Music Trade Review

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8
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN DILL.
EXCCVTIVE AND REPORTORIAL STAFF:
GKO.
B. KELLER,
Wu.
B. W H I T E ,
W. N. TYLER,
W. L. WILLIAMS,
BOSTON OPP1CE:
ERNEST L. WAITT, 266 Washington St.
PHILADELPHIA OFFICB:
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
EMILIE FRANCIS BAUER,
A. J. NICKLIN,
GEO. W. QUERIPEL.
CHICAOO OFFICE
E. P. VAN HARLINGEN, 13C2 Monadnock Block.
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL:
E. C. TORRBY.
5T. LOUIS OFFICE :
CHAS. N. VAN B U R I N .
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICB: ALFRED METZGER, 425-427 Front S t
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SVBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS. $9.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $60.00; opposite
reading matter, $76.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman BUI.
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
THE ARTISTS" "Artists' Department" all the current musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or service of the trade
DEPARTMENT section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and therefore aujr
merits materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
m i r r T A D V ^ D i m n The
directory
of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
found
n
» i«.,V«vi..» . 7
MANVFACTUR.ER.S
° »nother page will be of great value, at a reference for
dealers and others.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE-NVMBER 1745 GRAMERCY.
NEW YORK, MAY 13, 19O5.
EDITORIAL
T
HE past week has witnessed few important changes in the
music trade field, but the reports which come from dealers in
the smaller cities and towns indicate that there is an excellent
volume of business doing.
This condition is perhaps more noticeable in the Southern
towns and in the Middle West.- Present conditions certainly give
little ground for complaint and much for congratulation. Chicago
trade has been seriously interfered with on account of the strike
conditions in that city. In New York retail trade has been con-
siderably better than the previous two weeks. The Philadelphia
reports are also gratifying, and Boston indications are that piano
retailing is somewhat quiet in that city."
OOD trade at the present time, and the prospects of the con-
tinuance of satisfactory conditions during the year, assure
good returns to all that are conducting their enterprises with con-
fidence, and with marked vigor. There must be considerable energy
displayed.
The remarkable development of the South, and especially the
Southwest, is one of the gratifying features of the present
situation, and attention is being directed to these markets as full of
promise for future business. The diversifying of their products,
both agricultural and manufacturing, is furnishing the basis of a
new and larger prosperity, and is encouraging enterprise in con-
nection with the extension of business interests in this field.
G
HE advertising of piano merchants which has reached us
recently, has been of a character which shows that the cutting
and slashing of prices is not as much in vogue as it was a short time
ago. The gory combats are lessening both in numbers and in
fierceness. Perhaps the nearness of the convention may have some
effect upon the style of advertising as it is expected that some of
the dealers may have complaints to present which will keep the
grievance committee in water near the boiling point for some time.
T
ROM the number of suits at law which have recently been com-
menced in this trade involving patent rights, trade-mark
rights, use of names, libels and infringements, it would seem as
if a paper devoted to legal matters might succeed fairly well, and
F
REVIEW
if some of the new comers would change the character of their paper
to a purely legal type, they might stand considerable chance of suc-
ceeding.
T
HE inside player seems to be well in the middle of the trade
road at the present time. It is being advertised largely, and
is perhaps causing more comment than the outside player which
has ceased to be a novelty. There is a big future for the player,
and we are not believers in the theory which has been advanced by
some that the player interest is now on the decline. There may be
innovations and changes and novelties, but the piano player as
a strong factor in the distribution of musical wares will be more
pronounced in years to come than it is to-day even. Its educational
features are marked and are admittedly great.
It is useless in view of the steadily increasing demand for piano
players to say that the demand for them will quickly subside. On
the contrary the demand will increase. The inside players have the
call at the present time, but there are thousands and thousands of
old pianos for which owners will purchase outside players for many
years to come. To say that the player business is subsiding and
running down, is pure nonsense. Of course, there are some con-
cerns who do not exhibit progressiveness in the conduct of their
affairs and they are the ones who are suffering. It does not pay
to retrench to the danger point, for the rehabilitation of a business
costs much. The player concerns which are displaying alertness
and up-to-dateness in their plans are not the ones who are com-
plaining.
HE value of a name or trade-mark in the piano industry is con-
siderably more than in most trades, and there seems to be at
all times, one or two cases before the courts in which the right to
use a name is the basis of a suit at law.
It will be found that recent court decisions tend towards giving
adequate protection in trade-mark rights. The legal tribunals hold
that no individual or firm can trade upon the reputation of another.
I kit they also rule against the exclusive right to use a family name
as a trade-mark. All advertising and all lettering upon the objects
manufactured must be so clear as not to confuse the minds of the
purchasers.
T
HERE was recently an interesting case which was tried before
the Supreme Court of the United States. Wyckoff, Seamans &
Benedict, proprietors of the Remington Typewriter Co., brought
suit to enjoin the use of the name "Remington" by the Remington-
Sholes Typewriter Co. The two Remingtons are sons of the former
president of the Remington Co. No intended fraud having been
shown, the Court held that the young men had a right to use their
own name in connection with that of Sholes.
This is an important case, and shows clearly that the highest
court in the land proposes that a man shall not be deprived of the
right to use his name even if his patronymic be similar to another
well advertised. Where it can be shown, however, that the main-
tenance of the name is with fraudulent intent—in other words—
simply to trade upon the reputation of another name, then the
courts have shown no hesitancy in compelling the offenders to adopt
restrictive rules so that there could be no possibility of confusion in
the minds of the public.
It seems that the recent decision of the Indiana Court regard-
ing the injunction asked by the Krell Piano Co. against the Krell-
French Co. is in line with all of the recent court decisions wherein
protection is given to a man to engage in business under his own
name, so long as there is no intent to trade upon the reputation of
another
T
HERE is no mistaking the fact that manufacturers are more
than ever impressed with the advantages which must neces-
sarily follow through the fixing of retail prices at which their pianos
shall be offered to the public. It does away completely with the
power of the dealers to work in their own special brands upon cus-
tomers by placing a fictitious value upon the piano of old established
reputation.
Of course, at far away points, where the freight rates are exces-
sive, dealers would be entitled to add an extra freight tariff to the
retail price, but when the public was familiar with the retail pricings
of the various makes of pianos in nine cases out of ten they would
prefer to buy the instrument of standing and position rather than
T
the dealer's cheap special brand.