Music Trade Review

Issue: 1897 Vol. 24 N. 3

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Kroeger Piano Co.
journey as far west as Kansas City, taking in
all the important points en route. With such
excellent products as the Needham pianos and
organs it is safe to prognosticate that Mr.
Howard's trip will be a successful one.
HEAVY BUSINESS NECESSITATES ENLARGED FACILI-
TIES—PREPARING TO MOV*E INTO
NEW FACTORY.
The year 1897 bids fair to prove an auspi-
cious one in the history of the Kroeger Piano
Co.'s house, this city. Since the incorporation
of the company in 1894 they have given sterl-
ing evidence of their reliability and by the
•adoption of a progressive policy, together with
an assiduous attention to the improvement of
their product, they have certainly both de-
served and achieved marked success.
Although the present company is but the
growth of a few years, the Kroeger piano has
been well and favorably known for some thirty-
four years past, and it is scarcely to be won-
dered at that with so well established an in-
strument, backed up by a sound corporation
ably officered and financiered, that vast strides
have been made of late in the achievement of
increased success.
The rapid growth of the Kroeger Piano Co.
has necessitated their seeking larger manu-
facturing quarters, with the result that within
the last few days a deal has been consummated
whereby this energetic house will shortly occu-
py quarters of considerable magnitude.
They have recently had under consideration
a number of sites, but have finally decided to
occupy the large factory building on East 1^26.
Street and Alexander Avenue, this city. It
would seem difficult to have made a better
choice. The building is situated within a
stone's throw of the present Kroeger quarters;
it is of brick, five stories high, and eminently
adapted for its purpose. The facilities are ex-
cellent, building is well lighted, and having a
floor area of some 60,000 square feet, it can
readily be understood that the Kroeger Piano
Co. are preparing to very considerably extend
their already large trade. Their present lease
of the old factory expires in May. The five
years' lease obtained on their new building
dates from February T, and it is proposed to
move in gradually from that date, so as not
to interfere with business more than is abso-
lutely necessary.
A word of acknowledgment is certainly dur
those gentlemen who so ably control the des-
tinies of this rising house. President C. P>.
Garritson is a whole-souled, clean-cut busi-
ness man of splendid acumen and force; Treas-
urer A. W. Kroeger is not only an expert
pianomaker but one of the " whitest " men in
the trade; and Secretary " T o m " LaM.
Couch, who certainly has worked like a Trojan
in advancing the Kroeger interests, is a thor-
ough gentleman and a typical hustler.
Silver Medal for the Autoharp.
The special silver medal which was awarded
the C. F. Zimmermann Co., of Dolgeville,
N. Y., in connection with the exhibition of the
autoharp system of figure notation at the
American Institute Fair, held in Madison
Square Garden, September 28th to October
29th, T896, has been delivered. The medal,
which is of handsome design, was the highest
award made, and the C. F. Zimmermann Co.
was one out of eight in the total of T32 ex-
hibitors to receive it.
The music store of Phillips & Crew, Atlanta,
Ga., was entered by thieves on the night of
January 9th, and some cash and a number of
musical instruments were stolen.
Alfred Dolge was invited by the dinner
committee of the Boston Music Trade Asso-
ciation to speak at the banquet held in that
city last Saturday night. Owing to business
engagements he was unable to be present.
A number of Toronto houses are interested
in the piano firm of R. H. Munn & Co., of Win-
nipeg, which is reported in difficulties.
John J. Brayton, of New London, Conn., a
piano polisher by trade, committed suicide by
drowning in that city January 9th.
P. J. Gildemeester is back from a Western
trip.
Otto Bollman, St. Louis, was in town yester-
day attending the meeting of the Bollman
Bros. Co., which was held at Steinway Hall.
J. W. Guernsey, of Scranton, Pa., was one
of the visitors to our metropolis Thursday.
Mr. R. V. Grinnell, of Grinnell Bros., De-
troit, Mich., was in town this week. Grinnell
Bros, control a magnificent trade in Detroit,
and are having a great success with the Soh-
mer piano, which they push energetically as
their leader.
C. C. Williams, of John C. Haynes & Co.,
was over to New York Thursday.
Joseph Tennis, Jr., a music trade dealer in
Germyn, Pa., has become agent for the Strich
& Zeidler pianos in this city.
W. H. Longstreet, of Elmira, N. Y., has
taken his son into partnership. The firm
name hereafter will be W. H. Longstreet &
Son.
A new piano store has been opened in
Janesville, Wis., by K. E. Primer.
