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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Pease
"The tone is rich and powerful and the
Piano Co.'s New Cata-
construction
perfect.
iogue.
CONTAINS MANY INTERESTING FEATURES
FIVE NEW STYLES PICTURED AS HANDSOME
IN APPEARANCE AS SATISFYING IN TONAL
QUALITIES A CREDITABLE PRODUC-
TION.
The advent of the new " Popular Pease"
catalogue, just issued as «. fall announce-
ment of the Pease program, may justly be
considered as one of the most important
current events in the piano trade. New
catalogues are not rare, but it seldom hap-
pens that a complete change of styles is re-
corded by any firm in a single season.
The Pease program for the fall in-
cludes no less than five new styles in up-
rights, each of the five having distinct at-
tractions of its own. To praise one is to
praise all. The new Popular Pease Grand
Uprights, Styles M, X, O, 2, and 1, are
models of good taste architecturally, and
include numerous admirable departures
from the usual set styles which abound
everywhere.
In proportions, tone, details of construc-
tion and finish, these instruments take
high rank. They mark another stride
made by this progressive firm in their con-
stant advance toward perfection. It is
safe to prophesy a successful season for
the Popular Pease products.
On one of the first pages of the new
Pease catalogue appears an interior view
of a Pease upright, showing clearly the
completeness of mechanism and finish for
which Pease pianos have become famous.
Then follows an illustration and descrip-
tion of the Popular Pease small parlor
grand, style A. This handsome instru-
ment is being made in rosewood finish and
figured mahogany. It has many admirers
and has made a host of friends.
The introductory text of the new Pease
catalogixe contains many valuable reasons
why the Pease products have become pop-
ular. Chief among these are the notes
made under the heading "Construction and
Finish." Those who know the Pease
pianos cannot fail to recognize the abso-
lute truth of the statements made in this
connection. They will bear repetition
here:
"Our pianos are all manufactured from
the best of materials. We use only thor-
oughly seasoned and kiln-dried lumber,
employ none but the very best workmen,
and superintend in person every depart-
ment of their manufacture.
"We use only the choicest veneers for
our cases, and our case-designs are uni-
versally recognized as the highest class of
piano architecture.
"Great attention is given to our varnish
department; only the best quality of var-
nish being used and ample time being
given for drying between each coat, as the
quick-drying process now in use among
many manufacturers is apt to destroy the
glue through over-heating, causing the
veneers to raise in blisters, and other glued
parts of the case to become loose,
"Another important feature of the
'Pease' piano is its durability, as instances
in which our piano has outlived and out-
worn those of other makes are not only
frequent but quite common, so much so
that whenever the 'Pease' piano is men-
tioned the term 'durable' is at once associ-
ated with it."
This tells nearly the whole story in a
nutshell. By strict attention to details
such as are enumerated above, the firm
have placed the Pease pianos where they
stand to-day.
A. G. Cone Returns.
Albert G. Cone, treasurer of the W. W.
Kimball Co., Chicago, is back at his desk
after a two months vacation which was pro-
lific of splendid results, judging from ap-
pearances. His physical renovation, if we
may use the word, is due to the fact that
when he left Chicago he laid aside the
cares and worries of office and enjoyed
himself by laying in a big stock of health,
hence he returns splendidly prepared to
enter actively into the fall campaign.
Department Store Recitals.
Now that Bloomingdale Bros, have in-
augurated piano recitals, with Henrietta
Markstein as soloist, we may expect
Siegel-Cooper, Macy, and other depart-
ment stores to follow suit. A music hall
with continuous performances will be a
feature of the department store of the fu-
ture. Whether this will exert a beneficial
influence on the visitors is of course prob-
lematical and depends entirely upon the
class of music rendered.
Julius A. J. Friederich.
Julius A. J. Friederich, the progressive
music dealer of Grand Rapids, Mich., has
been tarrying within our gates this week.
In a chat with Mr. Friederich in The Re-
view sanctum on Wednesday he spoke
quite hopeftilly of business prospects in
his section. " There is every indication of
a prosperous fall season," said Mr. Fried-
erich, " and things are shaping themselves
to that end. The summer has not been a
good one from a business standpoint, due,
no doubt, to the extremely hot and un-
comfortable weather."
Mr. Friederich controls a large trade
throughout Western Michigan, and being
widely popular, should enjoy at no distant
date even a fuller measure of prosperity
than that which has already come his way.
Mueller's Trip.
Joseph Mueller, of the Wiley B. Allen
Co., Portland, Ore., has just returned
from an extended trip through Idaho, vis-
iting Warren, the famous mining camp,
where he sold and delivered several pi-
anos, the first that were ever taken over
the mountains into that vicinity. Mr.
Mueller says everybody in that country is
apparently doing well, and times are good.
IVAYRON A. DECKER returned to the
* * * city on Saturday last from an ex-
tended vacation. This veteran in the
army of piano manufacturers continues to
withstand the ravages of time, both men-
tally and physically, and carries in his
face the same bloom of youth that made
him the picture of good health half a cen-
tury ago—in those good old times when a
man leaving the City Hall for Harlem on
a friendly visit bade good-bye to his
friends and parted with locks of his hair
as tokens of affection and esteem to be
carefully kept for memory's sake in the
event of his failing to return within a rea-
sonable period. They little dreamt of
"rapid transit" in those days!
*
*
*
*
TN telling the readers of the current issue
* of the Etude "How to buy a piano,"
Caroline Mather Lathrop covers the stereo-
typed ground regarding materials used,
the tone quality and mechanism of the
instrument, but displays much originality
in her summing up, particularly when she
bears on the influence of the especial woods
used on the tone of the instrument. " Try
to get a piano suited to your individual
needs," says this w r riter, "for pianos are
legion nowadays, and if one looks faith-
fully, it is surely possible to find one
which approximates one's own qualities.
Of course, the case is to be considered last
of all, as regards mere looks. But not in
regard to the tone. It is true, however,
of instruments, that where an action is
comparatively perfect, and there seems no
especial reason why the tone should not be
clear and free, it has been heavy and
muffled. I have traced this, after much
effort to find the cause, to a heavy, cum-
bersome case. Even the casters of a piano
add somewhat to the vibration.
"Many, many times am I sure that the
great weight of mahogany has destroyed
what might have otherwise been a good
tone. This is not so often the case with
rosewood—that beautiful product which is
used now so little for the cases. But I,
for one, would prefer to have it, and run
the risk of checking, to which this wood is
so liable. A sympathetic tone quality is
very apt to accompany a rosewood case.
This wood adds a softening effect to the
whole. For all-round, everyday wear, an
ebonized case is a good one. The tone is
very apt to be good and common-sense.
The black is liable to come off, in some
cases, if the right temperature is not main-
tained. For, after all, pianos are like
people, and you must take good care of
them. For most, an even, medium tem-
perature is best. I think the ebony case
stands with the oak in durability. But