Music Trade Review

Issue: 1899 Vol. 28 N. 19

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
During the present month, May, the
Steinway piano will be used in thirty-nine
concerts in London. During April it was
in evidence at twenty-one concerts in the
same city, the majority of which were of a
most distinguished character.
Three designs of pianos, recently placed
on the market by the Smith & Barnes Piano
Co., Chicago, entitled Styles A, C and F,
are attracting considerable attention and
praise from dealers to whom they have
been shipped. They are of the Colonial
style of architecture, well balanced and
tastefully finished. There is certain to be
a big demand for these instruments during
the season.
Steger & Co. have just closed a contract
for three million feet of stock lumber to be
used in the manufacture of cases, etc. This
company expect to employ a largely in-
creased force of men as soon as the new
factory now in process of erection is com-
pleted.
"Jack" Spies started off on Tuesday for
a month's tour through the Eastern states
in behalf of the "Majestic" piano. Con-
sidering the excellent reputation already
won by the "Majestic," he ought to be
well received at every stopping place.
Geo. Schleiffarth, the well-known com-
poser, and a member of the retail staff of
the W. W. Kim ball Co., Chicago, celebrates
his fiftieth anniversary on May 13th. Mr.
Schleiffarth has a host of friends in the
trade who extend to him congratulations
on this aiispicious occasion.
The Baldwin concert grand played by
Geo. Schneider at the music rooms con-
nected with the Baldwin warerooms in Cin-
cinnati last Saturday, achieved a great
artistic success.
J. E. Whitehead, who for eight years
has been connected with the Girard Piano
Co., Oakland, Cal. has severed his connec-
tion with that firm, and has accepted the
management of the Bruenn Piano Co. of
San Francisco.
Easman & Co., who represent the cele-
brated Sohmer, Hazelton and Newby &
Evans pianos, and the Angelus Orchestral
in Newburgh, N. Y., are now settled in
new and larger quarters at 30 Water Street.
The enterprise of the L. Grrmewald Co.
and Mr. Rene Grunewald, is the subject of
a deservedly flattering article in " E l
Comerciante y Agricultor," a new paper
printed in the Spanish language and pub-
lished in New Orleans with the object of
covering all the South American countries.
A slight fire in the factory of the Ray-
more Piano Co., Albany, N. Y., on Satur-
day night, was extinguished by the fire
department without any damage to build-
ing or stock.
Chris. Garritson, president of the Kroeger
Piano Co., and Thos. La M. Couch, secre-
tary of the firm, have nearly recovered
from their indisposition and are now at the
factory attending to business.
The suit of Morse, William & Co. vs.
Jared J. Looschen, the piano case manu-
facturer, for $300, the balance of a bill for
putting an elevator in the defendants' fac-
tory came up this week. The defendant
did not dispute the debt, and asked for a
non suit proving to the satisfaction of
the court that the elevator was not entirely
completed. The non suit was granted.
E. Edwin Long, one of the McPhail road
ambassadors, was a visitor to The Review
sanctum this week. Mr. Long covers
part of the Eastern territory and reports
an unusually active condition of business
at the McPhail factory as also with the
dealers handling the McPhail piano.
The Farwell Music Co. opened up this
week at 354 St. Peter street, St. Paul,
Minn., with a fine line of pianos embracing
the Mason & Hamlin, the Behr, the A. B.
Chase, the Kurtzmann and others.
The city council of Trenton, N. J., this
week put in effect an ordinance which com-
pels piano and organ dealers to pay an an-
nual license fee of five dollars. The de-
pleted condition of the treasury is the ex-
cuse for this tax.
Billhorn Bros, is the name of a new firm
of organ manufacturers who have opened
up offices at 156 Fifth avenue, Chicago,
with a factory at 276 North Hoyne avenue.
P. P. Billhorn, the founder of the concern,
is well known as a singing evangelist and
a composer.
C. O. Carpenter has taken the agency for
the Russell-Lane piano for the State of
Iowa. He intends to work that territory
in a very thorough manner.
The piano dealers of St. Louis have sub-
scribed very liberally, the majority giving
a thousand dollars each, toward the World's
Fair to be held in that city in 1903. The
fund for this purpose has now reached over
n
O. H. Unger, of O. H. Unger & Son,
Reading, Pa., and J. A. Brown, Ellenville,
N. Y., both Mason & Hamlin represent-
atives, have visited the Mason & Hamlin
warerooms this week and left orders.
An important shipment of Mason &
Hamlin instruments has been made this
week to South Africa.
-Stultz & Bauer are very bus}\ Mr. Gold-
en returned on Friday evening last, hav-
ing made a trip extending over three
months.
Kranich & Bach business is active. Mr.
Kraemer is now traveling in Texas. Mr.
O'Brien is on tour in the New England
States.
Wilcox & White are gaining many friends
for their Angelus Orchestral. A number
of important sales have been made this
week.
Robt. A. Widenmann returned this week
from a successful trip in the Strich & Zeid-
ler interest.
