Music Trade Review

Issue: 1896 Vol. 23 N. 8

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADR REVIEW
cheering amid the present financial uncer-
tainty. Although the volume of business
up to the first of November is not expected
to be large, yet the unanimity of the views
expressed as to conditions after election is
highly encouraging.
We believe that, taken as a whole, these
letters will be of the greatest possible value
to those attempting to arrive at a clear
conception of the conditions surrounding
dealers in the various localities. The opin-
ions regarding "delinquents on piano in-
stallment paper" are in themselves worthy
of special study.
#
#
If members of the trade will continue to
cash notes and pay advertisements quar-
terly and yearly in advance to oblige some
mendicant music trade journalists they
surely cannot complain of an overplus of
trade papers. Again we state that such
payments are not in conformity with
business principles, and while, if a man
wishes to stake a music trade editor for a
certain amount, that is entirely his affair,
but the same man should not complain of
music trade editors. The self-respecting
journalist does not ask payment for his
wares until they are delivered.
#
#
A very important suit has just been de-
cided in London-—a legacy of the strikes
which occurred in the piano trade in that
city some time ago. It seems that W. G.
Wernam, a piano manufacturer, dismissed
his foreman, which action did not meet
with the approbation of the Piano and Or-
gan Makers' Society. They accordingly
took every means of interfering with his
business, to the extent that they induced
persons to break contracts which they had
entered into with him.
With commendable spirit, Mr. Wernam
determined to fight this interference with
his right to conduct his own business as he
pleased, and although boycotted and har-
assed, successfully fought the Employees'
Union, and as an object lesson in the way of
personal liberty he sued the officers of the
Piano and Organ Makers' Society for busi-
ness loss sustained which he estimated at
$2,000.
The lawyers for the defense endeavored
to court sympathy by stating that his action
was an attack on trades unions, etc., but it
did not avail with the judge, who closed a
very clever summing up with the following
succinct remark: '' When men joined trade
unions, believing union was strength,
they obtained the strength of brute beasts,
which apparently took away their reasoning
power." The jury awarded Mr. Wernam
$1,500 damages, with costs.
One of the most remarkable features
about labor associations in Europe as well
as this country is a desire to deny to man-
ufacturers certain rights which they claim
for themselves. We have had illustrations
of this in the music and other trades time
and time again.
The right to form associations for the
betterment of their condition is the privi-
lege of every employee, but to use the ma-
chinery of a society to coerce and intimidate
is illegal, and utterly opposed to reason
and common sense;
I
MET^Frank B. Burns, the well-known
stool and scarf manufacturer, in Bos-
#
#
ton a few days ago. He had just returned
Our supposition came true. P. J. Gilde- from New Haven, where he had passed a
meester left Wednesday on a tour through pleasant hour with Morris Steinert in ex-
the vState in the interest of Steinway & amining his new invention. Mr. Burns
Sons, hence all queries to his future are at was most enthusiastic regarding the inven-
tion of Mr. Steinert. The possibilities of
an end. He has been engaged by Steinway the Steinert invention Mr. Burns says are
& Sons as their traveling representative. great. The effects produced by the grada-
In our issue of May 30th the following ap- tions of tone made possible by the Steinert
action, Mr. Burns says, are amazing. It is
peared :
rot often that Frank Burns waxes eloquent
P. J. Gildemeester has always been asso-
ciated with a high grade piano. He is one over any particular trade invention but
of the cleverest salesmen in America. Sup- when he does you can depend upon it there
pose he should become associated with the is much in it.
Steinway piano. Stranger things than this
*
have taken place in the trade.
No trade=paper bulldozing.
Mr. Gildemeester will practically assume
the position occupied by Mr. Ernst Urchs,
No advertising payments in
who will hereafter give his attention to advance.
the Steinway branch houses in Cincinnati,
No monetary loans to support
and Pittsburgh. Mr. Gildemeester is to
be congratulated on his connection with newspaper mendicancy.
this celebrated house. On the other hand
Steinway & Sons have secured a very cap-
One of the permanent peculiarities in-
able and energetic representative who will troduced by Boniface Eden in the rotunda
labor indefatigably and we trust success- of the Great Ncthern Hotel in Chicago is a
fully in their interests.
