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MUSIC TRADE:
TRADE CONDITIONS IN BALTIMORE.
While February Was Not Up to Expectations
It Made a Better Showing Than Last Year
•—Mann's "Inner-Player"
Publicity—Sales
of Steinway Baby Grands—Some Southern
Visitors—Steinway Pianos in Recital.
(Special to The Review.)
Baltimore, Md. ( Feb. 28, 1910.
With the ending of the present month it must
be said that the local trade has not shown up
(Juite as well as was anticipated by the dealers
when the month started in. Judging from the
prevailing conditions as & Whole for January it
was freely predicted that February would be
something of a record breaker, but an unlooked-
for and unexplained change occurred before the
month had well advanced, and business has not
as yet struck the particularly lively gait that is
desired by the dealers. But compared with the
same month of last year, there is a vast differ-
ence by far for the better, and the dealers be-
lieve that the spring trade will more than make
Up far the alight disappointment suffered at
present.
The "Inhe • Player" concerts given in the large
show window of the Joseph M, Mann Piano Co.,
Gable line representatives, have proven so popu-
lar and attracted such large and enthusiastic
crowds.that Mr. Mantt is Using a reproduction
of one of the usual every-day scenes in front of
the place to gOod advantage for advertisement
purposes in the locai newspapers. Among the"
visitors to call upon Mr. Mann recently have
been W. M. Plaisted, of the Smith, Barnes &
Strohber Co.; L. Goldman, treasurer Of the Utli-
versal Piano Co., New York, and H. it. Crowther,
of the Cable Company, Chicago.
The local dealers have been doing a lot of
breezy advertising the last week or so. One of
the most unusual ads. recently noted is that
gotten up by J. P. Caulfleld & Co., which takes a
rap at those dealers who have been conducting
special sales. It reads like this:
"Can you find a nose on this man's face (the
face of a man is reproduced alongside these
words and the nose is the most prominent fea-
LAUTER
PIANOS
LAUTER PIANOS are
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people who appreciate an
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LAUTER
GRAND
PIANOS,
LAUTER
UPRIGHT
P I A N OS a n d t h e
LAUTER - HUMANA
(player) should be handled
by you if you have need for
instruments of the highest
possible class.
We invite inquiries. We
mail catalog to any address
on request.
LAUTER CO.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
REVIEW
ture of the face) or spell "Cat" with three let-
ters; win a Hundred Dollars and buy a Piano?
Of course you can't. All such schemes were ex-
posed at the Piano Dealers' Convention last sum-
mer, but to those who are attracted by the cer-
tificate plan we extend an invitation to examine
our line of pianos which we are selling at prices
ranging from $100 to $150 lower than is asked
by the certificate houses for pianos of the same
grade."
President G. Wright Nicolls and Albert Bow-
den, of the Sanders & Stayman Co., announce
that the Steinway pianos are meeting with great
popularity here. One of the main sales of the
week was that of two Steinway baby grands to
the same customer. Ernest Urchs, of Stein-
way & Sons, was a visitor at Sanders & Stayman
the past week on his way back from Atlanta, Ga.
Atlanta, by the way, wag the Mecca last Wednes-
day of a number of well-known visiting piano
representatives. Those there, besides Mr. Urchs,
were J. H. Williams, manager of the local store
of William Knabe & Co.; L,. M. Ide, of the I.af-
fargue Co.; Benjamin C. Peck,'of Strich & Zeid-
ler, and W. V. Swords, of the Aeolian Co.
Mr. Williams, of Win. Knabe & Co., was also
in Charlotte, Jacksonville and Macon. He re-
ports business in the South to be in a most flour-
ishing condition, Atlanta and Jacksonville, es-
pecially, being particularly bustling towns. Carl
Atzrodt, of the Sanders & Stayman forces, is in
Ghestertown, Md., for a short trip.
Steinway pianos were used at recitals at the
Peabody Conservatory of Music the past week by
Ernest Hutcheson, Harold Randolph and Mr.
Lhevinne. A Steinway was also used at Brown
Memorial Presbyterian Church by Dr. B. Merrill
Hopkittson.
THE "ADVERTISING FORUM/'
Elaborate and Valuable Course in Practical
Advertising in All Its Varied Branches An-
nounced by West Side Y. M. C. A.—Prom-
inent Lecturers—$1,000 in Prizes Offered by
Business Houses.
