & Nixon Mfg. Co., par value $100,
junction before Judge Baker to restrain were purchased by James M. Glenn for
W. H. Underdown and others from selling $19,825. The stock of pianos and organs—
the effects of the establishment under a about a dozen of which were new—went
chattel mortgage held by them. The re- for $4,196.25. Individual instruments did
ceiver was also asked to wind up the estab- not realize anything like their real value.
lishment's affairs and settle with all the The old firm bought in a number of the
instruments.
creditors on a legal basis.
A
T
I3.00 PER YEAR-
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS
Mr. Glenn is a relative of Henry W.
Crawford, and the sale means that Mr.
Crawford and some of his associates will
continue manufacturing.
In fact Mr.
Crawford in a recent interview stated that
the Crawford piano will make its appear-
ance before many months.
The sale of the stock was sold subject to
confirmation by the Insolvency Court.
The Gorham Affair.
L
AST Thursday we called upon Mr. C.
^ L. Gorham, at his warerooms in Wor-
cester, Mass. The full statement of his re-
cent complication appeared in last week's
REVIEW. Mr. Gorham said:
" I have positively nothing to state for
publication regarding my affairs. I will
talk politics, crops, or anything you wish,
but under the advice of my attorneys, I re-
fuse to have one word to say relative to the
complications which have arisen recently.
You know, after a man has been pretty near-
ly drowned he doesn't like to be handled
too roughly; he prefers rather to be let
alone. I do not propose to fail; I propose to
continue business right at this old stand."
"And," we queried, "does Mr. Williams
still remain in your employ?"
"Yes; Mr. Williams has been here seven-
teen years, and that is a long time."
"Then, Mr. Gorham, you propose to test
this matter before the courts rather than
by private settlement?"
"You know what action we have taken,
and while there has been a vast amount of
printed matter concerning this in the Wor-
cester papers, I will say this—I have had
nothing to say regarding this matter be-
yond the letter that I sent to the Wor-
cester paper which was published over my
signature. All the reports that have been
published have been unauthorized by me,
and I am not accountable for those that
have appeared."
Thus resteth the Gorham case.
ERNST URCHS, Steinway & Sons' repre-
sentative in Cincinnati, was a visitor to
New York this week.
THE suit of the Chicago Cottage Organ
Co. against Kirk Johnson & Co., Lancaster,
Pa., to recover instruments shipped about
the time of the Johnson failure, has been
recorded in favor of the first named house.