Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
New York •' Piano Land."
Doherty & Co. Write.
The State Bankruptcy Bills.
BETWEEN THIRD AND SIXTH AVENUES THE
GREATEST SHOWING OF PIANO HOUSES
TO BE FOUND ON THE CONTINENT.
W. Doherty & Co., organ manufacturers,
Clinton, Ont., have opened up temporary
offices in the Town Hall Building and have
favored us with the following letter which
they have sent to the trade:
Clinton, Ont., Feb. 7, 1898.
Dear Sir:-—It is with great regret that we
write you to say that our factories were
burned to the ground early on Tuesday morn-
ing, Feb. 1st. The wind blowing a terrible
gale at the time caused the fire to spread
very rapidly and inside of three hours the
whole of our immense plant, including our
magnificent stock of nearly 1,000,000 feet of
dry lumber, was totally consumed, including
Mr. Doherty's residence and stables. The loss
is about $100,000 and the insurance $40,000.
Immediately after the fire the Town Council
met and offered us $25,000 as an inducement
to rebuild in this town instead of building
elsewhere, which offer we accepted.
We are preparing to build again larger than
ever and on the latest improved plans. • Our
machinery will be the best possible for the
purpose and we will soon be in a better posi-
tion than before to turn out the choicest of
stock.
We expect to be able to supply you with
the improved " Unequaled Doherty Organ "
by the time your present stock is exhausted
and we will ask you not to contract else-
where. We will guarantee that the profits on
our new stock will amply repay you for any
inconvenience you may be put to through
waiting for it.
Thanking you most heartily for your past
favors and patronage, which we assure you
has been highly appreciated, and looking for-
ward to the time, near at hand, when it will
be our pleasure to serve you again, we are,
etc.
CREDIT MEN GO TO ALBANY AND APPEAR
BEFORE THE JOINT COMMITTEE.
"Piano Land" would be an appropriate
name for Fifth avenue and vicinity, as it is
now and will be in the years to come. Every
month almost adds a new name to the list of
invaders.
Beginning on the left hand side going up-
town and including those firms now prepar-
ing to move, the list of instruments repre-
sented embraces the Emerson, Tway, Hallet
& Davis, Shoninger, Needham, New England,
Weber, Mason & Hamlin (practically on the
avenue), Chickering, Waters, Hardman,
Wilcox & White, Knabe, Sohmer and Krell.
On the opposite side of the Avenue the in-
struments represented are the Everett, Gor-
don, Estey, Bradbury and Webster. Union
Square and the streets running from east to
west between Thirteenth and Seventeenth
streets furnish a very imposing quota which
includes the Steinway, Fischer, Steck, Meh-
lin, Christman, Wissner, and numerous others.
Well, the more the merrier. That old
saying, "Two's company, but three's none,"
will have to be paraphrased to read, "Two's
company but a whole score furnishes a com-
plete entertainment." Visitors and others
with even a spark of melody in their souls
cannot fail to appreciate the concentration of
harmonic possibilities in our leading fashion-
able thoroughfare.
The proper thing now will be for the lead-
ing pianists to reside at intervals along the
route, ready to respond at a moment's notice
to calls for service. They would often be
asked to perform for "a mere song," yet even
that mere song might suffice for a small bot-
tle and a bird the next day.
In our mind's eye, each of the brownstone
mansions still standing between Fourteenth
and Twenty-third streets, has on its huge front
door a legend on a metal plate. One reads
"Ignace Paderewski," another "Josef Hoff-
man," a third "Franz Rummel," and so on
along the line. Why should not the great
pianists live in our Piano Land?
Steinway Trade.
Retail business with Steinway & Sons is
remarkably active. In talking with Mr. C.
Cox on Thursday, he stated that there was
no appreciable falling off in business after
the holidays. There is every indication for
a very prosperous year.
On or about May i, there will be a change
at the Krakauer warerooms. It is intended
to transact all wholesale business at the fac-
tory. It is possible that the warerooms may
be moved to the quarters now occupied by
Jacob Doll, who also has a change in con-
templation.