Grau & Dopf have succeeded to the busi-
ness of Max Grau, Colorado Springs, Col.
At the annual meeting of the Schomacker
Piano Mfg. Co., Philadelphia, held last week,
a dividend of three per cent, was declared.
C. B. Garritson, of the Kroeger Piano Co.,
is expected to return to-day from an extended
Western trip.
H. M. Brainard, of the H. M. Brainard Co.,
Cleveland, O., and J. W. Jenkins, of J. W.
Jenkins' Sons, Kansas City, were visitors to the
metropolis this week.
All the Boston papers contained unusually
lengthy notices of the banquet of the Boston
Music Trade Association held in that city last
Saturday night.
William Knabe, of William Knabe & Co.,
Baltimore, has been in town the last few days;
he attended the Carreno rectial at the Waldorf
on Thursday afternoon, but will return to Bal-
timore to-night.
H. M. Howard, travelling representative of
the Needham Piano & Organ Co., left on Mon-
day last for an extended road trip. He will
C. J. Whitney, of Detroit, has re-entered the
piano business, and will occupy warerooms on
the upper floors of the old establishment. It
is said that the title of the firm will be the Mar-
vin Music Co.
General Julius J. Estey, of Brattleboro, Vt,
was a visitor to this city last Saturday in con-
nection with the reorganization of the business
of Estey & Saxe, which, by the way, was post-
poned for a few weeks. It is expected that
Herbert K. Saxe will succeed his late father.
A silver medal was recently awarded the
publishing house of Wilhelm Braumuller, of
Vienna, at the Second International Pharma-
ceutical Exposition, held in Prague, for an
exhibit of A. Brestowski's " Handworterbuch
der Pharmacie" (Dictionary of Pharmacy).
Mr. Braumuller is a relative of president Otto
L. Braumuller, of the Braumuller Co., this
city.
On last Saturday wSurrogate Arnold issued
the following letters of guardianship: William
R. Steinway to Paula T. Von Bernuth; Theo-
dore E. Steinway to Paula T. Von Bernuth;
and Maud E. L. Steinway to Paula T. Von
Bernuth.
Charlie Becht, who was in Boston this week,
sold a number of Smith & Barnes pianos to
Chickering & Sons for sale in their New York
and Boston warerooms.
A. J. Brooks, of the Sterling Co., Derby,
Conn., is making one of his regular New Eng-
land trips.
F. J. Woodbury, of the Jewett Piano Co.,
Leominster, Mass, made a quick trip through
New England last week.
The Jeffries-Johnson Music Co., of Jack-
sonville, 111., moved into new quarters in the
Courier Block, that city, January 1st.
Mann & Eccles, the enterprising dealers of
Providence, R. L, closed a very excellent busi-
ness for 1896. They opened up the New Year
with encouraging prospects.
H. W. Primer, for a number of years sales-
man with Decker Bros., has been engaged in
the same capacity by J. & C. Fischer.
W. E. Heaton, late of Steinway & Sons'
Pittsburg branch, is now with C. C. Harvey
& Son, Boston.
Trade-Marks, Good Will, and Name
to be Sold.
By direction of Henry K. S. Williams, re-
ceiver for the defunct firm of Gildemeester &
Kroeger of this city, the right, title, and inter-
est in and to the trade-marks, good-will, and
name of " Gildemeester & Kroeger " will be
sold at public auction by Bryan L. Kennelly,
auctioneer, on the second day of February,
1897, at twelve o'clock, noon, at the New York
Real Estate salesrooms, 111 Broadway, this
city, pursuant to an order made and entered,
bearing date the thirteenth day of November,
1896.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Banquet of the Boston Trade Association.
It was-long years ago, while the American
colonies were young, that the famous " tea
party " occurred in Boston Harbor. The men
who figured conspicuously in that affair, and
whose deeds helped to kindle the fires of the
Revolution, were attired in the guise of Ind-
ian warriors.
Since those days Boston has become noted
for her tea parties, and last Saturday night
the men who accepted the hospitable invita-
tion of the Boston Music Trade gathered
around the banquet board at the Hotel Bruns-
wick in that city. They were not decked in
the paint and feathers which characterized the
" tea party " of their early ancestors, but in-
stead they wore the conventional evening cos-
tume; but at the same time the chests of rea-
son which were opened at that meeting may
cause it to be quite as memorable in the annais
of the music trade of this country as was the
early party in the affairs of the Nation's birth.
