Music Trade Review

Issue: 1908 Vol. 46 N. 11

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
THE
For the benefit of those of my readers who
imagine that I may be a gray-bearded old man
delving into the records of a misty past, the
"Man on the Street" insisted that my photograph
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
designer who possesses a knowledge of color har-
mony extraordinary opportunities to produce
effective results.
As a consequence of these modern innovations
the title page of to-day is really an art print in
which the dominant feature is, or should be,
simplicity, for I have long claimed that how-
ever fanciful a design may be, and however
many colors may be used in its printing, with
out simplicity it is utterly ineffective.
There are two distinct styles of title pages in
apparent in the production of the modern title general use, the "illustrated title," which should
page. I think that I am safe in saying tell the story of the song, and the "decorative
that ten years ago Edgar Keller was just title," which depends solely upon its beauty of
as talented an artist as he is to-day— design and color scheme to attract attention.
not as finished perhaps—but the wonder-
ful creative genius which he has displayed
for years in designing the Witmark title pages
must have been just as apparent a decade ago.
Again, take Starmer, Etherington and Frew, who
like myself are "free lances," designing for any-
body who wishes to engage our services; their
versatility has surely not come to light in a day.
The question is naturally asked them, "to what
source is due the marvelous artistic strides made
in the modern title page?" and the answer lies
in the fact that the credit is largely due to the
improvement in mechanical production.
While this advance has, of course, been in line
with the steady improvement wrought in the
allied trades of printing and engraving, the pres-
TITLE I'AUE OF TEN YEARS AGO.
LINE TITLE 1'AGE OK TO-DAY.
should grace—or disgrace—the following record,
which he suggested I write for The Review read-
ers, whose knowledge of title pages necessarily
begins and ends with the selling quality of the
song, which is inserted within. • Having made
this apology, I will proceed with my subject.
At the outset, let it be clearly understood that
I am not going to endeavor to prove that the
title page sells the song, but I am convinced that
it attracts a prospective purchaser to look over a
good unknown song which would otherwise be
Either style of title, no matter how well executed,
must possess simplicity in its design. Other-
wise the use of color only tends to produce a
complicated effect which is anything but effec-
tive, and oftentimes extremely unattractive. This
fact became apparent to me in the early days
of my career, and I was not slow to discover
that the study of color effect was valuable not
alone from an art standpoint, but from" a prac-
tical printer's standpoint as well. Probably the
hardest lesson that I ever mastered was that
MARIOTCft
DARLING 3U
GENE RUCK.
ent elaborate title pages used on "popular" pub-
lications, are also directly attributable to the
latter-day competition among the music publish
ers, for, as I have pointed out, it has been
proven beyond a shadow of doubt that the artis-
tic title page has a substantial effect in bringing
a song to public notice.
Much of the credit for the development of
sheet music titles must be accorded to the two
firms of Leo Feist and Jerome H. Remick. The
latter, when proprietor of the Whitney-Warner
Publishing Co., of Detroit, was the first Ameri-
can publisher to encourage the value of art—
and by art I mean draftsmanship—as a factor in
his business. The example thus set was quickly
followed by the leading American publishers,
not one of whom to-day would think of bringing
out a popular number dressed in the old style
MODERN HALF-TONE TITLE PAGE.
of cover.
passed by unnoticed. And so, having committed
Prior to the year 1900 scroll designs of black
myself to an assertion that I originally intended and white, with simple lettering, predominated.
to keep for the close of my article, I will pro- The different mediums of reproduction being
ceed with as little delay as possible to take a lithography, steel engraving and printing from
retrospective tour over the past ten years, and wood cuts. These methods have been supplanted
compare the title pages of a decade ago with by printing from zinc etchings and copper plates.
those of to-day.
