Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1904 Vol. 39 N. 17

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
fflJilC TRADE
VOL. XXXIX.
No. 17.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 1 Madison Ave., New York, Oct. 22, 1904.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
WILL ATLANTA GET BIG ORGAN?
PERFORATED MUSIC ROLL CO. MEET.
EILERS SPOKANE DEAL
A Movement to Buy World's Fair Organ for
Auditorium—Kansas City Deal Has Fallen
Through—Dr. Browne Working Hard.
Business in a Very Prosperous Condition—
Retail Trade in New York Has Quadrupled—
Manager Holmes Complimented.
Buys the Erbes-Sandbrink Piano Co.—To Have
Larger Quarters in Spokane—New Ware-
house Giving Twenty Thousand Feet of
Floor Space Finished.
(Special to The Review.)
Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 17, 1904.
A movement is under way here to purchase the
big organ now in Festival Hall at the World's
Fair, in connection with the proposed building of
an auditorium in this city which will seat from
3,500 to 5,000 people.
We are badly in need of a large auditorium
here, and Dr. J. Lewis Browne, the organist, who
recently gave some recitals at the World's Fair,
is warmly advocating the forming of a stock com-
pany which would erect such a building. During
his stay in St. Louis Dr. Browne was approached
by a member of the firm who built the great or-
gan and was informed that he would set it up
in Atlanta for $60,000, notwithstanding the fact
that it would cost $10,000 to move and erect it
again.
The organ is valued at $90,000, but the Cali-
fornia firm who made it will receive $15,000
rental from the Exposition company, thus mak-
ing the net outlay about $75,000. According to
contract the instrument must be removed by De-
cember 1st.
This organ, it will be remembered was to have
been transported to Kansas City for the big
auditorium there, but for some reason the deal
has fallen through. The manufacturers are now
in a somewhat serious predicament and are look-
ing for purchasers. Dr. Browne says that the
erection of an auditorium and the purchase of
this organ would mean for capitalists an invest-
ment that would pay 12 per cent., and he is en-
thusiastic in the advocacy of the plan.
CABLE COMPANY IN MOBILE
Entertains a Large Number of People in Con-
nection With Their "Opening"—Kingsbury
for Normal Institute.
(Special to The Review.)
Mobile, Ala., Oct. 17, 1904.
The Cable Company entertained large crowds
all last week in connection with the opening of
their handsome store at the corner of Dauphin
and St. Emanuel streets. A magnificent stock of
Conover, Mason & Hamlin, Cable, Kingsbury,
Schubert and other pianos were on exhibition
and every afternoon piano recitals were given
which were well attended. Several fine instru-
ments were sold during the week, among which
was an elegant Kingsbury piano for the Emerson
Normal Institute, purchased by A. T. Burnell,
Ph.D., principal. J. E. Shelby, the State man-
ager, with headquarters in Burmingham, had
charge of the opening and he has associated with
him an able staff of piano men.
The annual meeting of the stockholders of the
Perforated Music Roll Co. was held at the New
Jersey office of the company, 252 Main street,
Orange, N. J., Saturday, October 15th, at 10 a. m.
Jas. S. Holmes; Jr., vice-president and general
manager of the company, submitted his annual
report, which shows the company to be in a" pros-
perous condition, having made tremendous
growth during the past year. Mr. Holmes re-
ported that his retail business in New York City
has quadrupled and that the number of regular
dealers handling perfection perforated rolls has
doubled during the year.
Directors were elected for the ensuing year as
follows: Eugene Griffin, Lou D. Sweet, John E.
Hubbell, G. H. Davis, Jas. S. Holmes, Jr., J. F.
Cross, R. N. Dyer.
T. K. Henderson, as treasurer, reported the
financial condition of the company as most satis-
factory. The stockholders voted unanimously to
endorse all that had been done by the directors
during the year and a resolution was als:>
adopted highly flattering to the general manager,
Mr. Holmes.
(Special to The Review.)
Portland, Ore., Oct. 15, 1904.
Hy Eilers, president of Eilers Piano House, re-
turned from Spokane last week, where he com-
pleted final arrangements to buy out the Erbes-
Sandbrink Piano Co., this being the seventh es-
tablishment of this kind that has been bought
out by the Eilers concern since coming to Spo-
kane, under the able management of G. A. Heid-
ingel, a former Portlander, who assumed charge
of affairs there, about three years ago.
Arrangements were also made for Eilers Piano
House in Spokane to occupy a beautiful quarter
block on the corner of Post street and Spragiie
avenue. The establishment will be practically
the same size as the Portland house, and the up-
stairs will be devoted entirely to music teachers
and vocal studios. Over 100 feet of strictly mod-
ern plate-glass windows will adorn the front, and
altogether this new building, when completed,
will be by far the most attractive piano and or-
gan establishment on the Pacific coast.