Prof. Fanciulli, leader of the 71st Regiment
Band, has been presented with a very hand-
some and expensive "loving cup." It bears
the inscription " Presented by the New York
Journal to Prof. Fanciulli of the 71st Regi-
ment, for the finest band in the parade of the
Greater New York Carnival, Jan . 1st, 1898."
The "Autono" Attachment.
The Weber-Goolman piano attachment,
now on exhibition at 7 West Fourteenth
street, is visited each week by an interested
stream of experts and manufacturers. Mr.
Weber is doing excellent missionary work.
He displays extraordinary patience and good
temper, even when occasionally troubled with
people who are tiresome and irritating.
The opinion of the Autono's merits is unani-
mously flattering. Its simplicity and perfect
execution calls forth much warm comment.
Its durability and compactness appeals to
many as admirable. It stands very high in
rank among modern successful and practical
inventions.
Frank B. Burns, reported to be suffering
from a sprain, has corresponded regularly
with Mr. Gottschalk at the Burns head-
quarters, and has not stopped work even for
a day.
S. T. Morrow, the well-known dealer of
Elizabeth, N. J., will remove on March 1st
from his present quarters to m First street.
This new store will give Mr. Morrow ample
facilities for further extending his business.
Business is active at the Gabler ware-
rooms. Mr. Bareuther left early in the
week on a short trip.
Greenleaf & Snavlin, Syracuse, N. Y., have
dissolved partnership and have been suc-
ceeded by C. D. Snavlin.
A delegation representing the New York
Credit Men's Association visited Albany Wed-
nesday to be present at a hearing before the
joint committee of the Assembly and Senate
on the bankruptcy bills now pending in the
two houses, the Redington and Nussbaum
measures respectively. One of the members
of the party was Hugo Kanzler, chairman of
the Legislative Committee of the New York
Credit Men's Association. In a talk with Mr.
Kanzler Tuesday he said that various altera-
tions would be favored by the association,
some because they must be made in order that
no injustice should be done by the act, and
others in order to meet the views of members
from up the State. It was possible, he added,
that the joint committee might take up also
the Cantor bill—now on the order of third
reading in the Senate—providing that all
debts against a man should mature at once
upon his making an assignment. This meas-
ure, continued Mr. Kanzler, was a modifica-
tion of a bill which Senator Cantor introduced
last year, but which did not get far on the
road to enactment. The pending bill, in his
opinion—and his association represented with
practical unanimity the views generally of the
business men of New York—was eminently
fair to all creditors alike and not oppressive
to the person making the assignment or tran-
fer. It was an equitable measure, since by
maturing all claims at once it placed all cred-
itors on an equal footing, giving every one
the same chance with every other one to avail
himself of the resources of the law. It was
also of value in enabling creditors to get at
the facts in suspicious cases of transfers of
property a little before the making public of
the fact of insolvency. Mr. Kanzler believes
that the Cantor bill will become a law without
encountering any serious opposition.
Jos. M. Mann Sails.
Joseph M. Mann, of Mann & Eccles, Provi-
dence, R. I., started from New York yester-
day on the steamer City of Washington for
Havana, Cuba, which he visits partly on bus-
iness and partly for pleasure. Mr. Mann
goes well indorsed. He carries letters ot in-
troduction from Gov. Elisha Dyer of Rhode
Island, Senator Aldrich, the Providence Tel-
egram, all addressed to Consul Fitzhugh Lee.
He expects to be away about four weeks.
Among the members of the trade in town
this week were James F. Broderick of the
Straube Piano Co., Chicago; Chas. F. Han-
son, Worcester, Mass.; I. N. Rice of the
Schaeffer Piano Co., Chicago; John Summers
with the Brockport Piano Co., Brockport, N.
Y.; Ross Curtice of the Cramer & Curtice
Co., Lincoln, Neb.; Joseph Mann of Mann
& Eccles, Providence, R. I., and Mr. Minor,
of the Hume-Minor Co., Richmond, Va.
At a meeting of the Philadelphia Piano
Trade Association, held on Feb. 5th, resolu-
tions of regret at the death of E. M. Bruce,
of Estey & Bruce, were passed.