Music Trade Review

Issue: 1898 Vol. 27 N. 3

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OUR CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY.
WILLIAM WALLACE KIMBALL.
INDUSTROGRAPH.
II.
ies have never been followed by a
cessation of hostilities.
New or-
ganizations have been formed, and
the vast machinery of the Kimball
business perfected as well as sim-
plified. There is no halting in the
onward march of Kimball. Splen-
didly officered, the Kimball hosts
have passed successfully over the
Alps of Glory. These great indus-
trial officers help more to make
America great, than do her gold
lace bedizened warriors. Like the
intrepid Scotch warrior whose name
he bears, there is fighting blood in
William Wallace Kimball.
An illustration showing the ex-
tent of the great industrial forces
commanded by William Wallace
Kimball lies in the fact that, with
additions now begun, the mammoth
Kimball factories have eighteen
acres of floor space. The present
capacity of the factory is fifty or-
gans and forty pianos per day, and
still those enormous facilities are
inadequate to supply the demand
for the Kimball product.
WILLIAM WALLACE KIMBALL.
Too much militarism shackles the prog-
ress of any country, no better illustration
of which can be found than in the deca-
dent Spain of to-day. If ever again Spain
should rise to prominence among the fam-
ily of Nations, it must be through the de-
velopment of her industrial arts.
America to-day stands before the world
a lusty, strong-limbed giant, wielding a
blade which is being hardened to a temper
which shall carve the world. Her indus-
trial warriors, like her military and naval
heroes, have proven their strategy and
daring on many a hard-fought field. The
war of industry goes relentlessly on.
There is no truce declared between the
contending armies. It is a fight to a finish
which is virtually extermination.
We have in this trade a number of men
who have demonstrated their ability to
act as captains of industry, and the life
and accomplishments of William Wallace
Kimball are such as to entitle him to the
rank of captain-general—the commander
of the American armies of industry.
Like General Miles, he began life as a
clerk, but has steadily advanced through
the intermediate grades up to the com-
manding position which he occupies to-day.
Captain-General of Industry Kimball has
passed through some exciting, although
bloodless battles, and history records that
he has always come out victorious. Having
conquered territory tributary to Chicago,
he reached out for continental conquests.
These were followed by the Kimball ban-
ners being planted on the heights of Con-
tinental Europe. His remarkable victor-
Bill of Sale Filed.
[Special to The Review.]
Buffalo, N. Y., July n , 1898.
A bill of sale given by Paul Blumenreich
& Co., dealers in books and musical in-
struments at No. 374 Genesee street, to
Alvin Eichler was filed with the county
clerk Saturday.
The "Vose"—a Winner.
The Vose piano is among the ground
gainers in the somewhat fierce fight for
place and prominence always raging more
or less noisily, or in subdued tones,
throughout the ranks of the piano manu-
facturers. The Vose, with its multiplicity
of "strong points,"—particularly in the
matter of design, finish and musical qual-
ity—can rally, and is rallying a big army
of champions. It stands the searchlight
of criticism.
Ivory Sales at Antwerp.
Consul Lincoln, of Antwerp, under date
of May 5, 1898, writes: The second quar-
terly auction of the year was held on the
3d instant, and attracted a large number
of buyers. The ivory offered was as fol-
lows, the figures being approximate:
Congo, 65,476 pounds; Soft, 1,984 pounds;
Angola, 61,067 pounds; Siam, 66 pounds;
Sumatra, 8 pounds.
Total,
128,601.
Total for last year, 162,258.
The whole stock was sold at steady
prices, at an average rise of 38.6 cents.
The price of the heavy species of tusks
was strong; those of from 50 to 70 pounds
advanced in price about 19.3 cents, the
flat species 19.3 to 38.6 cents. The price
of heavy tusks for billiard balls advanced
from 19.3 to 38.6 cents; the light species
as well as the scrivailles, both solid and
hollow, remained unchanged.
The stock on hand to-day is 127,866
pounds, as compared with 185,186 pounds
in 1897. The date of the next auction is
fixed for the 2d of August.
Lefavour's Latest Publications.
