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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Philadelphia Entertaining the Elks This Week—Piano Houses Handsomely Decorated—Wey-
mann & Sons Fully Installed in Their New Building—Negotiating for the Representation of
the Baldwin Pianos in Philadelphia—Woodford-Crouse's Good Progress—Settling Up the C
H. Fischer Business—Wanamaker Getting the Schomacker Factory in Shape—Camilla Urso
Roe Demonstrating the Angelus at Wanamakers—Has Had Some Funny Experiences.
(Special to The Review.)
Philadelphia, Pa., July 17, 1907.
Philadelphia is giving itself over to the enter-
taining of the Elks this week, and it is a holi-
day week in town, as far as the piano business
is concerned. All of the houses are handsomely
decorated, and the various piano dealers are en-
tertaining many out-of-town friends, but the
profits made on pianos this week would hardly
be worth noting. The piano men are taking
things good-naturedly, and all the houses have
decided to accept the Mayor's proposition to ob-
serve Thursday of this week as a holiday, and
close their places of business. The piano men
expect, however, to profit later on by the large
amount of money that the Elks are expected to
bring to town. It has been many years since so
few people have gone away for the summer, and
the piano men also expect this situation to be
to their profit, and naturally, taking all things
into consideration, they feel that there is every
prospect of a very good fall and winter business.
It would be hard to tell which of the piano
houses deserve the most credit for decorations,
but F. A. North & Co., who handle the Lester
piano, deserve special mention; in fact, all the
piano houses did themselves proud. The dealers
in small goods—particularly talking machines,
phonographs and graphophones, etc.—are taking
advantage of the many visitors in town to keep
up continuous concerts.
H. A. Weymann & Sons have become fully in-
stalled in their new building at 1010 Chestnut
street, and have the most complete place in their
line in town. They have devoted several fine
rooms to the display of pianos, a business in
which they expect to go on a larger scale than
ever before. They are showing a number of
Weymann & Sons and Bailey pianos, and are
about to close a deal with the Baldwin Piano Co.
to represent that piano in this city. Mr. Robin-
son, of the Baldwin Co., has been in Philadel-
phia, but as the deal has not been entirely, but
practically, settled there is little to report this
week. In speaking of the Baldwin, a member of
the Weymann firm thought it would be a very
good move on their part to secure this fine in-
strument. No wareroom along Chestnut street
is finer than theirs, and they need just such a
fine instrument as the Baldwin to give further
tone to the place. The Baldwin Co. no doubt
feel that this move is a subject for congratula-
tion on their part, for with the headway they
have already made in Philadelphia they feel that
their future success here will be easy. The
Weymanns express themselves as thinking very
well of the work done on the Baldwin in Phila-
delphia, and Mr. Doddridge will no doubt be
in charge of the piano department at. the new
Weymann store. This should also be quite a sat-
isfactory move for Mr. Dcddridge, who was no
doubt more or less handicapped by the small
quarters in which he has had to work as the
Baldwin representative in the two years since
that piano came to Philadelphia. The Weymanns
will take the full Baldwin line.
The new firm of Woodford & Crouse, much to
their surprise, have found July a very good
month" thus far. They have had considerably
more business during the first two weeks than
they had the first two weeks of June. They have
had the Fischer lease transferred to their name.
It had two more years to run, and they have
secured a new lease for five years. They will
very shortly begin extensive alterations on the
interior, making it a first-class piano store in
every way. They have a stock of more than
two hundred pianos on hand, of every descrip-
tion, made by the Steger and Singer companies
and Reed & Sons, as well as a number of fine
Wissner pianos—an instrument which is gaining
much popularity in this city.
The Woodford-Crouse firm having had turned
over to them the settling up of the business of
the late Charles H. Fischer Co., are having many
funny experiences with holders of the stock of
that concern. The stockholders, many of whom
are women, with the usual feminine business
acumen, call daily and with all kinds of threats
demand payment on this stock. The new firm,
however, are not worrying much, but rather.look
upon it as good warm-weather pastime. Many
of them are still believers in the value of their
stock, and think the new firm are holding them
out of very valuable profits. One of the most
peculiar cases, however, was that of a stock-
holder who came in and brought his "defunct"
stock with him, as well as his bankbook, and
insisted that the firm take the $7,000 he has in
bank and deliver to him a part interest in their
business, as he believed there was money in the
piano business. Mr. Woodford says he never had
so much trouble to turn away good money.
Charles H. Fischer has moved his family to
Evanston, 111., where he will live in the future,
and is doing very well as a piano solicitor for
Steger & Co.