Of the latter the now famous tricolor half-tone
Let it not be supposed that the artist alone is process represents the highest state of perfec-
responsible for the vast improvement which is tion that has yet been attained, it offering the
COMBINATION IN LINE AND HALF-TONE.
the creations of the world's greatest artistic
geniuses were "great" because of their wonderful
simplicity, and it later became evident to me
that simplicity was also a safe course, when I
found I had to depend almost entirely on the
printer and engraver for my finished product.
This brings to mind the fact that the engraver
plays no small part in the production of the
title page, for without good plates it is utterly
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
impossible to obtain satisfactory results, how-
ever skilful the printer may be.
And now to sum up. A simple design, perfect
plates, a conscientious printer (if such exists),
and you ha.ve the modern title page, which can
trace its evolution through the marvelous pro-
gressive development of the printing and en-
graving arts of the last ten years. If the reader
will but study the title page of the past and
compare it with that of the present he might
well wonder what the future will bring forth.
TRADE NEWS FROM CHICAGO.
President Chandler a Happy Man—Krummer
Orchestra Club—Dixie Music Co.'s Hawaiian
Songs—A Clare Kummer "Winner"—Summy
Co.'s New Publications—Other News.
(Special to The Review.)
Review Office, 195 Wabash Ave.,
Chicago, 111., March 9, 1908.
President H. F. Chandler, of the National
Music Co., is a very happy man. Several weeks
ago the building occupied by W. P. Dunn & Co.,
who do the printing for the National Music Co.,
was gutted by fire and all the National Go's
plates, aggregating $40,000 in value, were locked
in the vaults in the printing Co.'s establishment.
They have now been able to get to the vaults
and find that none of the plates have been dam-
aged. Naturally under the circumstances the
stock of some of the publications have been run-
ning rather low, but now that the plates have
been recovered it will be possible to remedy the
shortage in a very few days.
J. H. Larrieu, of the S. Brainard Sons' Co.,
who is now on an eastern trip, reports conditions
as being very favorable and hopes they will con-
tinue so throughout the rest of the trip.
Victor Kremer's orchestra club continues to
grow and has now attained very sizable propor-
tions. Upon payment of one dollar the members
of the club are furnished with all the new music
for the year that is published by the Victor
Kremer Co. On the staff of writers for this com-
REVIEW
pany is William Frederick Peters, composer of
he "Mayor of Tokio," who has arranged almost
all of the Kremer orchestra and band selections
of recent date. One of his recent compositions
is the "Wandering of Ulysses." This company
have also some popular reprints of the "Merry
Widow" waltz and a "Waltz Dream."
The Dixie Music Co. will soon have two Ha-
waiian songs for the cornet which are written
by ex-Queen Liliukalini. One of the recent in-
strumental prints by this company is "My Re-
gards," a waltz caprice for cornet or trombone
solo, by Edward Llewellyn, late cornet soloist of
the United States Marine Band, now principal
cornet with Weber's Band.
"When the Moon Plays Peekaboo" is proving
one of the biggest hits Will Rossiter has ever
known in his music publishing business, and it
is being sung with great success by Maude Lam-
bert at the Circle Theatre, New York City, where
she is obliged to repeat the chorus ten or twelve
times every performance. "Somebody Lied" is
also proving a popular print.
"The Road to Yesterday," by Clare Kummer,
author of "Dearie," interpolated in the Tom
Jones musical comedy, is being sung with suc-
cess by Louise Gunning.
The Clayton F. Summy Co., of this city, have
just published "Studies in Shifting for the Vio-
lin," by J. Trott. In the foreword the author
says: Several of these ideas have been the sug-
gestions of noted European teachers and have
proven to be of great practical value in develop-
ing finger strength and accuracy of intonation.
There are twenty-one pages of exercises and the
book appears in attractive paper covers. Among
the recent instrumentals published by the Summy
Co. are: "Bourree Antique," by Mrs. Crosby
Adams; a barcarolle by the same composer, and
four "poetic pieces" for the piano by John
Palmer, including a barcarolle. "The Brooklet,"
"Cradle Song" and "Elfin Frolic." Levy Heniot
contributes "Piece Romantique" for violin and
piano. In vocals there are a dainty "encore
song," the "Cuckoo Clock," words by Mena C.
