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THE MUSIC
that is very far below it in grade, and nine times
out of ten, they purchase a better instrument
than they originally intended to. If the retail
trade would adopt this policy, I am positive they
would find it profitable. The same can be said
of the one price system. I know of a case that
happened in this city only a few weeks ago. A
gentleman was anxious to secure a new piano.
At the first place he went to he was shown a
piano with the price marked on in plain letters
and given a definite price on his old instrument
in exchange. A second dealer had the tags on
his pianos marked in hieroglyphics, and quoted
a smaller price on the exchange. When he found
difficulty in making the sale, he began increasing
the amount offered for the old instrument until
he had doubled his original bid. The buyer went
back to the first store and informed the salesman
oi the amount offered for his old piano, but was
told in a polite but firm manner that under no
conditions could their price be altered, and while
they disliked to lose a sale, a t the same time
they would not breaK an inflexible rule if they
lost a dozen. The buyer, who was a shrewd
financier of national repute, closed the deal at
once, and that night received a letter from the
second house, offering him six times the orig-
inal price for his old piano if he would only con-
sent to purchase theirs. So much for the main-
taining of prices."
OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.
Pianos and Other Musical Instruments Shipped
Abroad from New York for the Past Week.
(Special to The Review.)
Washington, D. C, July 9, 1906.
The following were the exports of musical in-
struments and kindred lines from the Port of
New York for the week just ended:
Amapala—4 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, ?130.
Asuncion—4 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, |213.
Bomtay—23 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, ?558.
Bremen—15 cases music, $1,500; 1 case pianos,
?400.
Buenaventura—4 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $156.
Buenos Ayres—3 cases pianos and material,
$418.
Calcutta—4 cases organs and materials, $266.
Cape Town—19 cases organs, $728; 3 pkgs. talk-
ing machines and material, $74; 6 cases pianos,
$1,000.
Cartagena—5 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $222.
Colon—3 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$1^9; 4 pkgs. talking machines and material, $129.
Copenhagen—2 cases organs and material,
$105.
Delagoa Bay—2 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $128.
Havana—2 cases piano material, $200; 13 pkgs.
talking machines and material, $272; 12 pkgs.
talking machines and material, $501.
Havre—18 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$844.
Kingston—2 cases piano material, $375.
La Guayra—1 case musical instruments, $235; 1
case organs, $130; 10 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $239; 1 case piano players and ma-
terial, $200.
Limon—16 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $282.
Liverpool—1 case organ material, $100; 1 case
organs and material, $100; 1 case music strings,
$122.
London—16 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $704.
Marta—9 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$208.
Para—12 pkgs; talking machines and material,
$458.
Rio de Janeiro—6 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $166.
Rotterdam—7 cases organ material, $260.
Sagua La Grande—15 pkgs. talking machines
and material, $256.
Tammersfors—5 cases organs and material,
$582; 4 cases organs and material, $582.
Upsala—11 cases organs and material, $752.
Valparaiso—6 cases piano players and ma-
terial, $700.
Zurich—2 cases piano material, $750.
RIGHT KIND OF ADVERTISING.
REVIEW
WILL USE MASON & HAMLIN,
Conover and Cable Pianos in Leading Con-
servatories of Music.
Harry Zickel, manager of the Detroit, Mich.,
branch of the Cable Company, has recently made
contracts with two large conservatories of music
in that city to use the Cable Company's line ex-
clusively. The latest of these was the Michigan
Conservatory of Music, who will use eighteen or
twenty instruments, con-sisting of Mason & Ham-
lin and Conover grands and Cable uprights. Mr.
Zickel expects before very long to make important
contracts with other conservatories.
JOINS STEINERT CO.'S FORCES.
C. E. Mitchell, for some time past connected
with the Danbury, Conn., store of the Treat &
Shepard Co., has taken the management of M.
Steinert & Sons' branches in Holyoke and North-
ampton, Mass.
FRANK W. THOMAS' GOOD WORK.
Frank W. Thomas, of Albany, N. Y., agent for
the Haddorff Piano Co.'s instruments, has suc-
ceeded in placing several Clarendon pianos on
Hudson River excursion boats, and has also
placed a number -of Royal pianos made by the
Krell Piano Co. in resorts in the vicinity of
Albany.
MUNN PIANO CO.'S NEW PLANT.
(Special to The Hoview.)
;
\
Striking the Keynote of Good Salesmanship—
Some Western Publicity—How Prices Are
c
Maintained.
s
'
"The best worded advertisement that I have
seen for a long time," said one of the leading .
retailers in this city to The Review, "I saw in
a paper published in a small city in the West. ..