In addition to a large stock of pianos and or-
gans that will be carried there, it will also be
FISCHER PIANOS FOR SCHOOLS.
equipped with a self-playing pine organ and
Aeolian Orchestrelle, same as is the Portland in-
A Large Demand in Washington This Fall-
stitution.
Popular in Art and Educational Centers.
The elegant three-story brick storage ware-
house of Eilers Piano House will be completed
(Special to The. Review.)
this week. The warehouse is located on the com-
Washington, D. C, Oct. 17, 1904.
Sanders & Stayman, of this city, continue to pany's own property, corner of Thirteenth and
experience quite a demand for Fischer pianos for Northrup streets, and will give them much-
leading educational institutions. Only recently, needed facilities for handling an ever-increasing
as reported in The Review, the Chevy Chase wholesale trade.
School purchased two Fischer uprights and a The establishment contains over 20,000 feet of
Fischer grand, and this week another order was floor space and is a model of its kind, having
placed for an expensive Fischer upright. The been built especially with a view to handling
Fairmont Seminary, which is an old-time ad- pianos and organs. The railroad tracks run right
mirer of the Fischer instruments, has also or- to the door and the work of loading or unloading
dered a Fischer grand and a Fischer upright, a carload of pianos is a matter of 12 or 15 min-
making ten in all in use at this school. The utes with the modern appliances at hand. Deliv-
Laise-Phillips School has ordered two Fischers ering and forwarding pianos in less than carload
while Mrs. Fairfax-Harrison's School has also shipments is done from an interior court, which
secured a Fischer piano for the musical depart- is under a closed roof and protected on all sides
ment. The Fischer prestige is unquestionably from the elements, thus permitting shipments to
growing in the capital city as in other parts of be made, no matter what the weather is.
the country. The Sanders & Stayman Co. have
just placed an order for two carloads of Fischer
CONCERTS HELP BUSINESS.
pianos for immediate shipment.
A MITCH TRAVELED A. B. CHASE PIANO.
Otis Bigelow, of Dowagiac, has been display-
ing in his window the A. B. Chase piano which
accompanied the American delegation to the
world's fourth Sunday School Convention held
in Jerusalem in April last. This instrument was
on the Grosser Kurfurst, and accompanied the
Ambuhl Bros., of Pittsburg, Pa., have com- American delegation to and from the Holy Land.
menced making extensive alterations on their Its travels and historic value has been brought
,warerooms in that city. It is their intention to to the attention of the people of Michigan and
devote part of their establishment to small par- other points so effectively that it has been the
lors wherein their leading pianos will be dis- subject of admiration of a large number of
played.
people.
Pianola Recitals Result in Increased Business
for Representatives in All Parts of the
Country—Fall Campaign Inaugurated.
The representatives of the Aeolian Co. through-
out the country have inaugurated the fall con-
cert campaign with tremendous eclat. At all
points fresh interest has been aroused not only
in the pianola and the metrostyle pianola, but
the pianola piano has come in for no small meas-
ure of favorable commendation. The value of
these concerts has been splendidly demonstrated
this fall by the increased demand for the instru-
ments made by the Aeolian Co. at various points
where these concerts have been instituted,
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MEW
Editor and Proprietor,
EDWARD LYMAN
J. B. SF1LLANC.
THOI.
CAUFBKLL-COFKLAND,
W. MURDOCH
LIND,
irf E d i t o r .
EXECUTIVE STAFF:
Gxo. B. R n x u ,
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE:
BAUXR,
G I O . W. QUKRIPXL.
CHICAQO OFFICE:
BOSTON OPPICE:
EBMIIT L. WAITT, 366 Washington St.
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
EMILIR FRANCXS
A. J. NICKLIM,
E. P. VAN HARLINGXN,
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL:
R. J. LxFxavkX.
88 La Salle St.
5T. LOUIS OFFICE :
CHAI.
N. VAN BURXN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRID MBTZGXR, 426-487 Front S t
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
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ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
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REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
THE ARTISTS'
nrm . „ . , , -
DEPARTMENT
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
"Artists' Department" all the current musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or service of the trade
section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and therefore aug-
ments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
n i a r r T A D V ^ B i t u n The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
uin.tl.lUKl of riANU f oun d o n p a g e 3 6 w i n b e o f g r e a t value, as a reference for
MANVFACTUR.ER.S
dealers and others.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE-NVMBER 1745 GRAMERCY.
NEW YORK. OCT. 22. 1904.
EDITORIAL
I
N the hardware trade there is now a well organized effort being
made to discontinue what is termed, "special brands" of hard-
ware.
In the opinion of the most prominent hardware men in the
country special brands are injurious to the trade, tending as they
do to take away from the manufacturer the incentive to good work
in view of the reputation which he might earn. "Special brands"
bring no distinction or credit to the factory in which they are made.
