Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1901 Vol. 33 N. 16

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
TWENTY-THIRD YEAR.
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J . B. S P I L L A N E ,
Executive Staff:
MANAGING EDITOR
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
Even Saturday at 3 East 14th Street, New York.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico
and Canada, $2.00 per year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEflENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount
is allowed. Advertising Pages $;o.oo, opposite reading matter,
it is changed, and the following appears to
bo the style pursued by Mr. Poppenberg:
HAVE A LOOK
Piano Bargains.
AT
OUR
$250 New Pianos go at $98.50
$300 New Pianos go at $108
$350 New Pianos go at $139
$400 New Pianos go at $167
$450 New Pianos go at $198
$500 New Pianos go at $317
$550 New Pianos go at $268
$600 New Pianos go at $293
Our stock consists of Kimball. Krell,
Haines. Chickermu Bros , Marshall &
Wen ell, Gabler, Blasius & Sons Mel-
v lie Chirk, Lester, Milton and many
POPPENBERG'S
7S
636 Main St.
~~
Easy Payments.
Open Evenings.
SECOND - HAND PIANOS FROM
$10 AND UPWARD.
All the Latest Husic at Popular
Prices.
REniTTANCES, in other than currency form, should be
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as.Second Class Matter
NEW YORK, OCT. 19, 1901.
TRLEPHONE NUMBER, 1745^EIOHTEENTH STREET.
On the first Saturday of each
ARTISTS'
month The Review contains in its
DEPARTMENT " Artists' Department" all the cur-
rent musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or ser-
vice of the trade section of the paper. It has a
special circulation, and therefore augments mater-
ially the value of The Review to advertisers.
THE
If the average man analyzed that advertise-
ment closely and believed it, he would con-
sider that a piano ordinarily offered at $250
afforded the dealer a fair margin of profit
at $98.50, and that a $400 piano was a good
DIRECTORY OF
The directory of piano manu-
PIANO
facturing firms and corporations thing at $167; for he knows that Mr. Poppen-
MANUFACTURERS f o u n d o n p a g e 2 6 w jn b e of great
berg is not selling" pianos at cost.
value as a reference for dealers and others.
Now, is this not educating the public pre-
cisely in the wrong way ?
EDITORIAL
Does not such advertising have a decidedly
injurious effect upon, not only the entire
KINDS OF ADVERTISING.
trade,
but upon the very dealer who issues
I T is interesting to ob-
Method pursued by
s o m e dealers — De-
serve the various such announcements?
stroying public confi-
dence in piano busi-
He himself has established a $98.50 price
ness—Lowering to the k i n d s of advertising
level of junk business a d o p t e d
by dealers for his pianos, and if that is the standard he
— S o m e advertise-
ments.
throughout the country. assumes, how is the public led to believe
and in this connection we may say that in that he has reached even rock bottom at that ?
Why not go a step lower ? Why not
many of the advertisements is the strong de-
sire to convey to the public mind the impres- $68.00? To our minds, such advertising must
sion that they are slaughtering prices and react as a boomerang upon the business of the
almost giving away pianos, and that there is men who pursue such avenues of publicity.
no fair price for a piano.
Here are some advertisements recently is-
The "special sale" obtains in many parts .of sued by the old and distinguished house of
the country as a species of advertising al- Lertz of Baltimore:
lurement which cannot be easily passed by.
Knabe Piano for $25;
An elegant WM. KNAHE & Co. SQUAUR PIANO,
Some piano men are evidently fond of con-
fine tone and warranted for five years, price only
$25 cash, or $28 on monthly payments of $3; new
veying the impression to the public that there
Stool and Cover included. This splendid instru-
ment is as good as new and is only offered by the
is no fixed value upon pianos, no stability,
owner at this great sacrifice on account of leaving
the city.
R. LEKTZ & SON,
Lut a sort of a go-as-you-please system,
7 North Charles Street.
which, if adopted by all, would mean a com-
$400 Upright Piano For $125.
TERMS $5 PER MONTH.
plete demoralization of the trade. Regular
Only $125, payable in monthly installments of
$5, will buy a handsome, full 7 1-3 octave, three-
mercantile rules would be superseded by a
string, three-pedal UPRIGHT CAB'NKT GRAND PI-
ANO that cost $400 about two (2) years ago, a splen-
regular haggling struggle.
did silk Cover and fine Stool included, also a five
years' guarantee.
R. LERTZ & SON-,
It is precisely such methods that have
7 North Charles Street.
caused the ineradicable belief to exist in the
Magnificent Upright Piano—$110.
To CLOSE AN ESTATE.
minds of a portion of the public that piano
. Magnificent, Mahogany Case, Large Size, 7 1-3
Octave,
Three-String,
Three-Pedal UPRIGHT CAB-
men have no fixed prices, that they will ac-
INST GRAND PIANO, superb tone and but slightly
used, will be sold for only $110, with beautiful
cept almost anything for the instruments that
Cover and Stool included, also Guarantee that has
about four years to run.
