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42
THE
TRADE HAPPENINGS IN CLEVELAND.
Manager Probeck Banqueted by a Host of
Friends on Birthday—Progressive Man Is W.
J. Roberts, Jr.—New Miniature Theatres
Opened—He Heard the Voice of a Friend—>
The News of the Month in Detail.
(Special to The Keview.)
Cleveland, O., July 28, 1906.
That Cleveland is a good talking machine
town is evidenced by the large number of dealers
and the large volume of business they are doing.
Local dealers of talking machines and records
generally report trade good, though this is consid-
ered the dull season.
Manager G. J. Probeck, of the Columbia Phono-
graph Co., said they were doing the usual amount
Of business, and that prospects were flattering.
Mr. Probeck is a very popular young man, and
well liked by the attaches of the establishment
over which he presides. A few week's ago, as he
Was quietly resting at home, after an arduous
day in his office, he was called to the door by
an attache and told that he was wanted at the
store, as a very important matter had been over-
looked by him, and which required immediate at-
tention. Hastily donning his coat he hurried to
the store, and when he arrived was the most sur-
prised man in seven counties. The counters,
tables and goods had all been relegated to the
wareroom, and in their place a banquet table was
spread, embellished with flowers, with some fifty
friends in waiting to greet him. He was ap-
prised that the occasion was in commemoration
of his birthday, which they desired to celebrate
with him. At the close of the banquet, A. W.
Robertson, in an appropriate speech, presented
Mr. Probeck with an elegant gold chain and Ma-
sonic charm, the gift of his employes. Though
taken so completely by surprise, Mr. Probeck
managed to felicitously respond, thanking them
most heartily for their interest in his welfare and
for the beautiful present. He says he prizes the
gift more highly than anything in his possession,
presented, as it was, by employes of the office.
The dishes and tables, after justice had been
done the choice menu, were removed, and every-
body danced to the music of the Twentieth Cen-
tury Graphophone.
The Columbia Phonograph Co. have recently
established a commercial graphophone depart-
ment, which has started out under the super-
vision of H. E. Jones, with the most flattering
success.
A prominent dealer stated that during the past
twelve months the talking machine business had
increased 200 per cent, in Cleveland, and was
still on the increase.
One of the oldest dealers in talking machines
in Cleveland is W. J. Roberts, Jr. He entered the
phonograph business in 1898, with L. L. Berger.
They purchased the Edison Phonograph Co., then
located in the Arcade, and continued the business
under that name for about a year, when they
changed the style of the firm to the Berger
Phonograph Co. In 1901 Mr. Roberts purchased
Mr. Berger's interest, and conducted the business
In his own name. In May, 1904, he opened a
branch store at the corner of Erie and Huron
streets, and continued jobbing the Edison and
Victor machines from the Huron store. May 15,
1905, Mr. Roberts sold out his entire business to
the Eclipse Musical Co., who soon after sold the
store corner of Erie and Huron to the Cleveland
Phonograph Co., and which was repurchased by
Mr. Roberts, June 6, 1906. For the present Mr.
Roberts will conduct a retail business. He is
making a number of improvements, such as re-
decorating and refurnishing, and when com-
pleted he will have one of the prettiest stores of
its kind in the country. He stated business was
very fair, considering the season of the year.
At the Bailey Co.'s department of the Colum-
bia Phonograph Co. they are doing a fine trade.
The company carry a good stock of machines,
records and supplies.
\V. H. Buescher & Son, 242 Erie street, report
business fair, though it has fallen off some in
the last two weeks. Their store is well stocked
with Victor and Edison machines and records.
MUSIC TRADE! REVIEW
They have just opened a retail store at No. 254
Prospect street, in the Y. M. C. A. building. It
has been fitted up in Flemish oak in a substantial
and at the same time very ornamental style, and
they have two as fine rooms—demonstrating and
sales—to be found anywhere. Their stock of
Victor and Edison machines is large and com-
plete. This store is under the management of
Hugh Gulley, an old and experienced talking ma-
chine; man, and he is catering to the better class
of retail trade, the jobbing trade being confined
to the old store.
W. H. Buescher has also just opened up the
"Penny Arcade and Moving Pictures," under the
firm name of the "Mario Amusement Co.," at Nos.
236-38 Erie street. It is said to be one of the
finest in its fittings and furnishings in the coun-
try, and is well patronized.
The Eclipse Musical Co., under the manage-
ment of T. H. Towell, president and treasurer,
occupy fine rooms at their main store, No. 714
Prospect street, in the Electric Building. They
are jobbers and retailers of Victor talking ma-
chines, records and supplies, and exclusive job-
bers of Edison phonographs. Mr. Towell said
that business was good, and that the prospects for
a good fall and winter trade were never better.
