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MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Wholesale Trade With Philadelphia Manufacturers Excellent—Retail Trade, However, Is Quiet
—Lester Factory Working Full Time, Full Force to Meet Demands—Other Plants Also Ac-
tive—Much Conjecture as to Who Will Occupy New Piano Store on Chestnut Street—The
W. W. Kimball Co. Mentioned as a Possibility—Chas. Mehlin a Visitor—Estey Pipe Organs
Dedicated This Week—Behr Bros. Pianos to be Handled by Snellenberg Piano Department.
(Special to The Review.)
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 13., 1907.
November is usually a very good month, but
the financial depression seems to have hit the
retail piano business in Philadelphia very hard
and all the dealers are complaining. October
was a much better month than November has
been, and, in fact, the piano men are just now
experiencing the dullest period they have had
during the year, but are still hoping for a good
holiday trade.
This is the condition in the retail trade of
the city. Strange to say it is not the condition
with the Philadelphia manufacturer—the whole-
saler. The wholesale business has never been
better than at the present time. Naturally not
many orders have been coming in, for the pianos
for the holiday trade have long ago been ordered,
and the factories are being rushed to their limit
to get out the instruments to fill these orders.
The Lester factory, George Miller, the presi-
dent of that company, tells me, has never been
as busy as at the present time. Every available
space of their large factory at Lester is buzzing
along as never before with the prospects of
keeping buzzing until the new year is in, for the
firm are already so well sold up on several of their
more popular styles, that they are unable to take
any more orders for early shipment. They are
equally as busy in their concealed player depart-
ment, and Mr. Miller says they have more than
double the number of orders on that instrument
than they had a year ago.
The Schomacker factory is in about the same
condition as the Lester, although not for whole-
sale trade, but to supply the Wanamaker stores
in Philadelphia and New York on these instru-
ments. Every week new hands are being added,
until at the present time there are more than
double the number of men at work as when the
factory was started early in the fall, and in-
struments are coming through rapidly. Harry
C.. Schomacker is looking after the details of
the work at the factory at present, and has his
hands full. These instruments are sold on the
floor of the Wanamaker stores as fast as they
are turned out, and it will be some time after
the first of the year before any instruments will
be sent out to the wholesale trade, instead of on
the 1st of October, as was announced when the
factory was opened. This same condition prac-
tically prevails at the Blasius factory, the Cun-
ningham factory and the factory of Painter &
Ewing.
It is reported that there will shortly be a new
piano store along Chestnut street, just two doors
from the Estey warerooms, in the building for-
merly occupied by the Dewees Co. By some it is
The Standard of America
THE BEST IN THE WORLD
Simple, Durable and Absolutely Noiseless
NOT AFFECTED BY CLIMATE
Th6
l|ORRISPATENT
llOISELESSfEDAL ACTION
Annoyance and Expense
Saved Dealer and Purchaser
Manufactured and sold only by
Morris Noiseless Pedal lotion Go.
ALBERT t . MORRIS
3 Appleton Street,
CLIFTON H. NORRIS v
Boston, Mass.
tion by Easter. In the new organ there will be
thirteen speaking registers and these combined
with the couplers and accessories, will s h o ^
about twenty-five register knobs. The case is to
be of quarter-sawed oak to match the furniture
in the church, and will be wax finished and hand
rubbed. The interior of the key desk is to be
mahogany, piano-finish. The front pipes are to
be of gold color. This combination of gold and
oak will make a very rich appearance.
thought to be the Woodford-Crouse Co., who will
move to that location with the Steger pianos,
LOCKHART & C(VS NEW FACTORY. I
•and by others it is said to be the Kimball Co.
Lease
Larger Quarters at 615-619 Tenth Ave*
going to open a place in Philadelphia. The
nue
to W h i c h They W i l l Remove About
Woodford-Crouse firm will not confirm or deny
Jan. 1.
that they are the firm who are going to take the
building, but it would be a good location for
Lockhart & Co., manufacturers of pianos at 541r
either of the firms. The owners of the building
West Forty-third street, have leased a larger,
say it has been rented to a Chicago piano firm,
factory at 615-619 Tenth avenue, corner of Forty*
and that is all they will say. J. V. Steger has
fourth street, and expect to be comfortably;
been in Philadelphia for a few days and it may
located on or about January 1. The move to the;
have been his mission here to go over the ad-
new quarters will be made at easy stages, so ad
visability of making the move. The present
not to interfere with business, and the new plant
quarters of the Woodford-Crouse firm are not a
will be fully equipped and in running order be^
good location for so active a firm, trying to make
fore the old is closed down. The new plant?