The special brand business is subject to the further objection
closely related to the one just mentioned—namely that it tends to
lower the quality of goods, a fact which is emphasized in the ex-
pressed opinions of many of the leading hardware men.
T
HIS topic, which is exciting a great deal of comment in hard-
ware circles, is of particular interest to piano manufacturers
and dealers, for it at once bears a close relation to the special brands
of instruments offered by dealers. There has been an increased
tendency to sell pianos under various names, none of which indicate
their real origin.
Most piano manufacturers are working for reputation. They
are continually improving their instruments, and are giving in every
essential greater values for the money. They are at the same time
endeavoring to make not only the trade, but the public, familiar with
their names by associating them with value and quality. They
take pride in the instruments which bear either their own patro-
nymic or the name of their producing corporation, and by the adop-
tion of all legitimate means are constantly making those names better
known to their constituency everywhere.
N
OW as soon as any manufacturer begins to send out instru-
ments under a variety of brands which supply no evidence of
their factory origin he is not only undermining his own reputation,
but he is contributing in a degree towards the disrupting of settled
piano conditons. There is no trade-mark value to his instruments and
the value of a trade-mark must be sustained else the industry suffers.
Look at the case of the special brand manufacturer. He may have
been in this business for a term of years and have created for him-
self and his wares practically no reputation beyond that of price.
He may have sold five hundred pianos in a certain locality under
a variety of names, and yet his instruments have no particular fol-
lowing in that vicinity. The agency is not sought for and there is
no fixed demand for his special products. The manufacturer who
can outbid him a few dollars on a piano secures the entire special
brand trade in that vicinity.
H
OW much better off he would be if he had sent forth instru-
ments under his own or corporate name for the same time.
His products would have a recognized standing 1 , and the agency
would be of value, and would be eagerly sought for by dealers in
that locality. A well advertised name always possesses an advan-
tage over some unknown name or the name of the dealer, if you will,
under whose name the piano is sometimes offered to the public.
It is unnecessary to adopt any form of abuse in order to decry
this kind of business, for it is perfectly legitimate, but does it con-
tribute in a permanent way either to individual piano success, or
to the general trade welfare, and no man should be selfish enough
to fail to figure the interest of those with whom his lot is cast.
UPPOSE we view this special brand business from purely a
business standpoint. Does a meagre profit of to-day recom-
pense one for the loss of piano reputation, and the failure to win a
trade-mark asset which is particularly valuable in the piano industry.
If general hardware men find it to their interest as a trade to dis-
countenance the sale of special brands of hardware where the in-
dividual costs are slight, how much more should it interest the
piano man to maintain a trade-mark value and eschew the special
brand business?
In our trade a piano name has in many cases a tremendous sell-
ing value. It has behind it years of earnest work, of honest en-
deavor which have resulted in splendid accomplishments. Manu-
facturers of such instruments take a pride in turning out instru-
ments of the highest standard, and in having their names asso-
ciated with their instrument, and, too, it cannot be disputed but
that they have won, from strictly a monetary standpoint, and it
is the dollars that count even from the viewpoint of the special
brand man.
S
T
HEN viewing it from the dealer's vantage ground, he knows
that he has behind him a certain stability and undisputed
strength that comes in offering instruments which bear names which
clearly indicate their origin—instruments which have behind them
firms and corporations whose names guarantee the legitimacy and
genuineness of the instruments. They have nothing to explain, and
they remove at once a certain argument which their competitors can
bring against them when they offer the special brand pianos. We
can name plenty of dealers who advertise, "no instruments offered
save under the manufacturer's name." They have found that it
pays them to do this, and no dealer can succeed permanently with the
special brand as a groundwork. A manufacturer who has made a
reputation for his instruments by means of quality, material and
workmanship, is entitled to have the fullest credit for his work and
the dealer should be content to have the reputation of handling in-
struments of established name and admitted excellence.
S a matter of fact special brands form an element of weakness
rather than of strength to the dealer and the claim that he
can with advantage hold his own trade-mark and is therefore inde-
pendent is absurd. No manufacturer desires to remove an agency
from a dealer who is doing good work for him. From every pos-
sible viewpoint it may be figured that their interests are mutual and
the manufacturer desires to encourage good work. The special
brand business has a deteriorating effect upon the trade, and if per-
sisted in it must ultimately destroy settled conditions. When a
manufacturer leaves off his own name and trade-mark there will be
less incentive for him to maintain excellence of quality.
It is quite time to view this matter from purely a business
standpoint, for it is obvious that if continued it must have a de-
moralizing effect upon trade as well as the steady bearing down of
quality.
A
W
HAT makes the quality standard in this trade to-day?
Suppose we sweep out a few of the old-time names which
have stood a bulwark for piano honor and integrity how the general
estimate of piano values would decline! Some of this special brand

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