Pfirshing, music by G. A. Grant-Schaeffer, while
Chicago's great Christian Science cohorts should
rejoice "O'er Waiting Harp Strings of the Mind,"
words by Mary Baker G. Eddy, music by Frederic
W. Root.
OTIS SKINNER ON ART AND MUSIC.
Otis Skinner, the well-known actor, whose
father, grandfather and great-grandfather were
clergymen, preached a sermon on Sunday last in
the First Universalist Church at Mount Vernon,
of which his nephew, the Rev. Clarence R. Skin-
ner, is rector.
Mr. Skinner said in part: "The drama stands
recognized as one of the methods in which the
human mind has in- all ages striven to utter it-
self. If the manner of the theatre is to be re-
garded as an art at all it must be of beneficent
influence, for all art is uplifting. Without it we
should go down the byways of existence for the
most part and know little but the sordid.
"We can go back to nature; we can revel in
the beauty of fields and mountains, the grace and
color of flowers and the songs of birds, but this
privilege is not for us who are herded in dis-
tricts of asphalt pavements and skyscrapers.
Something must bring the joy of life to us, and
that something is art.
"The poet Longfellow once said to Mary An-
derson the actress that to keep one's imagination
and beauty sense alive one should every day
read a beautiful poem, see a beautiful picture
and listen to a beautiful piece of music. Had
he said that to one not a member of the theatri-
cal craft he might have added to his list the
occasional witnessing of a beautiful play.
"All art is the expression of an emotion, and
that of the theater is the most emotional of
arts." Mr. Skinner, who is an accomplished
musician, was listened to with rapt attention.
M. Witmark & Sons" new issues have just come
to hand. They have some excellent new numbers.
"Miss Hook of Hol'and" (Chappell & Co) has
made the musical success of the season.
THEO. BENDIX
Music
Publisher
PRESENTS HEREWITH A LIST OF AUTHORS AND COMPOSERS WHO HAVE
CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE BENDIX
CATALOGUE.
Our
Composers
Alfred G. Robyn, Gustave Kerker, Howard Herrick, Louis F.
Gottschalk, F r i tz Stahlberg, Paul Henneberg,
g, Audrey Kingsbury,
gy
,
^
pinkelstein,
Chas.
Bendix,
Bert
Levy?
C a r o s Curti
Adolph
Edward A. Paulton, Frederic K. Logan, Geo. J. Trinkaus, Herbert
Dillea, Augustus Barrett, E. Boccalari, Daniel Dore, Frank N. Darling, Wm. T. Francis.
Henry
M. Blossom, George Broadhurst, Wallace Irwin, Grant
Our
Stewart
> Edward A. Paulton, Guy Maingy, Virginia K. Logan,
Arturo Lucey, Ned Nye, Chas. W. Doty, Thomas Curtis Clark,
Martin S. Merle, Paul Durand, Jessie Beattie Thomas, John E. Hazzard.
Our Jtrtists
HY. MAYER, STARMER, ETHERINGTON, GENE BUCK.
ALFRED G. ROBYN.
who are alert and enterprising
will want GOOD, QUICK

SELLERS for io,o8~ Write
AT ONCE for SPECIAL RATES and liberal new issue propo-
sition. It will certainly interest you. Our titles make a MAGNIEI-
CENT DISPLAY.
OUR LEADER
"You Can't Guess What He Wrote On My Slate"
The greatest Comedy Child Song ever written. A HIT, emphatic and pronounced.
GET IN TOUCH WITH US AT ONCE
THEO* BENDIX,
.^."X,
1431 Broadway, New York
THE MOUSE OF SURPRISES!!!

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