Wm. J. Lefavour, the enterprising mu-
sic publisher and dealer of Salem, Mass.,
has just added to his large list of publica-
tions two compositions which merit a great
deal of praise. One is a set of waltzes by
Wm. S. Glynn, dedicated by permission to
Miss Lillian Russell, entitled "Opera
Queen," and the other, an Ethiopian lul-
laby "gem" by Joseph Dignam, bearing
the euphonious title "Hush-a-Bye, Close
You' Eye."
The waltzes are brilliant, melodic, clev-
erly scored, and should win no small share
of popularity. Mr. Glynn and the pub-
lisher can feel proud of them.
A good negro lullaby is always captivat-
ing, and "Hush-a-bye, Close You 1 Eye"
will take its place among the best. The
melody has all the "swing" and "go" and
distinctive "color" that should make it a
great favorite with the public if properly
introduced. Mr. Dignam\s verse is also
excellent.
We would recommend these latest pub-
lications of Mr. Lefavour's to dealers de-
sirous of having in stock compositions that
will sell on their merits.
Piano Manufacture in Russia.
The piano trade in Russia is carried on
almost exclusively by native manufactur-
ers and dealers, and they have until now
had the game pretty much in their own
hands, owing to the prohibitive duty on
pianos, says Music, London. The Ger-
mans have now inserted the thin end of
the wedge, and the enterprising firm of
Carl Ronisch, Dresden, has actually be-
gun to manufacture in St. Petersburg.
A site has been obtained in a fine central
position, on the Krjukoff Canal, not far
from the Imperial Opera, and a factory is
built which will be ready in the autumn;
at least 180 workmen will be employed.
In the meanwhile, the manufacture is be-
ing carried on in temporary premises. In
the south of Russia trade in cheap pianos
flourishes; the native workmen, however,
are engaged chiefly in putting together
the different parts of the instrument,
which are imported ready made into the
country.
Best Arranged of Its Kind.
The improvements to the building on
Broadway occupied by the Raymore Piano
Co., have been completed. New machin-
ery has been placed in the factory of the
latest design, and the plant is now of the
best arranged of its kind in the state.—
Times-Union, Albany, N. Y.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Advance of Chickering.
THE
RECOGNITION ACCORDED IN FOREIGN LANDS NOT RESTING UPON TRADITION, KUT
UPON AN ACTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE PRESENT CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS A
""*"
PROMINENT FIGURE IN THE ARTISTIC LIFE OF THE CONTINENT
CHICKERING HALL AS MUSIC DIFFUSING CENTER.
IN the youngest Amer-
ican possession — Ha-
waii, the oldest Amer-
ican piano—the Chick-
ering, will be a domi-
n a n t factor.
The
Philippines—the far-
off isles of spice—will
likewise become Chick -
eringized under the
Stars and Stripes. The
Pearl of the Antilles
will, too, recognize the beneficent Chicker-
ing influence when the Union Jack floats
proudly over it.
The Chickering piano is an American
institution which has become synonymous
with progress in an art-industrial sense
the world over, for it should be empha-
sized that the lines of Chickering conquests
are not by any means confined to this con-
tinent.
While the Chickering institution can
proudly refer to its glorious past, intimate-
ly associated with musical art in America,
its success of to-day is not by any means
due to the glorious traditions which clus-
ter about the ancient house. While not
desirous of belittling accomplishments and
honors worthily won, yet the house of
Chickering to-day builds its future upon
the fact that it is actuated in every depart-
ment by the spirit of progression, so dom-
inant in America at the close of the cen-
tury. In fact the Chickering piano of
to-day is recognized by eminent critics and
trade experts as being the best embodi-
ment of artistic and mechanical skill of
any product which has heretofore borne
the Chickering patronymic.
FACTORY ENTRANCE.
This success is due to the fact that there
has been no stagnation of energy and no
cessation in operations towards achieving
higher ideals. A business cannot subsist
upon traditions alone, and no matter what
the achievements of the past have been by
any institution, they would count for
naught in the face of relentless competi-
tion unless the standard of the products
were maintained to an eminent degree and
enhanced in a manner consistent with
the advance made in mechanical art.