R. LERTZ & SON,
they carry rather than permit a customer to
7 North Charles Street.
walk out.
$85
Upright Piano $85.
MUST BE SOLD.
Here is an advertisement of a well-known
Party leaving town will sell a Superb-Toned,
7 1-3 Octave, Three-String, UPRIGHT CABINET
liuffalo concern, whose advertising methods
GRAND PIANO, in No. 1. condition and warranted
at
good as new, for only $85 cash, with handsome
have been the subject of investigation by the
Silk Cover and Stool included, or will sell at
slight advance in price on monthly payments of $5.
grievance committee of the Piano Manufac-
k. LERTZ & SON,
7 North Charles Street.
turers' National Association. Before this
investigation took place, he was using names
We are somewhat surprised to see this
ii conjunction with his advertisements. Now well-known concern use methods which, in
New York, come under the heading almost
of "the private sale" plan.
Such announcements are not in harmony
with the old-time system adopted by the
house of Lertz, and we question whether Mr.
Lertz will find that this form assists him in a
business way. We believe that its after-
effects will not be helpful to his interests.
Another advertisement lies before us, is-
sued by A. A. Kidder, who is conducting
cue of the famous "closing out sales" at 124
ISleecker street, Utica, N. Y. There is the
old familiar ring about it—that hurry up and
catch a bargain ere they are all gone plan—
that w r e have read before. A few telegrams
appear in his announcement, where he en-
deavors to convey the impression that he
has bought the stock of the high-grade pia-
nos for just about half what they are worth.
Here is what he says in the public print:
at Half Price
New $250 and 300 Pianos
only $98 and $125. - - -
New $350 and 400 Pianos
only $198 to 228. - - - -
New $425 and 450 Pianos
only $248 to 268 - - - -
New $475 and 550 Pianos
only $275 to 298. - - - -
New Organs, usually sold at
$90, 100, 125 and J50, go at
only $48, 53, 58, Etc., Etc.
Remember these are/not the cheap shoddy
stuff, but THE VERY FINEST AND BEST
KNOWN Pianos and Organs in America.
SALE COMMENCES THIjTMORNING!
And will last only a few days. So don't delay
but come at once.
A. A. KIDDER, 124 Bleecker St.
TELEPHONE BUILDING.
Store Open Evenings.
An amusing part of the Kidder scheme
is that his telegrams would generate the
belief that he paid Mr. Crane $5,100 for the
pianos, cash with order—an average of $217
per. What an awful grudge Mr. Kidder must
have against those particular pianos that he
must need pay cash for them one day and
cut the life out of them the next! Piano mur-
der ! Help, Kidder, help!
Elsewhere in the paper he says: "New
York made pianos, sold by dealers in Utica,
retail at $275 to $300, while the last is $114
and $135."
Of course, every business man has a right
to follow out certain lines which he believes
most advantageous to his business, so long as
they do not conflict with the laws of the land,
and there is not, in the remotest sense, any
departure from strict legality in the an-
nouncements which we have quoted.
The point which we wish to make, how-
ever, is this: that, by certain forms of adver-
tising, the dealers themselves are not only
lowering their own business to the grade of
a junk shop, but they are largely assisting
to imprint the indelible impression in the
minds of the public that there is no bottom
to the piano trade—that it is a genuine
go-as-you-please business.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
For personal gain some dealers are willing
to sacrifice a successful and growing future.
We believe in special announcements, in
special advertising to attract and to interest;
but we also believe in maintaining the dignity
of the trade and assisting to augment pub-
lic confidence in piano values. We do not
believe in the freak plan that is adopted by
some concerns. Neither do we believe wholly
in the staid, conservative advertising matter
that was wholly in vogue years ago, before
the era of new advertising schemes swept
down on the country.
1 HE AWARDS AT THE ''PAN".
~T HE exhibit in the
Interesting f a c t s
concerning the piano
exhibit—The domin-
ance of the players—
Receive higher official
recognition than pi-
anos—Small g o o d s
men—The R e v i e w .
music trade pavil-
ion at the Pan-Ameri-
can was, in some ways,
remarkable. T h a t it
was not fairly representative of the indus-
try was a fact which would impress the aver-
age citizen visiting the Exposition, whether
or not familiar with the extent and variety
of firms engaged in piano manufacturing.
The absence of the names of great firms
who have contributed so much to the growth
of the industry for the past century will at
once be obvious. The limited space at the
disposal of manufacturers prevented many
from taking part in the Exposition, who
otherwise would have been glad to have
participated.
An interesting fact, however, was the dom-
inancy of piano-players, showing that this
comparatively new adjunct to the music
trade industry had become so prominent
that it at once dominated the Pan-Ameri-
can Exposition, so far as the exhibit of our
own industry was concerned.
There were practically only four distinct
piano exhibits, while the piano-players fig-
ured wholly or in part of half a dozen ex-
hibits. Some of the manufacturers of play-
ers announced their withdrawal from the
competitive race some weeks ago, and it is
interesting to note that every player which
was entered for competition and remained
V the finish received a gold medal.
