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THE
SOULE WITH WESER BROS.
Will Travel for This House, Leaving Next
Week on His Initial Trip to the Middle and
South West.
(I. M. Soule, for a number of years on the road
for Jacob Doll & Sons, 98 Southern Boulevard,
but recently with De Rivas & Harris, 82 "Willow
avenue, the Bronx, has signed with Weser
Bros., 524 West Forty-third street, and will
make his initial trip for the house next week
covering the Middle and Southwest. Mr. Soule
has been identified with the piano trade many
years and that he will meet with success goes
without saying.
Henry R. Bauer, in charge of the publicity de-
partment, informed The Review that the firm's
new line has taken very well with both old
customers and new and that they shipped more
pianos last month than they did in December,
usually one of the best months in the year. The
firm, he added, are putting out a better piano
than ever before and dealers have not been slow
to realize it.
BUSINESS FAILURES DECREASING.
The Showing for May Is an Excellent One—
Defaulting Liabilities Amount to $9,590,186
—Total Delinquencies Only 885, Which Com-
pares Favorably with Returns for Preceding
14 Years—Increase in Brokerage Division—
Manufacturers Figure at 38 Per Cent.
Commercial failures in the United States dur-
ing the month of May, according to the statistics
compiled by R. G. Dun & Co., numbered 885,
with defaulted liabilities amounting to $9,590,186,
a very considerable decrease, both as to number
and the aggregate indebtedness, when compari-
son is made with the same month in the majority
of the preceding 14 years; in fact only in 1907,
1905 and 1901 of the present decade were the
failures fewer in number, while in 1905, 1904,
1902 and 1901 only was the amount involved
greater. It is also gratifying to note that this
excellent exhibit is shared in by both manu-
facturers and traders, and although there is
some increase in the brokerage division, it is
due to a large failure in that class. Manufactur-
ing failures numbered 218, with liabilities ot
$3,677,256, a very favorable showing compared
with the 231 for $7,156,140 in May last year, and
345 for $6,988,988 in the same month in 1908.
Liabilities were also larger in 1907 and 1906,
although the number was slightly less in the
former year, and only 179 in 1906.
This year manufacturing failures provided 38
per cent, of the liabilities, against 50 last year
and 51 per cent, in 1908. In the trading class
the number. 628, makes an extremely good show-
ing compared with the 766 of the same month
last year, 982 in 1908, 614 in 1907 and 676 in
1906, while the liabilities of $3,916,851 in May
this year, reveal an equally favorable compari-
son against the $4,974,243 last year, $5,570,684 in
1908, $4,035,245 in 1907 and $4,812,842 in 1906.
The percentage of the liabilities in this class
was 41, which compares with 34 last year and
37 in 1908. The defaults in the brokerage and
transporters division numbered 39, which is
somewhat more than in. the same month last
year and in 1907, but considerably less than the
52 in 1908 and 44 in 1906, and liabilities were
$1,996,000 compared with $2,253,377 last year,
$1,083,709 in 1908, $1,171,440 in 1907 and $4,141,-
694 in 1906.
TUNERS AS COLLECTORS.
New Plan to be Tried by Chicago Mail Order-
House to Prevent Dissatisfaction on Part
of Purchasers of Pianos.
One of the large Chicago houses selling pianos
by mail and who have had considerable difficulty
making collections if the instruments sold got
out of order in the slightest degree, has planned
to employ practical piano tuners and repair men
MUSIC TRAD£
REVIEW
in their collection department, who will be able
to put the pianos in condition as soon as they
receive the complaint where the repairs are only
small ones, and thus remove at once an excuse
for delayed payments. Where pianos sold are
placed at a distance from headquarters and the
payments made by mail, it is a rather difficult
matter to keep in touch with every purchaser
and see that the piano is kept in order and the
buyer in a contented frame of mind.
While the employment of timers and practical
piano repairmen as collectors is in the nature of
an experiment, those back of the idea are firm
in their belief of its ultimate success.