The Chickering piano of 1898 eclipses
any of its predecessors of the many years
gone before, in that it stands in the high-
est sense as the close of the century em-
bodiment of the piano maker's art. It is
a crystallization—a capstone—a rounding
off of industrial energy as applied to one
special line which began with the birth of
piano making. Antiquity without enter-
prise is practically valueless, but combined
with enterprise, an impetus is given to a
business and a value to its product which
can hardly be estimated in dollars.
Energetic dealers know well the value
A GLIMPSE OF THE FACTORY WAREROOMS.
which lies in the Chickering name, be-
cause they know of the artistic value em-
bodied in the Chickering product of to-
day. They know that its antiquity gives
the name of Chickering a household value
throughout the land, and they know that
that supplemented by an artistic product
is of measureless value to them.
They know, too, that the great house of
Chickering is a progressive institution
which has never been content to rest on
the glorious laurels won throughout its
career of over three-quarters of a century,
but it is constantly on the alert—ever alive
to every new idea and improvement that
would tend to advance intrinsically the
musical value of their superb creations.
It is this combination of untiring activity
wedded to an unsullied reputation that has
given them to-day a new and a greater
prestige than ever before enjoyed in their
career.
Perhaps the secret of the Chickering
success is best expressed in the words of a
prominent dealer, who, in talking about
this institution recently said:
"Chickering & Sons are occupying a
leading place to-day and are progressing
because they are not resting merely upon
tradition or past achievements in order to
gain success. They are as active as the
newest houses, and they always lend an
ear to every suggestion made by the heads
of the practical departments of their
factory that would tend to better perfect
the artistic character of their product.
They are persistently striving not only to
maintain the high standing of the Chicker-
ing instrument, but to place it at a higher
artistic altitude than it has ever before
occupied."
This expression of opinion is succinct
and complete. It is an epitome of the
policy which has given the Chickering
name a new and a greater value in the eyes
of dealers than it has ever before held.
The trade is fully cognizant of the
splendid record made by Chickering &
Sons in the musical and trade world during
the past twelve months. . Their instru-
ments have been played in noted concerts
in this city as well as leading cities in the
Union by distingushed artists, while at
other concerts, which drew the elite of our
city to Chickering Hall, the magnificent ton-
al quality of the Chickering grand has been
admired and praised by the music-loving
public.
The coming season Chickering Hall will
prove a momentous factor in the musical
life of New York. Comprehensive plans
are now being consummated whereby the
Chickering piano will be played in concerts
in this city, as well as in the leading cities
throughout the country, by some distin-
guished artist whose name will be an-
nounced later. In the meantime there
will be the regular Tuesday invitation
series of concerts which promise to be
more brilliant and successful than ever
before. In addition it is proposed to have
a course of madrigal concerts which will
be participated in by leading singers
whose names will be a sufficient guarantee
of the superior quality of the entertain-
ments.
This, however, furnishes only a meagre
idea of the plans under consideration for
the augmentation of the Chickering in the
artistic world the coming season. Back of
this very attractive and interesting pro-
gram, there is an unceasing activity at the
factory, where many new styles of instru-
ments are being prepared for the coming
fall. There is indeed sufficient evidence
on hand to enable us to predict that the
Chickering piano will be heard from as it
has not been for some time during the com-
ing musical season. All this is to the be-
nefit of the energetic dealer, and he should
be "alive" to take advantage of it.
41
Patriotic Songs of the United
States."
The Oliver Ditson Co. have just issued
a volume of convenient size, under the
above title. The title page itself is one of
the most striking yet brought to our ob-
servation. It is printed in the National
colors, and gotten up in a most attractive
form. The patriotic songs in the volume
include "America," "American Hymn,"
" Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Colum-
bia, the Gem of the Ocean," "Dixie's
Land," "Flag of Our Union," "Hail
Columbia," " Our Flag is There," " Rally
Round the Flag," and "The Star Spangled
Banner."
E. Hirsch & Co., agents for the Packard
organs in London, have just received a
large consignment of new styles, entitled
No. 370. They are having a big trade
with the Packard products in London, the
provinces, and on the continent.

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