mammoth ^Eolian organ, which plays all
sorts and kinds of music from Bach, Wag-
#
#
ner, Mendelssohn, Gilmore, Sousaand Bra-
A general meeting of the creditors of the ham, says Joe Howard. At first his friends
assigned firm of Gildemeester & Kroeger wondered at the landlord's audacity, and
will be held at Twenty-first street and the public time and again damned the en-
Second avenue, this city, on Sept. 26th. On terprise which suggested so unusual a
factor. It seems, however, that he builded
that occasion all accounts for and against with discretion, for a few days ago, when
the corporation, and all its open and sub- the tumult of political discussion and the
sisting contracts, will be ascertained and wild waves of debate, were so high as to
adjusted as far as may be, and the amount destroy the peace of mind of the guests, to
of money in the hands of Receiver Will- make it impossible for the clerks to correct-
ly compute accounts, and to render the
iams will be declared.
most expert manipulation of the blond
#
#
typewriters farcical in the extreme, so
Our "Specialty Talk" this week is with great was the uproar, he simply turned on
Chas. H. MacDonald, president of the Man- the power, to which on the instant the
pipes of the great organ responded with a
ufacturers' Association, and representative Wagnerian number, drowning all possible
of the Pease Piano Co. in Chicago. Mr. competition and establishing for ever Mr.
MacDonald has had a wide experience in Eden's reputation as a pacificator.
the piano business, hence his opinions on
* *
*
the important topics treated of are well
Enrique
Heuer,
of
the well-known firm
worthy of perusal and consideration.
of E. Heuer & Co., Mexico City, Mex.,
#
#
will visit New York early next month. It
NAHUM STETSON left Thursday for a trip is Mr. Heuer's custom to make periodical
West. He will journey probably as far visits among his wide circle of friends in
West as St. Louis, visiting Cincinnati the Noith. In that way he has kept in
and Chicago.
touch with our musical advancement; it
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
has also enabled him to keep in the front
rank of music trade men in Mexico. His
handsome emporium is the musical center
—the vSteinway Hall—of Mexico City,
Gleanings at the Golden Gate.
ADVERTISING
* *
*
Percy Gaunt passed away Saturday last
in an obscure country boarding house at Pal-
enville, in the Catskills. This is the end of
a man who realized more than $35,000 from
three songs. "Tne Bowery," "Push Dem
Clouds Away," and "Love Me Little, Love
Me Long," were virtually his, though he
divided the profits with others. "The Bow-
ery" is usually set down to Charles Hoyt,
because it is one of the features of Hoyt's
"Trip to Chinatown." As a matter of
fact it was written by Gaunt. The pub-
lishers sold ico,000 copies of the words
alone, and the right to publish words and
music netted the author thousands in roy-
alties. Gaunt did half a score of songs and
words equally popular or even more so.
He and Hoyt turned out "Reuben and
Cynthia," "The Widow," and "Out for a
Racket," all of which made money. But
his own great successes were with minstrel
songs, the most successful of which in two
continents was "Push Dem Clouds Away. "
Aside from his income by these songs,
Gaunt drew a large salary as musical direc-
tor for Hoyt & McKee. With this firm he
quarreled two years ago, but he was so val-
uable that they made terms with him again
and this autumn he was to have rejoined
them.
* *
*
As a revenue producer the Wilson-Gor-
man Tariff Law has been a grand failure.
The deficit goes steadily on month after
month. It was $10,139,580 for August,
bringing the total since July 1st up to $23,-
198,839. Had the Cleveland administration
left tariff alone there would have been no
cause to battle with free silver. The peo-
ple of the United States have, however, re-
ceived quite a telling object lesson. The re-
sult will be seen in November.
* *
THE commercial travelers of this city are
holding rousing meetings daily in favor of
McKinley and Hobart.
An $1,800 Chickering.
HICKERING & SONS report an ap-
preciative improvement in business
at their New York house. An excellent
cash sale was consummated on Tuesday last,
the purchaser, a well-known New York
lady, paying the agreeable price of $1,800.
The instrument is a superb specimen of
thp piano-maker's art. It is a "Renais-
sance" style fancy upright of special build.
The case, a San Domingo mahogany, ebon-
ized, is of remarkable beauty and elegance,
the hand carving is very elaborate, and
the piano is further adorned with hand-
braced French metal mouldings of unique
finish.
It is unnecessary to dilate on the tonal
qualities of the Chickering pianos. The
instrument in question fully maintains the
high reputation of the firm in this respect.
C
THAT
IS QUESTIONABLE—THE " S O H M E R "
MUSICAL NEWS.
