Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1911 Vol. 53 N. 14

Page 7 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
UruterTHE
W
ITH the appearance of Vladimir de Pachmann, who was
heard through the medium of the Baldwin grand in recital
in Toronto on September 27, the musical season of 1911-12 may be
said to be open. De Pachmann will make his New York appear-
ance on October 20 on his farewell visit after thirty years of public
life, and he will be soon followed by other artists eminent as piano
virtuosi, playing the pianos of our leading makers. The season so
far outlined, and the bookings by the leading managers, indicate a
very successful musical season. And this brings to mind an old
topic, namely, the indifference of many dealers to the value of these
recitals as business and prestige creators. A celebrated pianist may
play a famous piano in their city, and yet no extraordinary efforts
are made in the way of publicity to inform the public that the
artist is playing a piano which this dealer has handled for many
years. Surely there is no better way of concentrating public at-
tention on a dealer's house, and on the instrument which he repre-
sents, than the recitals which will soon be in full swing throughout
the country. The fact that an artist of international reputation is
using the piano which a dealer sells in his town or city should be
helpful to him in developing sales, provided, of course, the dealer is
alive to the necessity of using printer's ink—using it intelligently and
forcefully, and in a style in sympathy with the high character of
the instruments which he represents. In this way the dealer can
aid and recompense the manufacturer Nn a measure for his labors
and efforts in bringing to a larger public notice the merits of the
pianos which the dealer represents. Nowadays dealers place too
much dependence upon the manufacturers doing all the advertising,
without realizing that it is the dealer's duty to do his share, par-
ticularly when he can benefit locally by such effective work as is
done during the recital or concert season. The list of pianists who
will be heard this year includes many of those eminent in the world
of music, and the dealers should be alive to the opportunities pre-
sented.
*? *t *.
O
CCASIONALLY a piano dealer is found selling or advertis-
ing a piano under a special brand that is suspiciously similar
to the name of some well-known piano of unquestioned high stand-
ing and reputation for quality. Such methods are naturally decried
by the upright members of the trade and there is much said against
the practice of trading upon the name and reputation of an estab-
lished manufacturer.
* H •*
T
HERE is another side of the story, however, and that concerns
the dealer who secures the agency of a high grade line of
national reputation, in his territory, ostensibly as a leader, and then
uses that line simply as bait to attract purchasers for special pianos
sold under his own name. The writer knows of a dealer in an
eastern city of twenty thousand or more population, who has and
advertises the agency for a large line of high-grade and popular
pianos. A special piano offered under his own name is never fea-
tured strongly in the advertisements and yet the prospective pur-
chaser upon a visit to the warerooms has the special thrust upon
him at every turn. The high grade line has answered its purpose
and is practically forgotten in the selling talk unless the prospect
desires a fine grand. The special can be sold at a lower figure than
the cheapest piano in the advertised line and yet show a greater
profit than would the sale of a really expensive piano of a standard
make.
« M *.
T is safe to say that nine out of ten prospects buy one of the
special pianos and the tenth only secures a piano of standard
make through strong insistence. Owing to the generous profit on
the special, the dealer can offer terms that cannot be approached by
either of his two competitors. What chance have those competitors
got when they are acting as agents for standard lines of. pianos ?
In the manufacturer's case, he has a live territory tied up and is
getting only a small proportion of the attention for his line that
I
TALL TOWER.
is due it under the agency agreement. Being figured as a "leader"
doesn't add much to the prestige of a piano unless the leadership
brings sales. In one way the advertising of the dealer referred tQ
is misleading and is on a par with that of the fellow who gets hold
of 'a second-hand piano of a well-known make and advertises it at,
a ridiculously low price for the purpose of catching "suckers."