Attached the Violin.
In the vault at the jail reposes in its
ample case, with a purple velvet scarf ly-
ing on it, a violin, which is the property of
J. W. L. Van Oordt, the celebrated young
violin virtuoso, late of Holland. It repre-
sents the results of an attachment for
$1,250 issued at noon yesterday, in the
Superior court, in the suit of Francis
Knowles, Charles De Groat, J. W. L. Van
Oordt and Dr. A. R. F. Grob. Deputy
Sheriff Charles Robinson attached the
property at 12 :3o at the residence of Mr.
Van Oordt, 519 Jackson. The deputy
sheriff was instructed to bring with him
Van Oordt's $6,000 Stradivarius, but it was
not to be found, and so he took the fiddle
which is now in the jail vault, which the
owner said was worth $1,200, and seventy-
$3,000,000.
five years old. He declared that he bought
At the recent semi-annual meeting of it for $800 six years ago. Inside the in-
the directors of the Jesse French Piano & strument is a card bearing these words :
Organ Co., the report rendered showed a "George Winterling, Hamburg, 1891."
condition of business far in excess of that —Milwaukee, Wis., Sentinel.
of any similar period.
H. L. Goodnow & Co. have started in
Novel Libel Suit.
business at 219 South Third street, Grand
A special to the New York Commercial
Rapids, Mich. They will handle a full
from Toledo, O., says:—In the Federal
line of pianos, organs and small goods.
L. Avisus, who is well and favorably Cotirt here the Weber-Wheelock Co., of
known as a maker of high-grade pianos, is New York, has sued the Lima Times-
now settled in his new factory at 332-340 Democrat for $25,000 for alleged libel.
The point raised is of great interest to
North Wood street, Chicago.
newspaper
and business men. The peti-
Schleicher & Sons have moved from
tioners
assert
that a local firm advertised
their old quarters in Mt. Vernon to a new
in
the
Democrat
and referred to their
building on Wilson Place near the New
pianos
in
a
malicious
and defamatory
Haven Railroad.
manner. They seek to hold the publishers
J. Button and I. T. Barnhart, have been for alleged libel.
arrested in Kansas City, Mo., on a charge
of stealing a number of band instruments
Aluminum Still Popular.
from the band organization of South Mc-
Alester, I. T., with which they were
The Aluminum Musical Instrument Co.'s
formerly connected.
factory at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., reports an
J. W. Shaw, the well-known piano dealer excellent condition of trade. This concern
of Montreal, Can., has taken the manage- are getting out a line of specialties which,
ment of Windsor Hall in that city, and in wherever they are used, are becoming bet-
future all arrangements for concerts, enter- ter liked. The aluminum goods are novel-
tainments, etc., will be made at his music ties in every respect and many dealers
l;aye found them to be most salable,
warerooms, St Catherine street,
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
J2
which has been so noticeable a feature of
his business policy for some time past.
At the Electrical Exposition, which is
The present products of the Poole factory
now drawing crowds to the Madison well bear out the compliments paid them
Square Garden, the Estey Phonorium and by dealers and purchasers. They are not
the Pianophone are the centers of attrac- only attractive in design, but thoroughly
tion. Recitals are given nightly on both satisfactory from a musical standpoint.
instruments. No more convincing proof Before leaving the factory, they undergo
of the tonal resources of the Phonorium is a thorough supervision which accounts for
needed than to hear this instrument played the few complaints ever made regarding
in the "Garden"—it fills the immense au- these instruments.
ditorium with melody, while the quality is
In view of the policy of the Poole Piano
that of a pipe organ.
Co., it is hardly surprising that the factory
The Pianophone attracts considerable should be "a veritable hive of industry" as
attention. Crowds surround the booths our friend expresses it. This agreeable
nightly where it is on exhibition, express- condition of affairs demonstrates the value
ing surprise and pleasure at the perfection of quality in a piano and the wisdom of
and finish of the interpretations. Good building an instrument that is a source of
results must accrue from this publicity.
honor and credit to the manufacturer.
At the Electrical Exposition.
The Poole Pianos
Bright Business Outlook.
ESTIMATED FROM THE DEALER'S STANDPOINT
A TRIBUTE TO THESE INSTRUMENTS
OF WHICH THE POOLE CO. CAN
FEEL PROUD—QUALITY
TELLS EVERY TIME.
