Music Trade Review

Issue: 1907 Vol. 44 N. 8

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
New England, have been made during the past
few days.
A Year of Great Progress Reported at All the
For some time past the Lauter Co. have missed
Grinnel! Branches—Resolutio-ns of Apprecia-
very many letters from their mail, especially let-
tion Passed—Entertained at Dinner and
ters containing remittances. Matters have
Banquet—A Most Enjoyable Affair.
reached a climax lately with the result that spe-
cial efforts were made by the postal authorities
(Special to The Review.)
to discover the culprit. This resulted in the ar-
Detroit, Mich., Feb. 18, 1907.
rest on Sunday of a local letter sorter, who was
A year of wonderful progress was reported at caught "with the goods on." He later made a
the annual convention of the branch managers of full confession to the post-office inspector. The
Grinnell Bros.' fifteen stores, which was held in Lauter Co. request that if any of their corre-
this city last week. The conditions were re- spondents have reason to think, that letters may
ported as favorable in every instance, and every have been tampered with that such be reported
one felt, after hearing the results of the general at once.
efforts during 1906, that the coming twelve
President Charles E. Cameron is still in the
months of business will break all records.
South,
where he will remain for a few weeks
Numerous evidences of the spirit of loyalty ex-
longer.
isting between the firm and its staff were given
during, the convention, and these took tangible
form in the unanimous adoption by the conven-
PEASE PIANO CO. ENTERTAIN
tion of the following resolutions offered by Man-
The Heads of Departments at Banquet at the
ager James Vaughan of the Saginaw branch:
Hotel Cadillac—Contracts Let for New Pease
"At a meeting of the managers of the branch
Factory in the Bronx,
houses and the Detroit managers of the firm of
Grinnell Bros., assembled in annual convention
Among the many annual affairs that take
at Detroit, it has been unanimously resolved:
place in the trade in this city the annual dinner
"That each and every manager wishes to ex- extended by the Pease Piano Co. to their employes
press his thanks and appreciation for the liberal, is said by those who have the good. fortune to
generous and fair-minded treatment and consid- be participants, to outrank anything of the kind
eration shown by the firm to the managers in the that comes on the boards, and the last one, which
conduct of the branches of this great and impor- was held on Thursday, February 14, is placed in
tant industry.
the same category, only at the head of all of its
"That each and every manager appreciates the predecessors. It was held at the Hotel Cadillac,
high integrity and the fair and square treatment and forty sat down when Toastmaster John D.
accorded to customers by the firm in all its de- Pease, the treasurer and general manager of the
partments, a policy which has made this house company, rapped for order. After filling them-
the greatest in the history of Michigan and one selves full of the good things of this life,
of the greatest in the world.
speeches were in order, and after listening to
"Therefore, it is resolved. That we express to the happy felicitation of their toastmaster, the
the members, Mr. I. L. Grinnell and Mr. C. A. heads of the various departments made some
Grinnell, our appreciation of the generous and very interesting remarks pertaining to the work
liberal treatment and entertainment given at this that they had accomplished during the past year,
annual meeting, as well as thanks for the high- and offered many valuable suggestions as to,how
minded and honorable policy which enables us to greater success could be achieved in the future.
attain the best results for this great and respect-
The announcement has been made that the
ed firm, and it is further
contract for the new factory for the Pease Piano
"Resolved, That every manager will return to Co. at Berry street and Leggett avenue in the
his duties with a determination to make the best Bronx has been let, and work will be commenced
possible use of the experience and valuable ad- at once. The contract specifies that the building
vice obtained at this, tne largest and most im- shall be in readiness for its owners on August
portant meeting yet held."
1. Its dimensions will be 100 by 125 feet, and it
Both members of the firm responded feelingly will have five stories and basement, giving a
to the sentiment expressed in the resolutions, total floor space of 750,000 square feet. The
and tendered their thanks to the managers for rapidly growing business of this company has
their earnest efforts and loyal support of the made their present home far' too small, and the
house of Grinnell.
new structure will be adequate to their needs
A banquet and theater party were features of for some time to come.
the meeting, and everybody in attendance felt de-
lighted with their visit.
