Music Trade Review

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THE
REVIEW
ffUJIC TIRADE
!>.oo PBR YEAR
V O L . X X X I I . No. 23.
pilisM Era? Sat. by Edward Lyman Bill al 3 East Fonrteeiitl Street, New Toil June 8,1901. SINGLE COPIES io CENTS
ent names, nor ever will be, as long as I am
The New Apollo Qrand.
Spies On Business Topics.
Talks Upon Important Trade Hatters Stencil-
ling a Great Evil—Keeps up Catalogue House
Competition.
"May was an excellent month with us," re-
marked Henry Spies, president of the Spies
Piano Manufacturing Co., to The Review
this week. "The dealers are beginning to
understand the values which we supply in
the 'Majestic,' and those who have tested
the merits of our instruments are enthusi-
astic in their praise.
"We believe in protecting dealers, and
there is no stencil business in connection
with this institution. How much better it
is for a regular dealer to secure an agency
for a reliable make of piano, and know that
he is to be protected in every way, than to
have some local competitor offer the same
piano under a different name—not only one
competitor, but perhaps three or four in
a town. In such a business there is no en-
couragement for a dealer to push an instru-
ment of a certain make, because he is being
constantly undermined by stencil compe-
tition all the while.
"The stencil business has been the curse
of this industry, and manufacturers will re-
alize it some day. Had the Reddington Bill
passed, which would have compelled the man-
ufacturers to put their name on every piano
that they manufacture, it would have been
a vast encouragement to the industiy of this
State, a state in which perhaps more sten-
ciling is done than in any other in the
Union.
"I was raised in a business atmosphere
of honesty and fairness, and I did not ac-
cumulate property by falsehood and misrep-
resentation, and I do not believe a manufac-
turer to-day who misleads the public by
stenciling all kinds of names on pianos is
helping to establish any business future for
himself.
"We want correct business methods in this
trade, and we want business honesty, and
stenciling indiscriminately is not business
honesty.
"When T came into this business T con-
cluded that we would advance right, or not
at all, and while our progress has not been
phenomenal, it has been on a sure found-
ation, and to-day we have ample proof in
testimonials which we receive almost daily
that our instruments are becoming more
and more appreciated. Dealers recognize
the fact that we mean to give them solid
value every time, and that we stand behind
them and protect them in their territory.
There can be no two or three 'Majestic'
pianos sold in the same town under differ-
connected with the business.
"Yes, the catalogue house competition is
a great evil, as has been stated clearly in The
Review on a number of occasions, but I
claim that the catalogue house competition
could not exist were it not for the stencil
manufacturers.
"This trade must be watchful of its own
interests, or it cannot progress. I do not
believe in sensational methods of conduct-
ing business; I had always rather advance
slowly and surely, and know precisely where
I stand, than to go into this scheme of busi-
ness expansion which seems to be so popu-
lar with some. Treat men fairly, give them
good values and protect their interests in
every way possible, should insure the suc-
cess of any institution."
Rohlfing Loss Settled.
[Special to The Review.]
Milwaukee, Wis., June 3, 1901.
The loss sustained by the Wm. Rohlfing
& Sons Music Co., through the fire in their
establishment on Broadway two or three
months ago, has at last been adjusted through
the office of Gen. Manager T. J. Brennan
of the Wisconsin Adjusters for the Insured.
The result of the adjustment is that the
company receives from the insurance com-
panies the full face of its policies, amount-
ing to $75,000. This is one of two dis-
tinct concerns which did business on Broad-
way. The other company, Wm. Rohlfing
& Co., dealers in pianos, settled with the
..isurance companies several weeks ago. To-
day's settlement closes all cases resulting
from the Broadway fire.
Redemption of Revenue Stamps.
On the 1st of July the Revenue Stamp re-
duction goes into effect. In amounts of
$2 or more stamps can be redeemed on July
1st, if application is made to the Collector
of the Internal Revenue from whom the
stamps were purchased, it being necessary
to fill out a certain form. No claim will be
allowed unless redeemed within two years
of the purchase of the stamps from the gov-
ernment. After July 1st no stamps will be
required on bank checks, bills of lading for
exports, express receipts, insurance policies,
leases, money orders, telegraph messages,
telephone messages, warehouse receipts, etc.
Will Make Piano Cases.
The factory to be vacated by the Bram-
bach Piano Co. in Dolgeville, N. Y., will
be henceforth devoted, it is said, to the
manufacture of piano cases. It is thought
that by September as many as ninety hands
will be employed.
The Latest Achievement of flelvllle Clark a
Marvel—Plays the Grand Piano with Less
Effort Than the Old Players Operate an
Upright—Contains a Number of Individual
Features—Will be Heard at Buffalo.
The latest creation of Melville Clark, the
president and inventive genius of the Mel-
ville Clark Piano Co., is the Apollo grand
piano-player, which has just been brought
to public notice in Chicago. This new de-
vice, which has been in process of perfection
for many months, is voted by all who have
examined it—and those include many musi-
cians of eminence—to be the most important
contribution to the piano-playing contingent
ever made. The dimensions of the new
Apollo grand are: 49^2 inches long; 40
inches deep and 18 inches wide. This gives
it twenty-three notes in excess of the largest
piano-player on the market, in other words,
it will play eighty-eight notes in all.
The Apollo grand has a number of new
and important features which make it en-
tirely individual. For instance, there is the
automatic "take-up" for music sheets, a
mechanism that aligns the music sheet in
case it should shrink or expand, in this way
protecting the music rolls from injury.
Another point: the new grand does not re-
quire any special cut of music, and it re-
quires no more effort to blow or play than
is bestowed upon the small players, while
another feature is the bellows rest which
saves the rubber cloth on the bellows by
removing the strain. This gives the instru-
ment many more years of service.
All who have heard the new Apollo grand
played are a unit in declaring that in bril-
liancy, expressiveness and power, it is ab-
solutely unique in the domain of piano-
players.
The formal debut of the Apollo grand
will occur at the Pan-American Kx position,
Buffalo, N. Y., where it doubtless will at-
tract the attention and admiration of musi-
cians and others who cannot fail to pay
tribute to the master mind of Melville
Clark, who has given us his greatest achieve- •
ment.
Weaver Shipments Large.
The shipments made this week by the
Weaver Organ & Piano Co., York, Pa., in-
clude not only a vast number of important
points in the United States, but also to their
representatives in Europe. The latest Wea-
ver styles in organs have deservedly won
a large measure of popularity. In casing and
musical effects they were never better than
to-day.