The business situation and prospects
continue to be most satisfactory according
to the commercial reviews. Dun's latest
statement says: " T h e failures in April
were the smallest in any month since
records by months began, 38 per cent
smaller than in April of last year, not
a third of the amount in 1897, and not
half the amount in April of any previous
year. Both in manufacturing and in trad-
ing they were the smallest ever known in
that month, and in trading the smallest
ever known in any month. The ratio of
defaulted liabilities to solvent payments
through clearing houses was less than 70
cents per $1,000, against 90 cents in Janu-
ary, and $1.19 in March, $7.89 in August
and $8.02 in September, 1896. A great
share of the risk in the business world has
been eliminated. It is not inconsistent or
strange if business halts, because it has
been crowded to the utmost for four
months in anticipating future needs on ac-
count of new combinations proposed'. In
some cases prices have been advanced so
far as to check new business, and in other
works have been engaged so far ahead
that new orders cannot be taken. Yet
new business in amount which would
have been astonishing two years ago is
still coming forward, and the voluntary
advance in wages by many firms shows
confidence in the future. "
A dealer who visited the factory of the
Poole Piano Co., Boston, said this week in
speaking of this establishment: " I t is a
veritable hive of industry. Every depart-
ment is working to its fullest capacity, and
better than all, the demand for the instru-
ments is so active that there is little, if
any, delay in the stock room.
" I am not surprised at this, however;
the Poole is one of the biggest trade mak-
ers I have ever handled, and it has never
failed to give satisfaction to purchasers,
and that nowadays is the main point which
a dealer who intends to remain in the
piano business is considering. The Poole
Piano Co. have evidently made it their pol-
icy to improve their pianos by the strictest
adherence to the highest standard of con-
struction and the use of the best materials,
and they have succeeded, in my opinion,
in making an instrument that is the super-
ior in quality of anything on the market
at the price.
" I t is this devotion to a high standard
that is making the Poole piano appreciated
by dealers. They find that they have dis-
tinct value as a seller—a fighting value, to
express it more forcibly. They are not
only, able to withstand competition, but
conquer in the face of the strongest fight.''
This testimony, entirely unsolicited, and
imparted in the course of an informal con-
versation, is a tribute to the Poole Piano
Co. and their products, which cannot be
lightly overlooked. It is the more valuable
because it is in line with numerous expres-
sions of opinion on file at the Poole factory
from dealers doing business in various sec-
tions of the country who comment along
the same lines on the sterling merits of the
Poole pianos of '99 and extol the policy of
W. H. Poole, the head of the institution,
in making quality the prime essential in
the building of the piano that bears his
name. And no doubt it is these kindly
words of encouragement from the trade at
large that have stimulated Mr. Poole to fur-
ther effprts along the line of adyancement
The Schwander Action.
Aug. Palle the representative of the
Schwander actions for this country and
Canada, was seen by The Review on
Wednesday and made a most encouraging
report on trade conditions. In order to se-
cure greater facilities for carrying on the
the business, Mr. Palle has enlarged his
factory, which now occupies two large
floors.
Asked if he intended to travel in the
near future, Mr. Palle replied: "Why
should I travel, when there is plenty of
work to be done here on current orders?
Those on whom I have already called have,
in many instances, become good customers,
and we are working now on contracts
made with them."
Krakauer Bros.
EACH MEMBER OF THE GO-AHEAD HOUSE
PUSHING THE WHEELS OF PROGRESS
ALONG
BUSINESS CONDI-
TIONS EXCELLENT.
Work at the Krakauer factories continues
with unabated zeal. The new wholesale
warerooms are gradually approaching
completion, but the out-of-town and local
calls for instruments is so large and persis-
tent that it is at present impossible to keep
any piano on the floor for exhibition.
Julius Krakauer at present accepts, as his
share of the general work of the firm, a
supervision of the factory and office work
at the 125th street establishment. In this
he is ably seconded by Daniel Krakauer,
who is ever on the alert to further the
firm's interest.
David Krakauer, who has been suffering
severely from sickness for some months, is
still compelled to rest under the doctor's
care. For many years he took a very ac-
tive part in the work of general supervi-
sion, and his continued indisposition is
keenly felt by the other members of the
firm, all of whom hold him in great esteem
for his many excellent business and per-
sonal traits.
Maurice Krakauer, at the present time,
is giving much of his attention to the de-
tails of work at the new case factory, north
of the Harlem. Owing largely to his vig-
orous administration of this trust, the
factory is now in almost perfect working
order. The new machinery, including
many valuable pieces recently introduced,
is firmly installed and kept going. The
stock of lumber and veneers now available
is one of the largest and choicest in the
United States. The veneers include many
rare logs, impossible to duplicate, even ap-
proximately.
Reinhart Kochmann, who has fully
justified the confidence placed in his judg-
ment and business skill by the firm, is do-
ing good service. At present he is out of
town on an important mission, represent-
ing Julius Krakauer, who is unable to
leave the city during the existing stress of
work.
ATTACHMENT
MUSIC
PLAYS
The Pianophone is creating new admirers
every day. There is no question but that it is
the greatest self-playing device on the market.
Its simplicity, the ease with which it can be at-
tached to any piano, the perfect control which
the player has over it at all times, and the as.
tonishing musical results which can be produced,
make it an educator in the highest sense. All
shades and gradations desired by the individual
player are possible with the Pian ophone.
Dealers should write regarding Territory to
Pianophone Co.
Factory, 44-46 East Houston Street,
NEW YORK,

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