WOOKEY & CO. OPENING.
Entertain Public in New Quarters for Three
Days Last Week—Piano, Player-Piano and
Talking Machine Recitals.
(Special to The Review.)
Peoria, 111., June 6, 1910.
Wookey & Co., the well-known piano and music
dealers of this city, held the formal opening of
their handsome new quarters at 320 and 322
South Adams street, on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday of last week, and their store was visited
by a host of music lovers.
C. Arthur Longwell was present at the open-
ing and gave a series of recitals on the A. B.
Chase Artistano Grand, while F. E. Edgar, of
the Wilcox & White Co., presided over the
Angelus on several occasions. In addition to
these the voices of the famous grand opera stars
were heard through the medium of the Victor
Auxetophone, and some form of special music
was offered the many visitors practically con-
tinually during the three days.
Wookey & Co. occupy three floors and base-
ment, the entire building comprising twenty-
four thousand square feet of floor space, divided
into several separate rooms for the display of
pianos, player-pianos and sheet music. The
lines of talking machines are in a separate de-
partment known as the Bungalow.
The following lines are handled by the house:
A. B. Chase, A. M. McPhail, Crown and several
other pianos, A. B. Chase Artistano, Emerson
Angelus, Angelus pianos, Janssen Angelus,
Crown Combinolas and a number of cabinet
players go to make up the player stock, while
Columbia and Victor machines and records are
handled in the talking machine department.
Wookey & Co. published the following notice
in connection with their opening: "Our constant
aim has always been, never to do anything to
shake the confidence of the public as to our in-
tegrity. On this account we have never allowed
our name or our goods to be connected with
any of the contest schemes, such as "Coupon."'
"Certificate," "Prize," "Bond" and other forms of
piano advertising. Any one of such schemes
would ruin a good bank, and we think it would
ruin us."
ALLOW DRAWBACK ON PIANOS.
Treasury Department Give W m . Tonk & Bro.
Benefit of Decision in Baldwin Co. Case.
The Treasury Department regulations of
August 4, 1909, providing for an allowance of
drawback on pianos manufactured by the Bald-
win Co. of Cincinnati with the use of imported
piano actions, tuning pins, wire, hammer felt,
ivory keys and sounders have been extended to
cover the exportation of pianos manufactured by
William Tonk & Bros., of New York, with the use
of imported tuning pins, piano wire, piano actions
and decalcomanias.
The
Hardman Piano
The Piano That Sells Itself.
T
HE salesman whose cus-
tomer is predisposed in
favor of the piano he
is selling because " A friend
recommended it," finds his task
more than half accomplished.
That is why there are many
people to whom the Hardman
Piano sells itself.
It is one of the tributes paid
to genius that great artists are
regarded as intimate friends by
those who have once come un-
der the spell of their voice and
personality, and so when one
of these recommends a piano,
the recommendation has, to
countless admirers, all the
force of a friend's advice.
Now, practically all the great
artists who have visited this
country in recent years have
recommended the Hardman
Piano in no uncertain terms.
They have selected it for
their own personal use in their
own homes, and have not been
backward in expressing their
admiration of its unsurpassed
musical qualities.
Tetrazzini, Destinn, di Pas-
quali, Gerville-Reache, Cava-
lieri, Caruso, Slezak, Jorn, Gili-
bert, Riccardo Martin—these
are but a few names taken at
random from the long list who
have written enthusiastic en-
comiums of the Hardman
Piano.
The Piano that sells itself.
Is it not true?
Ask one of our dealers.
HANDLES THE LUDWIG PIANO.
A. H. Greene has opened piano warerooms in
the Second National Bank building, Somerville,
N. J., where he is handling the Ludwig piano.
Hardman, Peck & Co.
(Established 1841)
138 Fifth Avenue
The Knight-Campbell Piano Co., Denver, Col.,
have opened a branch in Las Vegas, N. Mex.
New York