popular an instrument such as the Steger, but
embraces three large lofts, 50 by 100 feet, or-
recently they had their building at 1710 Chestnut
10,000 square feet of floor area, with ample
street entirely overhauled at their own expense,
light, elevator service, steam heat, etc.; in fact,-
but this would not likely interfere with their
up-to-date in every particular. The several de-
moving to so much better a location as the old
partments will be arranged as follows:
First L
Dewees building offers. As to the Kimball, it
floor—finishing, regulating, carving and fly fin--
has long been thought that that firm would come
isning; second
floor—varnishing,
and the.
to Philadelphia sooner or later, and it has been
third, or annex, facing Forty-fourth street, for re-
reported at various times that they have been
serve stock. With four times as much floor
looking for a good location here. In fact, at one
area as previously enjoyed Mr. Lockhart expects
time they thought seriously of taking the ware-
to more than double his output.
rooms at 1103 Chestnut street, now occupied by
the Ludwig Piano Co. Whoever takes this new
CELEBRATE AT KING FACTORY.
wareroom is going to have one of the finest and
In honor of the completion of the great fac-
best apportioned set of piano warerooms in
tory of the Arthur J. King Co., in Bluffton, Ind., an"
Philadelphia.
Charles Mehlin has been in Philadelphia last immense fail festival was held in the factory
week, accompanied by Mrs. Mehlin, who stopped building this week under the auspices of the
off here on their way South on their honeymoon Elk Lodge of Bluffton. The building was beau-
tifully decorated and all the attractions of a,
trip.
Some work is being done in piano row at pres- carnival were in evidence including the merry-;
ent, in the efforts of the Girard Estate, the own- go-round, skating rink, post-office and other time-,
ers, to strengthen the buildings in that row to honored features. Of course, there was dancing
stand the strain of the heavy weight of the aplenty.. As the factory contains over 100,000
pianos. At the present time they have the square feet of floor space, there was lots of room
Heppe warerooms in course of strengthening, and for everybody. A handsome King piano was do-
that firm are considerably handicapped—and as nated and chances on it were eagerly purchased.
usual are offering a renovation piano sale.
F. F. Stelling has opened a music store in
The Estey Piano Co. will "open" Estey pipe
Maple
Grove, Wis.
organs in the Baptist Church at Coatesville on
the 14th and a t Jenkintown in the Baptist
"DISTINCTIVELY HIGH GRADE"
Church in that place on the 12th. The pipe
organ business of this firm continues to be ex-
cellent, but most of it is now devoted to setting
up instruments and collecting money, very few
orders are being taken at the present time, for
the firm have so many orders ahead that they
can only make promises 'way into the future,
and it is a peculiar part of the constitution of a
person that when they want a piano or an organ,
they want it quick, and it is the same way with
a congregation, that when they decide on get-
ting an organ, or a new organ, the manufac-
turers cannot work fast enough to satisfy their
desires.
The Snellenberg piano department has been
strengthened in the list of pianos they offer, by
the addition of the Behr Brothers, which they
have secured as their leader. This is an excel-
lent course on the part of this firm, for the Behr
Brothers instrument is well known and well
liked in Philadelphia, and it will no doubt carry
a considerable following 'to that house.
A. M. Mansfield, of the Mansfield Piano Co.,
is the greatest success of the day.
of New York, was a Philadelphia visitor this
It possesses a scale of rare even
week.
ness, a tone of remarkable sonority
GAe CHRISTMAN
STUDIO GRAND
•
KIMBALL PIPE ORGAN SELECTED.
An order has been placed through the Vin-
cennes, Ind., branch of the W. W. Kimball Co.,
for a handsome duplex tubular pneumatic pipe
organ for the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in
that city. Although in installing the organ it
will be necessary to build a new gallery, it is
hoped to have the instrument ready for dedica-
and richness, with a quality that
is highly orchestral. Our latest
styles of Grands and Uprights
mark a decided advance in the art
of piano-making. We court inves-
tigation. Some territory still open.
CHRISTNAN SONS, Manufacture,,
FACTORY AND OFFICE:
WiRKROOMS:
869-873 Eui I37«li St.
35 WM< 14th St.
(TEW Y O R K