:
HE problem of disposing of square pianos taken in exchange as
part payment for new instruments is growing less constantly,
as the number of square pianos grows smaller, but nevertheless the
solution of the problem even as it exists, at present, requires some
thought on the part of the dealer if he is to come out even without
losing money. In disposing of squares to advantage a number of
piano houses, notably Heppe, of Philadelphia, and Goetz, of Brook-
lyn, have arranged for their distribution to various public institu-
tions and even to private individuals too poor to purchase an up-
right, and have figured out that the advertising value of the general
distribution has been in excess of the profit that could possibly have
been made on the instruments had they been put in salable con-
dition and disposed of as used pianos. Some houses have made a
practice of destroying the old squares. Both that plan and the gen-
eral distribution scheme have the advantage that they remove the
square piano from the open field permanently while when the pianos
are sold they are very liable to turn up again in the course of trade
and their disposal again become a matter of the moment.
T
WESTERN dealer, E. C. Shardlovv, of Marshall, Minn., has
devised a new plan for utilizing squares for advertising pur-
poses which will no doubt interest other dealers. He has taken an
old Chickering square and mounted it on four high posts in a field
adjoining the most traveled road into Marshall. The piano is
covered with outdoor varnish to withstand the weather and the
posts, which are twelve feet high, are painted white. On the music
rack a piece of galvanized iron is placed to represent the music and
bears the words, "We Sell Sheet Music." On the case itself appears
the words, "Shardlow, the Piano Man" and the slogan, which is
strikingly illustrated by the display itself, "We Give You a Square
Deal and Treat You White." A number of square pianos thus
utilized in various parts of the country would have an advertising
value far in excess of any amount that could be obtained for them
through sale and no one could pass such signs without a second
glance at least.
A
'"T^HE question of Federal control of industrial and commercial
A
enterprises doing an interstate business will be among the
many matters to come up for serious consideration when Congress
assembles on December 4. Senator Newlands, of Nevada, has
given notice that he will at the coming session, push his bill for the
creation of an Interstate Trade Commission of five members, to con-
trol industrial corporations, just as the Interstate Commerce Com*
mission does the railroads. The Newlands bill was introduced at the
extra session and received the commendation of leaders both in the
House and in the Senate, Republicans as well as Democrats. Senator
Clapp, chairman of the Interstate Commerce Committee, to which
the bill was referred, is known to strongly favor such legislation,
and it is considered as probable that the measure will be favorably
reported some time during the coming session. The Bureau of
Corporations, which has for a number of years been investigating
industrial corporations throughout the United States, is by this bill
separated from the Department of Commerce and Labor and merged
in the commission of interstate trade. The Commissioner of Cor-
porations is made a member of the proposed commission.
Y
OU cannot expect people to buy yottr wares unless they ard
shown why they should buy thenf.^ *"'

Page 8 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
the Crane Ice Cream Co. under lease. This im-
provement leaves only three fronts remaining be-
yond the revised building line, 1316, 1318 and l.'Vio.
Dealers Rejoice at the Passing of September Which Was One of the Dullest Retail Months on
Record—Manufacturers, However, Report an Excellent Output of Instruments for Sep-
tember with Satisfactory Prospects Ahead—The Lester Co. Buy Property on Chestnut
Street—Proof of Kranich & Bach Popularity and Reliability—News of the Week.
v '-.'..
. • . •
(Special to The Review.)
( *'.' rv
'.
Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 3, 1911.
The month of September closed Saturday last,
and the business done seems to have fallen far
short of what the dealers had expected. Gener-
ally, it was considered one of the dullest months
the trade here has ever had. The disappointment
is all the greater from the fact that the dealers had
expected that the fall trade was going to open early,
but instead of that find that it is yet to come.
They are now looking to October to retrieve itself,
and they are starting the month not discouraged,
but hopeful. They are doing everything to create
business they possibly can. The stock of instru-
ments at all the stores is very large. The firms
have brushed up and cleaned up, and at many of
the houses have entirely remodeled, and they feel
that they have left nothing undone. They have
already begun to advertise heavily, and if business
does not come they are satisfied they have left
nothing undone to bring it.