It read as follows:
" 'We don't push our cheapest piano, but the
finest made to-day by any manufacturer. We
have a nice assortment of
, —
• &
.
You'll be interested if you see them. If you
cannot come, write for our free booklet. It will
interest you.'
"He struck the keynote of good salesmanship
by calling attention to his best stock first. If
he cannot sell that, then is the time to show
the cheaper grades. I have always Instructed
my salesmen to show a customer the best in-
strument in stock first. After hearing such a.
piano, they are seldom satisfied with anything
Walton, N. Y., July 11, 1906.
Work began last week on the new factory
which the Munn Piano Co. are to build in West
Walton. The main building will be 40 by 140
ft., two stories high, and" will be built of concrete.
1* will be completed by the first of December,
and the machinery from the Stimpson plant will
then be moved in. The manufacture of piano
backs, a line of work which has never been done
at the present factory, will be carried on here,
as well as the manufacture of pianos of a cheaper
grade than the output of the other Munn piano
factory.
WILL HANDLE PIANOS.
Williams & Rogers Co., the large Cleveland,
O., department, will in future handle a com-
plete line of pianos under the management of A.
H. Milner. They have taken the agency for the
Decker & Son, Boardman & Gray and other
makes.
A new music store has been opened in Beverly,
Mass., by Tuttle & Downing.
AMER1CANJPIANOS LEAD.
Major J. Harry Estey in an Interesting Chat
With The Review Refers to the Superiority
of American
Over
European
Pianos—
Steadily Augmenting a Reputation Abroad—
Player Piano Not Likely to Become Popular
—English Makers and Their Continental
Competitors—New Estey Connections.
There are many points of interest in the piano
industry of Europe that always appeal to the
American manufacturer, and when an observant
traveler like Major J. Harry Estey makes the
rounds there is sure to be an interesting story
as a sequence. When in the city last Friday he
said to The Review: "So far as a comparison of
European and American pianos are concerned,
the criticism Is all in favor of the latter, from
our standpoint. The cheapest piano made in this
country, so far as construction goes, is the equal
of almost any of the so-called high-grade instru-
ments made abroad, and when it comes to case
work, they are vastly superior. The foreign
makers criticise our instruments because they are
too strongly and well made, and weigh too much,
as well as the fact that we use a too superior
quality of supplies in the mechanism. So far as
improving designs in cases, we are far ahead of
the manufacturer on the other side. As a rule,
they resent any suggestion of an innovation, and
such changes as have been made are to a great
extent due to American competition.
"Ameriean-made pianos are making a good rep-
utation for themselves among the musicians
abroad, and the most eminent artists admit their
superiority in every way over the home product.
We are exporting more instruments every year,
in spite of the disparity in price. The Europeans
have become so accustomed to the small uprights,
particularly those of English and German manu-
facture, that it will require a campaign of educa-
tion on the part of the dealers of American
pianos to popularize them.
"The German makers hold the South American
trade, and this fact is due to the extremely low
price a t which they make and sell their instru-
ments. These pianos are of such an inferior
quality that I doubt if any manufacturer in this
country would be able to duplicate them and do
business. They are also small, and the Latin-
American republics have grown so accustomed to
their designs, that ours seem cumbersome.
"In some respects the English makers and deal-
ers are behind their continental competitor,
while in others they are far more progressive.
So far as case designs and finish are concerned,
they are in the lead, although all of them show
a marked preference to the old sized ebonized
cases. Next comes walnut and Circassian wal-
nut, with a sprinkling of rosewood. Finely fig-
ured mahogany is seldom seen, due perhaps to
the fact that it is expensive, but more likely that
the manufacturers are so averse to innovations
that they do not care to create a demand for any-
thing new.
"In regard to the interior players, I think it
will be a long time before they become popular
on the other side. The people there have a very
deep-rooted aversion to parting with their pianos
for a small sum and paying a big price for one
of these players. The piano player strikes their
fancy, and the American makers, who had a
big stock on hand, are finding an outlet for them
in this quarter. They will be the popular me-
chanical player in Europe for a long time to
come. Of course, where new instruments are
purchased, the probabilities are in favor of the
interior player."
"While on the other side I made a great many
new connections, particularly on the continent,
for the products of our factories. I feel certain
that in time the name Estey will be as fa-
miliar on pianos in Europe as on organs. Our
organ business is splendid, and they have a repu-
tation throughout Europe, and I might say the
world, that is second to none. Our factory a t
Brattleboro, Vt., is being run to its fullest ca-
pacity, and knows of no such thing as a dull
season. Taken as a whole, I am fully satisfied
with the results of my trip.