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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
American Pianos and Organs.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BRANCH OF THE
INDUSTRY REFERRED TO BY A CON-
TEMPORARY HOW OUR FOREIGN
TRADE HAS GROWN.
The music trade industry as particularly
exemplified in pianos and organs is the
subject of a lengthy article in the last issue
of the Philadelphia Manufacturer.
It
opens with a historical sketch of the evolu-
tion of the piano and its development in
this country, based on facts contained in
Spillane's "History of the American
Piano," and proceeds: "Official records
show that in the year 1829 about 2500
pianos, having a total value of $750,000
were made in the country. Of these 900
were made in Philadelphia, 800 in New
York, 717 in Boston, and the remainder in
Baltimore and smaller places. In 1851 the
estimated production was 9000 instruments,
valued at $2,100,000. The census returns
for 1880 show a total of 174 plants, pro-
ducing over $12,200,000 worth of pianos,
while the census of 1890 reported 236 es-
tablishments, representing a capital amount-
ing to $18,430,872. These plants employed
13,057 hands and the gross value of the
output was over $25,700,000 per annum.
"The United States now surpasses any
country in the world in this branch of
manufacturing. There are piano factories
in seventeen different States, and American
pianos are found in every country inhab-
ited by civilized men.
"The figures of the Treasury Depart-
ment for the last fiscal year show that the
following countries were our best piano
customers:
Number.
Quebec, Ontario, e t c . . .
United Kingdom
Mexico
Hawaiian Islands
Nova Scotia, N. B'w'ck,
etc
Germany
Colombia
Argentina
British Australasia
Other countries
Value.
264 $ 66,316
124
31,469
116
26,227
59
13,622
64
47
37
38
31
207
10,330
9,515
9,060
9,018
7,020
149,567
Total..
987 $232,144
" A m o n g the 'other countries' in the
above list were Egypt, the Canary Islands,
French Oceanica, Haiti, Uruguay, China,
and Japan. Musical instruments were
first separated in the Treasury figures in
the year 1870, and in that year the exports
of pianos from the United States were
valued at $144,601. The largest exports
of these instruments for any one year were
those for the year 1893 in which year 2066
pianos were sent out, valued at $760,447."
The organ industry is then taken up.
After a brief resume of the pipe-organ
trade the writer of this article says:
" T h e history of the later development of
this industry in this country is difficult to
follow. For many years most of the piano
concerns built and repaired organs, but
the growth of organ building as a separate
American industry has never been traced
out, as far as we are able to learn. The
first patent on reed organs was granted by
the United States P a t e n t Office in 1812,
and the first of these instruments was not
made till the year 1818. In the year 1880 the
census returns show that there were in the
country 171 organ building concerns, repre-
senting a capital of nearly $4,000,000, em-
ploying over 4000 people, and producing
over $6,100,000 worth of organs. T h e re-
turns for 1890 show a decrease in the num-
ber of plants to 145. T h e capital invested
had increased, however, to $18,400,000, the
number of hands to 13,057, and the output
had a gross value of $25,700,000 per year.
EXPORT TRADE IK ORGANS.
"The export trade in organs, like that
in pianos, has reached quite a large figure,
and the markets occupied by the American
instruments are scattered over the entire sur-
face of the earth. The value of the United
vStates organ and melodeon exports during
the fiscal year 1870, when musical instru-
ments were first separately classified,
reached $101,557. Melodeons, of course,
no longer figure, although at that time
they were an important item. The banner
year for organ exports is 1891, when 14,498
instruments were sent from this country,
valued at $954,507. The chief markets
taking United States organs in the fiscal
year 1898 were as follows:
Number.
Value.
United Kingdom. . . . 7,782 $443,989
Germany
1,296
70,825
British Australasia. .
999
52,721
Netherlands
1,164
45,322
British Africa
805
36,171
Sweden and Norway.
348
15,671
Quebec, Ontario, etc.
92
7,201
Mexico
130
6,649
Other countries
805
64,414
Total
i3»42i $742,963
" O r g a n s were sent during the year to
nearly every conntry in Europe, to eight
South American countries, four of the
Central American States, Samoa, Liberia,
and other countries, provinces and islands
in all parts of the world.
" T h a t this trade is capable of conside-
rable development there can be no reason-
able doubt. One firm, the Miller Organ
Company, located in Lebanon, Pa., informs
us that without the aid of commercial
travelers sent out from the house they have
since the year 1887 established connections
in, and carried on a profitable trade with
the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany,
Russia, Holland, South Africa, Japan,
India, New Zealand, the West Indies and
several of the South American Republics.
The foreign shipments of this concern dur-
ing 1898 amounted to over one-fourth of
its entire output. This is a remarkable
record, and it shows what may be done by
American piano and organ builders if a
little energy is applied in this direction.
"Another firm which is a leader in the
export trade in organs, the Estey Organ
Co., of Brattleboro, Vt., has been export-
ing organs longer than any other company
in the United States, and by 1876 their ex-
ports exceeded those of any other company
in the country, and during some years
since then their shipments have exceeded
those of all other American manufacturers
combined.
They have a large trade in
Great Britain, on the Continent of Europe,
and Australasia, and they have regular
representatives in South Africa, China,
Japan, India and many of the sea islands.
" T h e r e is in this branch of industry, par-
ticularly in the trade in pianos and pipe
organs, an artistic side which makes the
methods to be employed in the develop-
ment of the foreign trade somewhat pecu-
liar. A Boston concern, one of the largest
and most celebrated piano firms in the
country, writes us on this aspect of the in-
dustry as follows:
" 'We have catered for the artistic rather
than the purely commercial trade, not
only in the United States, but in all for-
eign business, so that our export trade has
been largely the result of the acquaintance
of individuals with the merits of our in-
struments rather than any organized efforts
on our part to sell through the regular
trade channels.'
" T h i s , no doubt, is the sentiment enter-
tained by a number of the important
concerns of the country, but many of the
houses have pushed their output by more
nearly commercial methods with the result
that their sales have been largely increased.
The growth of the export trade in these in-
struments, because of the personal and
artistic elements in their sale, may be re-
garded as highly complimentary to the
American product, the increase being due
to the merit of the instruments themselves
rather than to any other cause."
"Camerons" for Australia.
Several important shipments of pianos
have been made within the past few days
from the A. B. Cameron Co.'s factory, in-
cluding twenty-four choice instruments to
Australia and a number of the latest styles
to Canada.
Praise the Behr Piano.
Behr Bros. Co. have on file an imposing
array of voluntary testimonials concerning
the merits of the Behr products. Certifi-
cates of this kind carry great weight, par-
ticularly when, as in the case of Behr Bros.
Co., these documents are sent by profes-
sional musicians who are keen to detect
defects of tone, and fearless, in their con-
demnation of untrustworthy instruments.
Mr. Steinert's Remarks.
At the annual meeting of the New Haven
Symphony Orchestra, held May 7 th,
Morris Steinert was re-elected President
for the ensuing year. Mr. Steinert's ad-
dress on the condition of the'organization
for the past twelve months was most en-
couraging. During the five years existence
of the Orchestra over thirty concerts have
been given, the programs of which have
embraced notable musical works by emin-
ent composers. Mr. Steinert was most
happy in his congratulatory remarks on the
closing of the year's work, and his address
was received with much enthusiasm.
The agency for the Angelus Orchestral
and Symphony organs in Quebec, Can.,
has been secured by Mr. A. A. Foisy, the
enterprising Canadian dealer,