The sentiments expressed by the speakers
that night will live long in the minds of those
who listened to the words of reason dropped
by profound thinkers, and in our mind the
doings of that meeting, scattered broadcast,
as it will be, all over this land, will have a ten-
dency to knit this trade closer together, and in
a large degree contribute toward centralizing
the different associations which now exist in
this trade into a national body. Hence this
latest Boston " tea party " may contribute in a
large degree toward a new revolution—a trade
revolution.
It was the first meeting held in this trade
at which the matter of trade associations, their
effect upon business, was made really the
" piece de resistance " to the remarks of all
the speakers.
The banquet was preceded by a reception in
the parlors of the hotel.
Henry F. Miller, president of the Associa-
tion, after secretary Chandler W. Smith had
read letters of regret from Governor Rogers
W. Wolcott, Geo. H. Chickering, Adolpho
H. Fischer, F. C. Seely, made a few well-
chosen introductory remarks.
Among other things, Mr. Miller spoke of
the importance of an organization to those en-
gaged in the manufacture of musical instru-
ments. He then traced the growth of the
piano industry in Boston from the days of
Benjamin Crehore down to the present time.
He spoke feelingly of the men who in days
past contributed so much to the growth of the
industry in Boston, and also their interest in
assisting to make Boston a city of great mu-
sical culture. Mr. Miller said, in answer to the
-question frequently asked, " What becomes of
the pianos? " " They go into the homes of the
people all over our land, over the mountains a great many manufacturers and dealers to
and by the lakes, and in far-away hamlets can supply the great wants of the people, and no
be found pianos bearing upon their name- one man and no small number of men can
board not only the name of the maker but the hope to supply this want. There must be
word Boston. In this sense the manufacturers many engaged in the same industries to meet
are a benefit to Boston by advertising it as a a general public demand, and it is the recogni-
tion of this fact that has led to the organization
musical centre."
Mr. Miller then spoke in a contrasting way of the many trade bodies of this city.
" To me it seems one of the most encourag-
of the old with the new—in the olden days
when a few pianos per week was considered ing signs of the past twenty years that the
a fair output, " and now it is said that one con- growth of friendly feeling in trade circles has
cern in Boston has turned out a number of brought to them strength and power to wield
pianos in one year which approximated five a mighty influence in the community. To me
the formation of a new business organization
thousand."
He then dwelt upon the great men of the is of great public interest. It means something
past, and each mention of the name of Jonas more than that business men have banded to-
gether for their own interests. Business men
as a body exert an enormous influence over
the conduct of public affairs. Such organiza-
tion is closely connected with the body politic
of city, St&te, and Nation.
" Great opportunities for the advancement
of the good of the whole community lie before
them, and in them is a distinct public gain.
They are broader in scope and influence than
the limits of any particular trade. Therefore,
I trust you will see the importance of allying
your association with other business organi-
1
zations. It is when many such associations
are united that the business men become a
great power for the general good.
" It seems to me well that Boston should
lead other cities in this matter, that the com-
mercial growth and development of Boston
should be influenced by its business men, and
through them that the prosperity of all the
people should be promoted.
" It is something not always appreciated
that, while all lines of business and all trades
HENRY fF. MILLER, PRESIDENT.
have their individual interests, they must de-
pend for prosperity very largely upon the
Chickering was received with hearty applause. prosperity of the city. Your aim should be to
Mr. Miller then paid a tribute to the great men strengthen the idea of the dependence of your
who have recently been gathered in by the business upon the general well-being of all
great Reaper—Ernest Knabe, Governor Full- trades and all people."
Every one in the banquet hall then arose and
er, William Steinway.
He then spoke of the musicians, and of the helped to swell the chorus of " The Star Span-
famous Boston Symphony orchestra, and gled Banner." At the close of every speech,
made a pleasing mention of the new musical and during the courses of the dinner, there
was music by an orchestra and the concerted
theatre in Boston—Steinert Hall.
singing
of old and popular melodies.
There were no set toasts, and the first one
Jerome K. Jones, president of the Commer-
upon whom he called was Josiah Quincy,
Mayor of Boston. Mayor Quincy made an cial Club of Boston, was next introduced.
impressive address. While not a trained ora- Mr. Jones is a charming speaker, and his re-
tor, he is in every sense an entertaining talker. marks were listened to with great interest. He
" I am a strong—I may say, an enthusiastic said:
" Primarily, the purpose of a business firm
—believer in trade organizations of this char-
acter," said the Mayor, " and I feel that the or corporation is to make dividends; but in
city is to be congratulated upon this addition this intelligent age there is something else be-
to the many trade bodies of Boston. It takes side the making of dollars in business. The

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