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THE
MUSIC TRADE
RFMFW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, - Editor and Proprietor
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A. J. N I C K H N .
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Directory ol Piano
_.
.
.
Manufacturers
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
and others.
f o r dea i er s
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
dnnul J'ri.r
Paris Exposition. 1!>0<>
Silver MnlulA'harleston
Expoistion. 1002
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LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE-NUMBER 1745 GRAMERCY
NEW
YORK,
MARCH
24, 1 9 0 6
EDITORIAL
I
T is the purpose of the executive committee of the Piano Manu-
facturers' National Association to bring up a number of orig-
inal topics for discussion at the annual convention in the spring, and
while discussing these subjects with The Review this week Presi-
dent Mehlin remarked that he was strongly in favor of taking up for
the consideration of his fellow members the subject "Shall not piano
manufacturers fix the prices at which their instruments shall be
offered at retail ?"
Mr. Mehlin expressed himself in a most enthusiastic way in
supporting a measure of this kind. He stated that he had been
much interested in the editorials which have appeared in The
Review concerning this topic and he felt that it was the one great
issue before the trade to-day, and he proposed to urge open dis-
cussion of the subject among his fellow members.
C
ERTAINLY this suggestion when made by the President
of the Association must result in bringing It fairly before
the piano men of the country, and we believe that this is a move
in the right direction-. The price fixed by the manufacturer will
settle at once the status of the various instruments and it will place
the entire business on a plane with other industries as far as business
methods are employed in its conduct. Who is better qualified to
judge of the actual worth of the instruments to the consumer than
the man who manufactures them? Certainly the discussion of this
topic along broad lines must result in the attention of a good many
members of the trade being drawn to this subject, and the more
that it is considered the stronger the motive becomes for the manu-
facturer to establish prices at retail.
T
HTS move on the part of President Mehlin will bring the sub-
ject squarely before the trade, and Mr. Mehlin is known to
be an enthusiastic worker for a right cause. He does not hesitate
to say that he believes a principle of this kind to be of the most
vital importance to the piano industry. There are a number of
other subjects which will be duly announced and which will create
a good deal of interest later on.
REVIEW
The National Association has recently received a number of
fresh accessions to its ranks, and to-day has a larger numerical
strength than ever before. The power which can be exercised by
this association working as a unit is simply beyond estimate. It in-
cludes on its membership roll to-day a large majority of the piano
manufacturers of these United States, and when they act in concert
it is pretty certain that they can accomplish a good deal for trade
betterment.
A
DEALER, who is a firm believer in business publicity, re-
cently remarked to The Review that advertisers, particularly
retailers, made a serious mistake when they expected that all the
results would show from advertising within a brief time. He said
that he figured advertising returns would go on piling up
for years, and as an actual experience he related an incident which
occurred some ten years ago when he distributed a few thousand
circulars among a farming community within his territory. The
direct results at that time were not unusually satisfactory, but last
February one of the farmers walked in with a faded piano circular
which he had sent out years before. The farmer stated that he
had been some time making up his mind about purchasing a piano,
but he concluded that the one shown in the circular was about what
he needed. The dealer, of course, informed him that that particular
style had been discontinued, but he succeeded in selling him one of
the later products from the same factory. After he had made the
purchase of a piano he turned around and bought a cabinet player
and a large instalment of music. So the man who believes that
results from advertising are all in within a very brief time do*s
not count on the straggling replies which may come in for months
and even years, as in the case referred to above.
A
CCURACY is demanded in business to-day. The business
man who overlooks the slightest point which may be turned
in his favor shows carelessness which must be detrimental to his
business interests.
It pays to be painstaking and tactful in a business. It is pains-
taking care in every minute detail that creates the best pianos. If
it were not for the care and skill exercised in every detail the
instruments would not show as well to purchasers; neither would
they endure the severe strain to which they may be exposed. Pains-
taking is a tremendous factor in values. A piece of pig iron that
would stand for little more value than a handful of mud becomes
a possession to guard jealously in a safety vault when once an expert
jeweler has expended pains upon it by making it into watch springs.
No musician ever gained a high position in his profession with-
out devoting a large proportion of his waking hours to constant,
painstaking efforts to advance his musical technic. As a matter
of fact thoroughness gets more results than the inspiration of
genius, and the only way to do things successfully is by taking
pains, and selling pianos is no exception to the general rule.
T
H E R E are salesmen who seem to secure orders without any
apparent effort, ami it is often stated that such men have
natural endowments above those of the average salesman. Perhaps
they have, but the difference between them and the men who fail
is that they have taken pains to qualify for success. They not only
started out right, but they have kept up the painstaking process
until it has become a second nature, so that they are practically
incapable of oversights or blunders.
Because a man gets results without perceptibly straining after
them is no argument that he isn't taking pains every minute and
giving careful attention to every detail of his work. Painstaking is
not necessarily a laborious process accompanied by the jar and rat-
tle of brain machinery. The real painstaker is a man with accurate
apprehension—with ability to see possibilities in apparent trifles,
and to give each particular trifle its due importance in relation
to things as a whole.
T
O produce results there must be confidence, for business is
based upon it, and confidence goes out only to those who take
pains and are tactful. The late J. Burns Brown, who was one of
the cleverest salesmen in this trade, fully realized this, and no mat-
ter how poorly dressed was the party who entered the ware rooms
where he was located, he was always courteous, polite and obliging.
We recall one time when a man who was attired in a workingman's
garb entered and asked about the prices of pianos. Some of the