AMONG
THE
"400"
GENERAL
Thing Gold Can't Buy," and is by the same
author, Louis Weslyn Jones. It is a little
HE general cry is that business is quiet
love song in the waltz movement, and is
and will be until after the election. To
said to be very pretty. "Shooting the
judge from the various advertisements of
Chutes," by F. Y. Chapin, is another piece
the different members of the trade one
that has had a big run, and the "Zacatecas
would think that, the ranks of dealers would
March" by Codina seems to be very popu-
soon be depleted here.
lar.
A. L. Bancroft & Co. advertise that
In fact there has been a good sale of all
closing out prices will rule and it is an
the later popular pieces.
open secret that they are soon to retire.
The administrator of the estate of Chas.
F. Eaton says the estate must be closed.
NEW5LETS.
A. Bruenn advertises goods sold at cost,
which must mean something, while Girard,
RAFAEL JOSEFFY reached these shores
of Oakland, has issued a circular that "Mr. from Europe on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd, on
Girard's time is mostly taken up with look- the steamer "Havel. " John G. H. Kuehl,
ing after the Wheelock and Stuyvesant the popular salesman of Steinway & Sons,
agents," so it is his intention to go out of was on the dock ready to welcome the cele-
the retail business.
brated pianist back to America.
The Hemme & Long Piano Co. have re-
A. W. COLHURN, Leominster, Mass.,
tired for some time.
was in town this week.
Sherman, Clay & Co. have a new rent
A. H. WALSH, a piano tuner, employed
plan of selling pianos at $4, $5 and $6 per
by
J. F. Browning, Tampa, Fla., was
month, and B. Curtaz & Son sell square
drowned
while bathing the early part of
pianos at $4 per month without interest.
the
week.
Some of the dealers do not believe that
this kind of advertising will draw any trade,
F. B. BURNS, the well-known stool and
and that with the revival of the times will scarf manufacturer, has been passing a few
wish that they did not have their capital in days in Boston. Mr. Burns has been most
bad contracts.
successful in that city. He secured some
Kohler & Chase have just received an im- magnificent orders—the largest orders that
mense consignment of symphoniums from he has ever received, all of which goes to
show that Mr. Burns carries a line which
Europe.
Byron Mauzy reports some sales to the meets with the hearty approval of the mu-
400. He is making a great name for the sic trade.
Sohmer on this coast. His next concert
W. H. TURNER, treasurer of the Brau-
will be on the 20th inst.
muller Co., New York, reports a satisfac-
Albert Marks, the impresario, who intro- tory complement of orders. "Things are
duced Adele Aus der Ohe to the coast, is moving very nicely," said Mr. Turner,
in Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Marks has under "and we have orders on hand to-day that
his.direction Mme. Bloomfield Zeisler, the will keep us busy for some time to come."
great pianiste, for a tour. If the proper
EDWARD BEHR of Behr Bros. & Co., left
arrangements can be made a recital will be
on
Wednesday on a business trip through
given in Los Angeles, Cal.
New
England.
Edouard Remenyi, the noted Hungarian
violinist, will shortly give a concert in Van-
MR. OTTO L. BRAUMULLF.R is making an
couver, B. C.
extended Western trip, reaching probably
A new brass band has been organized in to Omaha, Neb. He reached Chicago on
Flagstaff, Arizona. The members of the Wednesday last.
band are nearly all members of the Inde-
HENRV W. METCALF is now manager for
pendent Order of Foresters, and the band the Boston Piano Stool Co.
will be known as the "Foresters' Brass
W. G. BURBECK, secretary of the Vose &
Band."
The present term is one of great activity Sons Piano Co., Boston, left this week to
in college musical organizations, and the spend his vacation at Rangely Lake.
Class of '98 of the University of California
ONE of the features of the political cam-
has caught the prevailing fever and has or- paign now under way, is the adaptation of
ganized an orchestra, to meet every Friday either the words or the air of a popular
afternoon.
song to the situation. In this connection
Messrs. Baker & Armstrong, of the the band leaders at conventions and public
Model Music Store, report a lively demand meetings seem to have a special sense of
for popular sheet music. They have sold the fitnes of things in the make-up of their
an immense number of their song, "The programs, and there seems to be a subtle
Ship That Brings Him Home," by Louis understanding between the audience and
Weslyn Jones, and the call for more still the band, for each air seems to have some
continues. They have a new song now in special application to the prominent speak-
the press, due next week, which they think ers, and they invariably make a "hit" with,
will beat the record. It is called •' The One the house.
SAN FRANCISCO,
T
Sept. 4th, 1896.

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