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THE MUSIC TRKDE REVIEW
BERLINER'S LATEST
IMPROVEMENT.
Che Small Goods trade
MR. KEYES OF REGAL FAME CHATS
On a Number of Interesting Topics—The Regal
v
Line Growing in Popularity—The "Small
'-
Goods" Department can be Made Pay.
J. W. Keyes, secretary of the Regal Man-
ufacturing Co., Indianapolis, Ind., who has
been making a run around the trade in the
East, was a visitor to The Review sanctum
on Saturday. He is having a most success-
ful trip, a number of new and important
agencies having been arranged for the Regal
line of instruments. Mr. Keyes has found
that these instruments are well and favorably
known everywhere, thanks to the intelligent
publicity campaign carried on by his house.
The Regal line is handled in New York and
Philadelphia by John Wanamaker, and Mr.
Keyes stated that the volume of trade witli
these houses has surprised him.
"With many of the dealers, I have no-
ticed," said Mr. Keyes, "a disposition to
underestimate the value of the 'small goods'
department. They invariably claim that this
branch of the business doesn't pay. That
this condition is due to their own inactivity
or inability to properly develop this depart-
ment is illustrated in an experience which I
had recently.
"I visited a well-known dealer, a man of
some prominence in his territory, and in re-
ply to a question he launched forth the stere-
otyped answer: "The 'small goods' depart-
ment isn't worth wasting time on. There
is no profit in it.' I asked him, 'do you try
and make it pay? Do you devote as much
attention to its development as to your pi-
ano department? I feel confident that I can
go down to your "small goods" counter jusc
now and find the instruments badly kept,
out of tune and in poor condition to win
customers.' The dealer at this challenge
got a little hot, and said; T bet you any
money you are mistaken. Come right down
here now and we will see.' Much to the
chagrin of my friend my assumption turned
out to be accurate, for not a single instru-
ment was in tune, and the department was
improperly kept, and not in charge of a com-
petent man.
'•-•.-••
,
"I am free to say that the dealer was
startled, and thereafter listened more care-
fully to my arguments with the result that
he re-organized the entire department,
placed a competent man in charge, and to-
day this branch of the business pays an ex-
cellent profit.
"As with this dealer, so it is with others
through the country. They do not concen-
trate enough attention on the 'small goods'
department and complain because of its lack
of development. This is a mistaken policy,
Emil Berliner, the well-known inventor of
Washington, has just patented an improve-
ment in gramophones which it is claimed
for publicity and enterprise are just as nec- remedies much of the strained and un-
essary to success in the 'small goods' field natural quality of sounds reproduced by some
as in that of pianos or any other branch of of the talking machines, and which, especially
in the case of the human voice, is due to the
the music trade industry.
"Business? It is in excellent shape, and fact that in order to make the reproduction
as loud as possible the original must be the
the demand for the Regal line is steadily
result of an abnormal effort. The descrip-
growing. Our manufacturing departments
tion says:
are in the hands of first-class men who
"He provides a machine made up of a
take a special pride in turning out only
the best, and trade prospects are of the number of separate gramophones, all of
which may be operated simultaneously. As
brightest."
is well known, gramophone records are exact
Mr. Keyes will spend the next six weeks
duplicates of each other even to the minutest
on the road, and dealers will find him a gen-
detail, and as such are made in large num-
tleman of progressive ideas in the matter
bers. The only difficulty to be overcome in
of up-to-date merchandising.
operating several is to have them exactly reg-
ister with each other and be operated simul-
COLUMBIA ZITHER POPULARITY.
taneously. He provides a table or support
Latest advices from the Phonoharp Co.
upon which are mounted a number of rotary
show that the call for the firm's products,
tables of the usual gramophone type and
notably the Columbia Zither in several lead-
adapted to receive the well-known record tab-
ing sizes, continues all along the line. Plans
lets of commerce. These tablets are gen-
are under way looking to a big development
erally arranged in a staggered row, each be-
of business throughout the country. Al-
ing supported on an upright spindle or shaft
though the present output is large, it is felt
journaled in a standard fastened, to the table.
by the firm members that it ought to be
Upon each shaft just below the table is se-
multiplied several times over, considering the
cured a disk having equally spaced radially
recognized merits of the instrument and the
projecting pins on its periphery. The disks
immense number of people, young and old,
are all of the same size, witli the same num-
who are fond of sweet music, but have no
ber of pins, and they are driven together with
desire for anything larger than a zither or
the tables at the same speed by means of a
similar instrument suitable for table use.
belt, having perforations spaced to fit the
pins and operated by a motor of any desirable
THE "MAY FLOWER" MANDOLINS.
construction. . . . The registering de-
The "May Flower" mandolin, made by
vices make it possible to insure the contact of
Antone Vallette, Naples, Italy, and consid-
each stylus with a corresponding point of
ered by many European experts to be in-
each record by the mere act of placing the
struments of merit, is now on view at the
stylus on the proper line. Power being ap-
musical merchandise warerooms of C. H.
plied to rotate the records, identical sounds
Ditson & Co., 867 Broadway. This firm
have secured tine agency for the "May issue from each of the horns, and the com-
Flower," the American representative of bined body of sound may be made as great
as desired by using an appropriate number
which is H. J. Flower of Chicago.
of
records. Therefore, it is possible to pro-
Ettore Gualano, leader of the Gualano
Concert Co., who were famous as the "Vene- vide an exact reproduction of the human
tian Troubadours" at the World's Fair, is a voice or to make it louder or softer."
Mavflower enthusiast.
HAYNES CO. REPRESENT YORK & SONS
H^ G E T I N T O T H E
"BAND WAGON"
AS IT IS GOING BY
Or, in other words, work up
to the very best of your oppor-
tunities. Among the desirable
things "away up" in merit are
the goods we are showing, and
which we want you to ex-
amine. They're all they look
to be—and more. It's simply
following destiny to buy of us
John C. Haynes & Co., makers of the
famous "Bay State" instruments, have ac-
cepted the eastern agency for the "York"
band instruments, made by J. W. York &
MUSIC BOX ?
CONCEDED TO BE THE BEST
SELLER ON THE MARKET-
All kinds of Musical Merchandise.
Beautiful Catalogue free for the Asking.
E. L. CUtNDET,
25 East 14th St.. N. Y.
DID YOU START32 RIGHT?
IF YOU HAVEN'T
OUR CATALOG
WRITE FOR IT
BAY STATE
Guitars, Mandolins,
Banjos, Zithers, Flutes.
26 Highest Awards. 3 Gold Medals.
John C. Haynes&Co.
BOSTON
I M P O R T E R S
A N D J O B B E R S
O
F
MUSICAL MERCHANDISE
Waldo
Manufacturing
Company,
Saginaw, Michigan*