The "Bijou Dream " a miniature theater, has
just been started next door to the opera house,
wherein "life is reproduced by the Edison cine-
matograph." The rental of the place is high in
the thousands, and it has been expensively fitted
up, seating two hundred. The promoter of this
place has had sufficient faith in the desire of the
public to spend its nickels to prompt him to in-
cur an expense of $10,000 to $15,000 annually.
And his friends say he will "make good."
A man, twenty-five or thirty years of age, at-
tracted a crowd about him at one of the penny
exhibits the other day by loudly exclaiming:
"It's she! I know her voice! It certainly is
her!" as he dropped the ear tubes from a ma-
chine that was emitting the words of a popular
song, sung in a mild soprano voice, he picked
them up again excitedly, and heard the piece
through. With less nervousness he put another
penny in the slot, and as he intently listened,
oblivious of the crowd about him, he leaned on
the machine and cried like a child. A sympa-
thizing bystander called the stranger to one side
and inquired the cause of his grief. He said that
be recognized the voice of the singer. That it
was that of a girl he had known in his school
days, in a central Ohio town. She had gone to
New York, where, after indifferent success in
amusement places, had died, with no friends
near to cheer her as she ended her mortal life.
bility of ferrules becoming detached from the
stems. When flower horns came to the front, this
company again showed their originality by mak-
ing horns with concave petals, upon which they
received patents. These horns are by far the
strongest and most attractive flower horns made
to-day. They are finished with oil colors baked
on in their extensive kilns; rather more costly
to make, but this method upholds the reputation
of this company for high-grade goods.
"Horn cranes and horn stands have also been
an important feature with this company. As far
back as April, 1903, when cranes came into de-
mand, a patent was issued, which embodies the
essential features of the cranes to-day. Since
this time, numerous patents have been issued to
this company, and their position regarding horn
cranes to-day is extremely strong. Other manu-
facturers have attempted to imitate and to take
advantage of these original ideas, and the Tea
Tray Co. have found it necessary, and will con-
tinue, to maintain their rights by legal pro-
cesses."
The Tea Tray Co. announce that two new
models of clamp horn cranes for the coming sea-
son are now ready. These models show marked
improvement over the well-known No. 20 Crane,
which has been so popular. Orders are being
placed in very large volume for both horns and
cranes covering the whole of the next season's
requirements. Clement Beecroff, manager of
sales of the Tea Tray Co., has just returned from
a Western trip and reports business of immense
volume, larger than ever before.
AN ENTERPRISING CONCERN
Is the Tea Tray Co., of Newark, N. J.—Have
Built Up a Great
Business in Talking
Machine Supplies—An Interesting Chat as to
Their Varied Achievements.
The Tea Tray Co., of Newark, N. J., are gen-
erally credited with being the pioneer manufac-
turers of horns, horn cranes, etc., used in con-
nection with talking machines, having been es-
tablished about forty years. In a chat with a
member of the firm recently, he set forth the fol-
lowing reasons why they have achieved success
in this industry:
"It has always been the policy of this com-
pany to make only the best quality material, and
this is the keynote of their success in the talk-
ing machine world. The word 'Pioneer' is used
because of the fact that this company is acknowl-
edged to be the originators of the accepted stan-
dard black and gold horns which are finished
with their famous enamel, which enabled them
to secure the gold medal at the Centennial Ex-
position in 1S76, over all domestic as well as for-
eign competitors. They have held their place at
the head of the line, and important improvements
have been made, and are now being added. They
also originated horns with 'reamed-on bells,"
which is a great improvement over the old
method of soldering bells onto stems. They were
the first to make horns with swaged Integral
ferrules, which again did away with the possi-
The Travelers' Insurance Co., of Hartford,
Conn., is using the Edison commercial phono-
graph system in their various departments.
They have found it a tremendous time saver, a
money maker, and commend it very highly. They
have recently received some very flattering tes-
timonials as to the merits of the commercial sys-
tem from men eminent in all walks of life. The
Home Trust Co. have just added the Edison busi-
ness phonograph to the marvelous list of mod-
ern machines used by leading commercial houses
in their equipment to-day.
A Word with
the Piano Dealer
Do you carry a regular line of Talk-
ing Machines? If not, why not?
There's good money in it, and it
blends perfectly with your vocation.
Do you wish to know all about the
business? Its possibilities and how to
make money in selling "talkers"?
THE
TALKING
MACHINE
WORLD
is the only publication in America de-
voted solely to the interests of the
talking - machine trade. It contains
forty to fifty pages 11 x 15 of interest-
ing matter, and has practical sugges-
tions, helpful comments, a complete
list of all records issued monthly by
the leading concerns, patents and im-
provements, and every item of trade
news which is worth recording from
all parts of the world.
The cost is only a trifle—one dollar
a year (stamps or cash). No subscrip-
tion entered for less than one year.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
OFFICES:
I MADISON AVE., NEW YORK