REUNION OF GRINNELL MANAGERS.
GLEASON CONTINUES AS MANAGER.
LAUTER CO.'S GOOD REPORT.
Secretary Campbell Well Pleased With Whole-
sale and Retail Business—Recent Shipments
Large—If Your Letters Have Failed to Reach
Lauter Co. You Will Know Whv,
(Special to The Review.)
Newark, N. J., Feb. 20, 1907.
When seen here to-day and asked as to trade
conditions, Peter F. Campbell, secretary of the
Lauter Co., said: "Trade is remarkably good,
both at wholesale and retail. Here in Newark,
despite the heavy winter weather of the past ten
days, our business has been extremely satisfac-
tory. The only thing that has disturbed us at
all has been the difficulty of delivering pianos
at points outside of the city, especially in the
hilly sections, where it has been impossible to
have teams deliver pianos without a great deal
of extra effort; indeed, during the past ten days
four-horse teams have been the rule rather than
the exception with us in all of our country runs.''
Mr. Campbell said that wholesale trade was
remarkably good, and that the pleasing fact to
him was the splendid demand for player-pianos
and small grands. A very large number of or-
ders have been received lately for styles 8, 18 and
28, player-pianos, and style 9, small grand. All
parts of the country are represented. Large ship-
ments for the South, the extreme West and for
Emmett H. Gleason, manager of the I. N. East-
erbrook branch music house at Bath, N. Y., has
been retained to manage this establishment for
another year. This concern handles the Behning,
Haines Bros., Emerson, Steger & Son, Marshall
& Wendell, Ludwig, Hobart M. Cable, Emerson-
Angelus, Angelus player, etc.
CHANCE FOR ATHENS DEALERS.
The citizens of Athens, Ala., have announced
their intention of building a $10,000 conservatory
of music for the Athens Female College. Five
thousand dollars has already been subscribed for
that purpose. Good chance for the dealers of
that town to hustle around and place the neces-
sary instruments.
Pardridge & Blackwell, who opened their great
new department store in Detroit, Mich., recently,
devote generous space to their musical merchan-
dise and sheet music departments.
S. J. Yoder, who opened a piano store in To-
peka, Ind., not long ago, is handling the Steger
line of pianos and the Chase & Baker players
in a very successful manner.
P. A. Sturgeon has recently assumed the man-
agement of the Flaiinery music house, Toledo, O.
11
HALLET & DAVIS FORCES MEET.
Many Matters of Interest Discussed—Informal
Talks by Messrs. C. C. and E. E. Conway and
H. J. Schaeffer—President Kimball's Good
Report—Banquet at Young's Hotel.
(Special to The Review.)
Boston, Mass., Feb. 19, 1907.
The branch store managers and road men of
the Hallet & Davis Co. have just finished hav-
ing "the time of their lives here," as guests of
the company. A three days' session ended with
a banquet at Young's Hotel, and every one de-
clared that he had learned much and has enjoyed
himself.
This is the annual gathering of the Hallet &
Davis forces, for the purpose of getting better
acquainted with each other and with the policy
of the firm.
Meetings were held in the rooms of the Hallet
& Davis Co. on Boylston street, and frequent
visits were made to the factories of the com-
pany. At the factories all the different styles,
the new scale and the new improvements since
the fire were inspected and fully explained to all
the men.
At the sessions held in the company's rooms
there were a number of informal talks on mat-
ters pertaining to the company's business. C. C.
Conway gave a talk on advertising as it should
be done by a branch store; H. J. Schaeffer, the
company's auditor, talked on the best plan to
make collections; E. E. Conway discussed the
best way to manage the branch stores. At the
factory Superintendent Oscar Brambach de-
scribed all the details of piano construction.