Even the most skeptical can no longer
doubt the distinct place in the industry which
the automatic piano-players have won, and
it is pretty difficult to predict where their
educational influence will end in developing
and cultivating the national musical taste.
It is beyond estimate, too, what effect they
will have upon the sale of certain kinds of
sheet music. The ability of these inventions
to successfully translate classic music with
all the delicate shades and colorings is admit-
ted. Where will their influence end? The
players must henceforth grow as a factor in
this industry, and as time rolls on, undoubt-
edly, new inventions which will further sim-
plify their operation, will be made, because
there will be more time, more inventive intel-
ligence concentrated upon this department
of our industry than ever before. The play-
ers will assist the industry. They will stim-
ulate the interest in pianos and piano-play-
ing.
The Pan-American Exposition has fur-
nished us an object lesson not intended orig-
inally, perhaps, by the exhibitors themselves,
but nevertheless an undeniable one, of the
piano-players' importance.
A number of the manufacturers of what
we commonly term "small goods" also re-
ceived gold medals. Silver medals were
granted the action manufacturers, while the
highest official recognition of pianos was a
bronze medal. All parts, accessories, small
goods and sheet music came in for a higher
grade of recognition than pianos. A number
of firms received diplomas of honorable men-
tion, and in this class was The Review. This
honor paid a trade publication was significant,
because we may state that there was no spe-
cial department of technical and trade journ-
als, as at Paris, where The Review received
the Grand Prix; but The Review exhibit was
placed in the publishers' department, in line
with the greatest book publishing concerns
on earth, many of whom spent thousands of
dollars on their individual exhibits. It is,
therefore, a special honor paid to a trade pub-
lication, and through it, to the industry which
it represented, that it received official rec-
ognition when compared with the greatest
results of the printers, illustrators and litho-
graphers' art. Trade journalism has won a
place among the recognized industries of the
land.
gent to the ordinary mind. But, as a matter
of fact, the operations of the trusts have now
so permeated the great mass of business
transacted in this country, that if severe leg-
islation were passed to exterminate the
trusts, the shock to our business interests
would be paralyzing.
Gradually conservative investors have been
induced to purchase stocks and trust securi-
ties, and if, later on, legislation were passed
which would invalidate or greatly depreci-
ate certificates of stock, bonds and other
obligations of these great corporations, why,
a panic would occur which would be beyond
power of estimating. The serious financial
panics in our business history would be a
mild zephyr compared with the cyclone of
disaster which would follow such an act.
Men who have scrupulously avoided all in-
vestments in trusts, and whose business is
absolutely independent of connection with
them, would not be able to escape serious in-
jury.
While we firmly believe in the curtailment
of trusts, yet we also believe that unwise
legislation would precipitate business paral-
ysis upon the country, and men should
weigh well the consequences before they urge
unwise legislation. We believe in publicity
as a cure for any evil, and if all these corpor-
ations which invite support from the pub-
lic and whose stocks are listed on the vari-
ous exchanges be compelled to show pub-
licly, not only their gross and net earnings,
but also the character of their receipts and
expenditures, and the form of the agreements
under which the constituent corporations are
operated, why, it would be wise legislation.
Laws compelling this is about as far as we
can
go at the present time in the suppression
NEED OF LEVELHEADEDNESS.
of trusts.
Talk of trust legis- "T HERE will be plenty
lation—Great interests
of trust talk dur- '"THE year opened up in a most encourag-
to consider—Publicity
the best cure—Make ing the next two months.
ing way for the manufacturers of pia-
the corporations show
By that we do not spe- no-players, and it will close with vastly great-
itemized statement of
their affairs.
cially mean piano trust er possibilities than were apparent even at
talk—although the promoter will endeavor the beginning of January. The victory which
to revive his scheme—but Congress will be the players have won at Buffalo, and the
urged to pass stricter anti-trust legislation iact that they are generally recognized to-
with the object, of course, of crippling the day as great educational factors in develop-
trusts so that they will not be able to trans- ing the interest for music—and good music
act business in their present form.
at that—will be recognized by the dealers,
It is a grave proposition, and is liable to and every manufacturer of piano-players that
have far more serious consequences than
contain merit will be busy.
many at the outset will be willing to admit,
It will be some years before the great de-
because the number of trusts has increased
until scarcely a branch of the productive in- mand is supplied. The piano-players are
dustry can be named in which some powerful "IT"—with big capitals—and the dealer who
combination of capital has not been formed is without a player to show to his customers
which controls a large percentage of the busi- has not looked out for his interests as care-
fully as he should.
ness.
In some lines these combinations, or con- T""HE live men of the music trade industry
solidations, represent a capitalization which
have learned that they might as well
is staggering in its colossal aggregation of
figures. It is only a trust promoter who stay out of business as to stay out of the
could recite these glibly enough to be intelli- prominent papers, and the leading trade

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