John Wanamaker is hard at work getting his
factory into shape. Mr. H. C. Schomacker has
been assigned to the factory for the present to
push this work, as he naturally is conversant
with requirements there.
At the Wanamaker store, Philadelphia, the
firm have started an innovation which they find
has brought very good results. They have se-
cured as demonstrator of their self-playing in-
struments a lady, Camilla Urso Roe, a daughter
of the well-known violinist, the late Camilla
Urso. This experiment was at first decided upon
for the reason that so many people were under
the impression that a woman could not operate
a self-playing instrument as well as a man. Mrs.
Roe is demonstrating to them otherwise. She
is an accomplished pianist herself, and knows
the Angelus perfectly, even to being able to take
one apart and put it together. She is a thor-
ough musician, and knows how to operate the
Angelus to get the best effect. She is also able
to impart her knowledge to others, and conse-
quently when Wanamaker's sell an Angelus Mrs.
Roe is sent out to give instruction on the instru-
ment, and the firm have found that such pro-
cedure has kept them from the many complaints
that they previously had through purchasers not
knowing how to handle the instrument.
Some women, she says, take to it naturally
through their musical intelligence, while others
require a lesson of several hours before they are
able to understand the handling of the player
attachment. She has had very many funny ex-
periences in her work, and looking at the humor-
ous side of life, she has had much fun out of
her experiences. The other day, for instance, a
lady who had purchased a self-player, was hav-
ing all kinds of trouble trying to read and figure
out the expression on the music roll. She asked
Mrs. Roe whether the two FFs on the music roll
meant to pedal with both feet, and whether the
two PPs meant to operate both pedals.
JOHN CHURCH CO. IN DALLAS, TEX.
The John Church Co., who for some time have
had a representation in a small way in Dallas,
Texas, have opened up new and commodious
quarters at 338 Elam street, that city, under the
management of J. A. Chapman. They are dis-
playing a fine line of Everett, Harvard, Dayton
and John Church pianos. They also have a sheet
music department in charge of J. P. Muckols,
who was formerly with the Will A. Watkin Co.
9
SomeTrade"Straws"
Here are some excerpts taken at random
from the many letters which we have re-
ceived from dealers, tuners and salesmen
who enthusiastically endorse "Theory and
Practice of Pianoforte Building."
Here is what the Phillips & Crew Co.,
Savannah, Ga., one of the leading firms in the
South, say regarding "Theory and Practice of
Pianoforte Building":
"We beg to hand you herewith our check
for $2 to cover cost of one copy of "Theory
and Practice of Pianoforte Building," which
has been received with thanks. The book is all
that you claim it to be and should find a ready
place with all those connected with the trade.
With our very best wishes, we beg to remain,"
etc.
George Rose, managing head of the great
English house of Broadwood & Sons, and one
of the leading scientists of Europe, writes:
"I have perused the book with much pleas-
ure, and 'Theory and Practice of Pianoforte
Building' should be in the hands of every prac-
tical and interested man in the trade."
H. A. Brueggemann, a dealer in Fort
Wayne, Ind., writes: "I have one of your
books, 'Theory and Practice of Pianoforte
Building,' and will say that it is just the kind
of a book I have been looking for for many
years. I have been tuning pianos for fourteen
years, and from studying the book, 'Theory and
Practice of Pianoforte Building,' I have
learned something that I never knew before."
John G. Erck, for many years manager of
the Mathushek & Son retail piano business,
and now manager of the piano department of
a big store in Cleveland, writes: "You cer-
tainly deserve strong commendation, for your
latest effort, 'Theory and Practice of Piano-
forte Building' is a book written in such an
instructive and concise form that certainly no
piano player or piano professional enthusiast
should lack it in his or her library. It gives
to the salesman the highest knowledge of in-
struments and is invaluable."
Henry Keeler, of Grafton, W. Va., says: "I
most heartily congratulate you for launching
such a worthy book. 1 consider it the best
work ever written upon the subject, and 1
hope that its ready sale will cause the reprint
of many editions."
George A. Witney, head of the Brockport
Piano Mfg. Co., himself being a scale draughts-
man of national repute, writes : " 'Theory and
Practice of Pianoforte Building' is a valuable
book for those interested in piano construc-
tion."
Every man, whether manufacturer,
scale draughtsman,superintendent,
dealer, or salesman, should own
a copy of the first work of its kind
in the English language.
The price for single copies, delivered to
any part of the United States, Canada
and Mexico is $2. All other countries,
on account of increased postage, $2.20.
If the book is not desired after examination, money
will be refunded.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Publisher
1 MADISON AVE., NEW YORK CITY