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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.
DEMAND FOR ART PIANOS.
Pianos and Other Musical Instruments Shipped
Abroad from New York for the Past Week.
Instruments That Are Correctly Designed Be-
coming an Important Feature of the Business
of Leading Manufacturers—One of the Many
Beautiful Steinway Art Creations Which
Have Added to Steinway Fame.
(Special to The Review.)
Washington, D. C , July 30, 1906.
The following were the exports of musical in-
struments and kindred lines from the port of
New York for the week just ended:
Auckland—80 cases organs, $3,354.
Berlin—5 cases organs, $5,000; 10 cases music,
$1,000; 15 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$446.
Bremen—13 cases piano players and material,
$3,700.
Buenos Ayres—5 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $200; 6 cases pianos and material, $100;
1 case pianos and material, $140.
Calcutta—2 cases musical instruments, $190;
6 cases organs and material, $265.
Callao—1 case pianos and material, $125; 1
case piano players and material, $139; 1 case
pianos and material, $200.
Colon—18 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$870.
Dublin—3 cases pianos and material, $500.
Genoa—33 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $495.
Glasgow—156 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $927.
Guayaquil—8 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $163.
Hamburg—9 cases organs, $615; 18 cases
pianos and material, $840.
Hamilton—1 case organs and material, $125.
Havana—1 pkg. music, $100; 19 pkgs. talking
machines and material, $797.
Havre—27 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $1,211.
Hobart—5 cases organs, $400.
La Paz—10 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $221.
Limon—16 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $947.
Liverpool—5 cases organs and material, $250;
17 cases organs and material, $654; 90 cases
pianos and material, $2,450; 103 pkgs. talking
machines and material, $650.
London—6 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $346; 597 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $7,265; 7 cases pianos and material, $1,-
100; 43 cases piano players and material, $8,300;
8 cases organs and material, $5,246; 4 pkgs. talk-
ing machines and material, $189.
Melbourne—36 cases organs, $1,774; 1 case
piano players and material, $112; 6 cases pianos
and material, $587; 44 pkgs. talking machines
and material, $1,425; 14 rolls music paper, $1,-
500; 11 pkgs. talking machines and material, $1,-
475.
Milan—37 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $1,695.
Neuvitas—4 pkgs. talking machines and mate-
rial, $121; 2 cases pianos and material, $204.
Para—13 pkgs. talking machines and material,
$428.
Rio de Janeiro-—9 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $717.
Shanghai—12 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $726; 1 case pianos and material, $225; 3
cases organs and material, $212.
Stockholm—2 cases organs and material, $350.
St. Petersburg—3 pkgs. talking machines and
material, $104.
Valparaiso—27 pkgs. talking machines and ma-
terial, $1,418; 7 cases musical instruments, $185.
Vera Cruz—2 cases pianos and material, $205.
The art piano has become an important feature
of the business of our leading manufacturers,
who make a specialty of these instruments, and
more will be sold the coming fall than ever be-
fore. People of wealth want something abso-
lutely individual in their homes—something that
cannot be duplicated by the hoi polloi, and
money is no object in this connection.
Decorators throughout the country have be-
come interested in a r t pianos to a remarkable
degree. They devote special attention to music
rooms, and naturally demand something in case
design that shall harmonize with the rest of
the treatment. A renowned name on the fall-
board of an instrument does not prevent that
same instrument from standing out from its sur-
roundings as a wart on a man's nose often pre-
dominates over otherwise good features. It must
be something more than a good piano or a good
name, it must be in addition an art piano. If
the treatment of the music room is Empire then
the piano must be in true Empire style.
And a word here about the importance of fol-
lowing the style. If a piano has a plain ma-
hogany case, the addition of fluted and riband
crossed legs and a couple of brass wreaths nailed
on the panels on front or side, do not make it
Empire any more than a college fraternity sign
on a bathhouse would make it Greek. A piano
must be made with the definite object in view of
following a certain style, and every detail must
be in that style. When each feature of the case
follows out the style in a way that can be rec-
ognized without recourse to the catalogue descrip-
tion, then it is an art piano, but not before.
Of course, from its very nature the elaborate
designs of art pianos must in the majority of in-
stances be made according to decorator's speci-
fications, and are not essentially instruments for
wareroom display, but modified forms in the vari-
ous period styles, both French and English, espe-
cially those of the Louis, the Regency, Empire,
Adams and the composite style, the Colonial,
could very profitably be introduced into ware-
room stocks. Many people in moderate circum-
stances would like some prescribed style in their
piano case, who at the same time could not af-
ford an elaborate music room supplied with a
piano made specially to order. It is this class
who would make the art piano a profitable propo-
sition for the average manufacturer, and the sub-
ject is one well worth considering.
As an example of the real "art piano" placed
in an elaborate environment, we illustrate on op-
posite page the music room in the residence of
Alex. R. Peacock, Pittsburg, Pa. The room is dec-
orated in the Louis XIV., and is furnished with a
handsome piano, with ormolu gilt mounts, de-
signed and made by Steinway & Sons. The piano
bench was dragged into the picture, but does not
belong there. This illustration shows but one of
the many instances where both room and piano
are welded into one harmonious whole.
RECEIVER ORDERED TO PAY.
(Special to The Review.)
Pittsburg, Pa., July 30, 1906.
An order was made in the case of the Pitts-
burg Organ & Piano Co. directing the receiver
to pay certain notes held by banks, that the col-
lateral may be in the hands of the receiver. An
SHERMAN, CLAY & CO. HUSTLE.
order was also made granting a rule to show
cause why the receiver should not receive a cash
In order to rush their work, Sherman, Clay & bid for all the assets of the company, the value
Co. have given their employes the choice of a of the aggregate appraisement being $53,392.
week's vacation with pay or an extra week's
pay alone, provided the party does not take any
R. A. Wheat, the old-time piano man of Nor-
time off. As a result of the offer a majority wich, N. Y., was a recent visitor to The Review
have decided to keep working, and obtain the sanctum. He was on his way to Long Branch,
extra money, thereby enabling the company to N. J., on a visit to his son. Mr. Wheat is a loyal
keep almost their entire force of men employed Warwickian and has sold many high-grade pianos
constantly.
in that section.
Make
more money
Don't be satisfied with the
money you make on pianos.
You can easily double your
income by handling the Victor.
If you push the sale of the
Victor as much as you do
pianos you'll soon find out
that the Victor is the better
paying proposition.
Victor Talking Machines
and Records
are in demand all over the
country. 49,000,000 magazine
readers are told about them
every month—and thousands
upon thousands of them are
buying both machines and
records.
It is a great opportunity for
you and you can easily get
in on it. Let the people know
you have the Victor—through
local newspaper advertising,
circulars, window displays, etc.
—good sales are sure to follow.
Victor Talking
Machine
Company
Camden,
N. J.