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THE MUS*C TRADE REVIEW
New Crown Catalogue.
A MAGNIFICENT VOLUME THAT TAKES ESPE-
CIAL RANK BY REASON OF ITS PERFEC-
TION AND ORIGINALITY IN THE LIT-
ERARY AND TYPO-LITHOGRAPH-
ICAL FIELDS.
For many years Geo. P. Bent has been
one of the high priests of art in advertis-
ing 1 . His latest production in the domain
of publicity, however, must win for him
an especial place among the select few in
the heaven of artisticity who appreciate
the exact value of advertising in catalogue
form.
The catalogue of Crown pianos which
has just been produced by Mr. Bent is not
merely a magnificent presentation of his
latest styles in uprights—remarkable artis-
tic creations, by the way—but it rises to
the dignity of a volume of essays on piano
making in its varied phases. They bear
indirectly, of course, on the Crown, and
are admirably presented in literary form—
concise, logical and convincing.
The introductory page, which we repro-
duce, is, it must be admitted, decidedly
Bentesque:
This book constitutes our regular cata-
logue. To dwell upon all of our claims of
superiority for the "Crown' piano, or to
go into details on all points of construc-
tion,, has not been our purpose herein. We
have simply endeavored to give vent to
some facts worthy of the consideration of
both the dealer and retail buyer, and to
touch upon a few of the most important
features of the "Crown."
We do not make the only high-grade,
up-to-date and satisfactory piano on the
market; there are some others—we know
it, and we are honest enough to admit it.
In justice to ourselves, however, we are
bound to state that no other piano pos-
sesses the many desirable features found
in the "Crown," nor is so much value
given in any other make. This does not
in any way impair the value of other first-
class pianos. It simply shows the "Crown"
up in its true light—to be the best value.
"Crown" pianos are so constructed that
buyers get full value for their money—
and a little more! We have made a great
number of pianos—always good, but never
so good as now. We do not know of a dis-
THE YORKVILLE PIANO CO.,
satisfied customer. Did you ever hear of
one?
Competitors sometimes feel the "good-
ness" of the "Crown" so keenly that, in
their anxiety to sell the make they repre-
sent, they forget themselves, as they prob-
ably often did in their early days when
their mother asked where they had been
upon their arrival home with wet hair.
But don't be too hard on them. Blame the
"Crown" for being so good.
The quality of the literary matter is best
revealed, however, in the following chap-
ter devoted to "The Piano of the Present."
When Morse gave to the world his ideas
in telegraphy, and Gray discovered the
principle of the telephone, no one foresaw
what the future would do for these dis-
coveries, and if the people had been satis-
fied with what they had, and no one taken
up the work where these men let off, we
would not now have the wonderful con-
ductors of sound and voice in their present
state of perfection. The piano has experi-
enced somewhat the same conditions.
If no one had thought there was a chance
for improvement in the piano, the piano of
to-day would not be what it is. The best
upright pianos offered at the present time
have been developed by progressive men
of to-day who believed regarding the
piano as did Edison and Bell of the tele-
phone—that there was a vast field for im-
provement.
There are, however, old and well-known
pianos on the market that show no im-
provements either inside or outside since
the days of their original makers, years
ago. They were good pianos then and
earned a reputation for quality and dura-
bility. In material and workmanship they
are first-class now. So is the old cradle,
but most people who gather the golden
grain prefer the self-binder. We do not
claim that a buyer should not pay for a
good name, i. e., a name earned by pro-
gressive merit of recent years; on the con-
trary we claim he must, if he would have a
good instrument, for the name carries with
it a guaranty of quality and a high degree
of workmanship. But a name made years
ago when, the industry was in its infancy,
and knowledge had not increased to its
present proportions, is worth but "little to
one who desires the best the present day
affords.
Some of the older established houses
would lead one to believe that the piano
of their predecessors was perfect—that the
founders of their instruments were unlike
other experimenters and inventors, in that
they learned during their lives all that was
essential in the art of piano making. Sev-
eral of the old-time instruments have not
been improved upon because the makers
actually deceive themselves into believing
that perfection was attained years ago.
Other houses are following this method be-
cause it is easy. It requires no special
energy or wear and tear of one's gray mat-
ter to sell on an old reputation. Some
people will pay twice and thrice what any
good name is worth for a name that is a
"has been." This admits of the instru-
ments being made of good material and
putting on trills of no intrinsic value, but
which add to the cost. The fact that these
houses have made no improvements, but
are selling on a reputation of the past,
proves these assertions.
According to all scientific research, a
man who was sixty years old in the days of
the infancy of the piano industry, was no
older than a man of sixty to-day, and it is an
undeniable fact that a man of thirty to-day
can be better informed on all subjects than
a man of sixty two decades ago. He has
the advantage of all the experiments of
the past and can begin, if he will, where
his forefathers left off.
Piano making is an experimental art open
to the world. One manufacturer is at lib-
erty to experiment on what has been done
by another and improve upon it if he can.
No one manufacturer has a monopoly on
best material or best skilled labor. They
both may be had for a price.
The "Crown " piano is the result of the
progressive ambition of one who fully
realized that the perfect piano did not and
never would exist, but who saw the need
of improvements, and knew people would
be quick to appreciate real merit along this
line, and was determined to produce the
very best piano possible. Men of skill,
genius, musical and mechanical ability,
and much experience were employed to
perfect the "Crown" piano, and so well
have they worked out the task given
them that to-day the "Crown" stands
alone, virtually in a sphere of its own,
and its fame is world wide as the nxst
musical and durable piano of the cen-
tury. We claim, and others high in musi-
cal circles whose opinions are not biased
or bought have said, that the "Crown '
piano, as made to day, is the instru-
ment par excellence—strictly and in the
fullest sense an artistic piano. It is
TELEPHONE, 162 MELROSE.
MANUFACTURERS OF
High-Grade : Upright : Pianos,
5U-5J3 E. 137th STREET.
York, May 7th, 1900.
I beg to notify the trade that I have severed my connections with
the L. Ricca Piano Co., and have started to manufacture a High-grade
Commercial Piano, tinder the firm name of the Yorkville Piano Co.,
located at 511-5 13 East 137th Street, N. Y. City. In announcing this
move I wish to emphasize that it is my purpose to make a first-class
commercial instrument, superior in scale, tone, finish, material and
workmanship to any similar grade piano on the market.
I beg to
thank the trade at large for past clientage and express the hope that
the very pleasant personal business relations may long be continued and
extended.
Very respectfully yours,
H. J. GROENEVELD,
Yorkville Piano Company.