The West Side Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation, 318 West Fifty-seventh street, New York,
have just announced the opening, on the even-
ing of March 7, of the "Advertising Forum," a
(omplete course of instruction in the science and
art of advertising, including a series of thirty-
iive lectures by some of the greatest advertis-
ing experts in the country- The course will take
up the preparation and handling of advertising
matter for all purposes, including newspapers,
trade papers, letters and booklets, agency sys-
tems, etc., and all treated in a thorough and
(omprehensive manner. The tuition fee is only
$10.25 for the full course for non-members of
the association—$5 for members—and, judging
from the prospectus, one lecture should be worth
ihe cost of the full series. A feature of the
(ourse is the sum of $1,000 offered as prizes for
the best advertising ideas presented by the stu-
dents. Ten prominent business concerns, in-
cluding the National Phonograph Co. and Stein-
way & Sons, contributed $100 each to the prize
lund. Booklets describing the course will be
supplied upon application to the association, and
even those who already hold positions as ad-
vertising managers might do well to investigate
the opportunity of increasing their knowledge
by listening to the lectures of recognized ex-
perts and profiting by their opinions.
PIANO MEN AS GUESTS.
Seven Men Prominent in Dallas Piano Field
Newspaper's Guests at Banquet Tendered
Visiting Ad-Men.
During the recent convention of the Associated
Advertising Clubs of America, held recently in
Dallas, Tex., the visiting ad-men were tendered
a banquet by the Dallas News and seven of the
local piano men were also the guests of the
newspaper on that occasion. The piano men
present were: B. W. Gratigny, Bush & Gerts
Piano Co.; J. C. Phelps, L. R. Smith and T. H.
13
Wear, of the Jesse French Piano and Organ
Co.; Robert N. Watkin, Will A. Watkin Co.; W.
A. Leyhe, T. L. Webb, W. A. Leyhe Co.
HOW ONE=PRICEJ>YSTEM PAYS.
Salt Lake City House Gives Ten Concise Rea-
sons Why the System Should be Adopted.
The Carstensen & Anson Co., Salt Lake City,
Utah, who recently adopted the one-price system
of selling pianos, have given the following con-
cise reasons why they are enthusiastic over that
system of piano selling:
"It is right, for a dollar has an unchangeable,
universal value.
"It strengthens the salesman morally and in-
tellectually.
"It secures the confidence of the customer.
"It grades pianos where they belong.
"It sells better pianos.
"It secures the house the respect of the com-
munity, increasing the number of sales.
"It saves valuable time—no bickering.
"It helps collections—customers feel they
have been dealt with squarely.
"It enables business to be conducted on closer
margin, for profits and expenses can be figured
more accurately in advance.
"It imparts an enduring reputation to a house."
TO OPEN RETAIL STORE.
Meyer-Freeman Co. Arrange Warerooms at
Their Headquarters in Cedar Rapids, la.
The Meyer-Freeman Co., Cedar Rapids, la.,
have arranged to open a handsome store in the
building occupied by the offices of the company
in that city, and the work of remodeling the
premises is now under way. The main ware-
100m contains 5,000 square feet of floor space
and will be divided into four sections by plate
glass partitions, the largest section being given
over to the display of grand pianos. It is ex-
pected to double 4 the wareroom space at an
early date when conditions warrant, and in the
meantime the additional space will be used as
a repair shop.
PIANO MEN JOIN MOVEMENT
Of St. Paul Jobbers to Prevent Losses Through
Dishonest Retailers—Fund of $25,000 Sub-
scribed.
Several piano houses in St. Paul, Minn., who
do a wholesale business, have joined with job-
bers in other lines of trade in a movement to
prevent fraudulent failures of retailers, under
the direction of the Northwestern Jobbers' Credit
Bureau. A fund of $25,000 has been raised to
tarry on the work, and the actual financial con-
ditions of retailers will be ascertained through
a system of mutual reports. Where an attempt
is made to evade the payment of just debts
vigorous prosecution will be made, with the ob-
ject of discouraging similar moves in other di-
rections. It is expected that the new movement
will succeed in preventing much loss in the
future.
HASBR0TJCK PORTFOLIO.
The Hasbrouck Piano Co., 517-519 West Thirty-
second street, are mailing to their customers this
week a portfolio of photographs covering all
their leading styles of uprights and player-pianos.
Tne portfolio is designed especially for the use
of outside salesmen, the photos, mounted on
linen, being bound between covers of flexible
morocco and which can be removed and other
styles added as occasion demands. The outside
cover is embellished with the firm name in gold.
Another important feature is that each separate
style is arranged alphabetically with footnotes,
enabling the dealer to designate whether the
piano ia to have a carved or plain music desk,
fancy pilasters, trusses, etc., and what wood is
desired in the case—mahogany, walnut or oak.