President E. N. Kimball, of the Hallet & Davis
Co., told the "boys," as he called them, that the
business done by the branch stores during the
past year was double that of any year in the
company's history.
The "boys" who were present were T. M.
Griffith, Newark, N. J.; F. N. Goosman, Toledo,
Ohio; E. T. Caldwell, Cleveland, O.; E. R. Lang-
head, Cincinnati, O.; J. D. Ritter, Pittsburg, Pa.;
James Parkinson, Providence, R. I.; James H.
Gorham. New Bedford; C. J. Collins, C. F. Leon-
ard, E. R. Jones and M. W. Lindgren, of the
traveling force.
At the banquet in Young's Hotel, Colonel E. S.
Conway, of Chicago, was the guest of honor.
This was entirely an informal affair, and no
speeches were made. As the gathering broke up,
however, three rousing cheers were given for
"the house." These conventions of branch store
managers are to be an annual affair.
Aug. G. Singler is handling the Eilers line in
Midford, Ore. It includes the Chickering, Weber
and Kimball pianos.
HAVE you secured
space for exhibition
purposes at the
NATIONAL
MUSIC SHOW
to be held at Madison
Square Garden ?
Datm
September 18*26, 1907
Information supplied by
J. A. H. D R E S S E L , Manager
1 Madison Ave., New York City
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN "ART" PIANO ?
A STRONG PRICE & TEEPLE FAVORITE.
Should Have Individuality and Exclusiveness—
Should the "Special" Original Art Concep-
tion in Pianos be Classified as "De Luxe" or
Some Similar Appelation to Distinguish It
from the General Term " A r t ? "
Since art pianos have become a recognized fea-
ture, what constitutes a real "art" piano seems •
to be a matter left to the discretion of the manu-
facturer rather than being in accordance with
any established rule.
Although it is often claimed that the piano is
an art rather than a commercial product, still
the fact cannot be ignored that it is a piece of
merchandise sold for its intrinsic value and at
best would only come under the head of indus-
trial art products. With the advent of the "ai't"
piano, however, a truly art atmosphere was im-
parted to certain instruments, and they were
sold as much for the value of their exterior dec-
oration as for their mechanical perfection. But
with the new conditions there arises the question
what really constitutes an art piano. If every
piano with a case treatment designed after one
of the recognized decorative styles was termed
an "art" piano, about ninety-nine per cent, of the
instruments made at present would come under
that category.
In such an event, how would the ornate in-
struments made to special order by the leading
makers, hand-painted and otherwise embellished
as they are, be classified? If the term "art" is
applicable to a mahogany upright with panels
of Empire design, surely there should be some
such term as "de luxe" or "art de luxe" to sig-
nify the richer effects in piano decoration. Should
it be desired to- still refer to the richly carved
and painted "special order" instruments as "art"
pianos, by far the better plan, then makers of
pianos of ordinary aspect should not use the term
indiscriminately, as is now frequently the case.
An art piano should have individuality and ex-
clusiveness. If there were fifty or sixty turned
out in exact duplicate of the first, that one would
lose value and become an example of an ordinary
style, richly decorated though it be.
As conditions are at present, catalogue after
catalogue reaches this office with such items as
"Art Style 'R' Colonial Design," which may be
obtained in any quantity. The result is that
those who can afford a real specially made art
piano are liable to have a poor conception of the
possibilities in that direction through seeing de-
scriptions of ordinary uprights termed "art"
styles, and when about to purchase spend much
less than they would be willing to pay for an
original and exclusive art conception. This fea-
ture hits the manufacturer right where he feels
it, i. e., in his pocket.
Another result is to encourage people who
would do better to purchase an instrument in
ordinary case to lose all idea of interior quality
and want outside aspect just for the sake of own-
ing what the catalogue says is an "art" piano.
This feature means higher prices for the dealer
perhaps, but from a class of purchasers who will
need extended time and small instalments, hardly
ever a profitable sale.
HE WANTED THE "TUNE."
The Cable Company branch in Ishpeming,
which has quite a trade with the numerous Scan-
dinavians in that locality, were recently in re-
ceipt of the following unique letter from a Swede
who eventually purchased the organ referred to:
"Yours of the 12th inst. at hand. I must say it
was a surprise, as I have not for a while intend
to by any organ although we had the subject up
some time ago for discussion. I should not like
to buy an organ without to have a look at him
and hear the tune and like to see what him look
alike but it is not the look of him aspecely but
the tune if it is a sweet mellow tune in him you
are at liberty to ship him here to us for approval
on condition you stated and I hop you do not go
to expenses and ship him here unless you have
Write the PRICE & T E E P L E PIANO CO., Chicago for their new Art catalogue and booklet
of satisfied customers.
some chance to sell him. You understand what
1 want is tune, as 1 can to day buy one for $30
including freight and all in Chicago but abouth
tune I can not say and neather will. In all if
you can say' that it will meet the demand ship
him with no promis on my side to buy him un-
less him have the tune that suits me. Respect-
fuWy yours,
OLE SWEXSEN."
vertising in your newspaper should occupy a cer-
tain place on a certain page regularly. I t can
be found there at all times. I t costs more for a
certain place? You willingly pay more rent than
your competitor on a side street, don't you?
HIS FONDEST MEMORIES.
A hard-headed- old Pittsburg manufacturer who
made his fortune, as he expresses it, "with his
coat off," was induced by his daughters to ac-
Much of the success of D. H. Baldwin & Co., company them to a Wagner concert, the first he
the great manufacturers of Cincinnati, 0., must had ever attended. The next day he happened
be attributed to the especial attention which to meet an acquaintance who had seen him the
they are giving to advertising. Their publicity, night before, who asked:
"I suppose you enjoyed the concert last night,
whether in the magazines or in the daily or
trade papers, is always forceful, dignified and Mr. Brown?"
"Yes; it took me back to the days of my
convincing. It has been a great help to deal-
ers throughout the country, as it has reached youth," the old ,man said, with a reminiscent
millions of prospective customers who have been sigh.
unquestionably influenced toward investigating
"Ah, summer days in the country, girl in a
the Baldwin pianos, and it goes without saying lawn dress, birds singing, and all that?"
that an investigation in every instance means a
"No; the days when I worked in a boiler shop
sale.
in Scranton."
BALDWIN PUBLICITY PAYS.
STAPLES CO. SEEK LARGER QUARTERS.
The Staples Piano & Music Co., of Portland,
Me., who handle the Gabler, Henry F. Miller,
Hallet & Davis and Story & Clark pianos, are be-
ing compelled, owing to the growth of their
business to look around for a larger and more
central location. They hope to have an an-
nouncement to make in this connection at an
early date.
MISS RICHMOND APPOINTED MANAGER.
Miss Florence Richmond has been appointed
manager of the M. Steinert & Sons Co.'s estab-
lishment in Meriden, Conn., succeeding F. B.
Chapin. She has had a long experience in the
piano business.
The Metechotic system of stop control for or-
gans was introduced in England in 1890. It is a
method by which a number of registers are in-
geniously arranged to be transferable to different
WILL HANDLE THE WINTER PIANO.
manuals, thereby extending the number of ef-
During the recent visit to this city of Charles fects and combinations. In connection with this
G. Orth, the well-known dealer of Milwaukee, system the inventors have introduced inter-
Wis., he arranged for the representation of the changeable pistons, which permit any arranged
Winter & Co. pianos, with which he expects to combination to be registered for future use at
the will of the performer.
transact an excellent business.
The Southern California Music Co. have opened
a branch store at 543 B street, Oxnard, Cal., in
If a merchant moved from one store to an- charge of George P. Austin, who is well known
other every month he never could succeed. A in that town. A complete line of pianos and mu-
prosperous store keeps one location, Y°ur ad- sical merchandise has been installed.
WHY ONE LOCATION HELPS.

Download Page 11: PDF File | Image

Download Page 12 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.