Piano Manufacturers Busy.
The Philadelphia manufacturers have very much
less to complain about than the retailers, for Sep-
tember saw considerably more than the usual ac-
tivity at the various factories, and the shipments
were very much larger than ever before. More
pianos were made the past summer by at least one-
third than any previous year, and yet the factories
complain that they have been unable to lay by any
stock for a holiday trade. The Lester Co. and the
Cunningham Co. are turning out more instruments
than ever before. The latter company have consid-
erably enlarged their player section, and they are
making double the number of players they did last
year.
Estey Opening a Great Success.
The festivities at Estey's new home are over and
their three days' opening last week was a success
A satisfied customer
is a real profit maker
—the best salesman a
piano dealer can possibly
have
Every Packard owner is a Packard
booster. He is more than satis-
fied—for he has received more
than "full value" for his money
That's the reason Packard pianos
are easy to sell—and that's the
reason you will find profit and
pleasure in selling them. Also it's
the reason why we are finding it
easy to get the better dealers
everywhere to handle them. Write
The Packard Company, Fort
Wayne, Indiana—to-day. If we
are not already represented in
your territory, we may be glad
to make agency arrangements
with you—and it may mean for
you the one big opportunity.
in every way. D. E. Woolley is very much grati-
fied at the outcome, and he says he believes that
the impression made upon the public is going to
mean a very substantial thing for the house in the
near future. The few piano man of Philadelphia
who honored the Esteys with a visit congratulated
Air. Woolley on the fine building, and from what
I can learn the location made a very good impres-
sion upon them. The Estey studios are nearly all
rented for the season, and it looks as if Estey Hall
was going to be the Mecca of the musical life of
this city during the winter. The firm have already
arranged for a series of fine concerts to begin
early and to be continued throughout the winter.
Visitors to the City.
Among the visitors in Philadelphia this week
was Burton Miller, of the Henry F. Miller & Sons
Co., Boston, who is very sanguine as to the busi
ness this fall, believing that the trade is going
to be very well satisfied with the results. As usual,
he made a very short stay, but remained long
enough to be told of an excellent business at the
Philadelphia Miller house. Manager Shewell re-
ports that of late there is a great deal more snap
in the business than was experienced in August
and the early part of September. The Miller is a
very popular studio piano in Philadelphia, and
during September the firm did more than the usual
heavy business in rentals to the leading Philadel-
phia conservatories and studios
Stock for Herzberg House.
Gustave Herzberg says he has not felt better in
ten years than at present, since his return from
Europe. When he arrived home he found that
his son Harry had disposed of practically all of the
pianos of the used stock, and one of the first
things he was compelled to do was to hie himself
to New York and lay in his fall stock. A finer
line of Kranich & Bach and Mehlin pianos than is
to be seen in his store at present has never been
shown in Philadelphia. He has also received sev- •
eral large shipments of Straube pianos lately and
has also gotten in some tine Behning players.
Kranich & Bach Reliability.
The Herzberg people have had the satisfaction
the past week of selling a Kranich & Bach to a
family in Jersey who had purchased one of these
fine instruments 28 years ago. This 28 year
old piano is at present in their warerooms and is
in really marvelous condition for a piano of its
age. It is as delicately tuneful as-a new instru-
ment, and no one would ever take it for so old an
instrument. It is needless to say that the famliy
that turned it in bought one of the very latest
models of the same make.
W. A. Sambalino a Visitor.
Among the out-of-town visitors here this week
was W. A. Sambalino, Eastern representative of
Lyon & Healy, Chicago, who called at the Miller
House, where the Lyon & Healy instruments are
handled.
Lester Co. Buy Adjoining Property.
The Lester Piano Co., who own Nos. 1306 and
1310 Chestnut street, have bought the intervening
property, 1308 Chestnut street, from the estate of
Mary A. Duman, for a price close to $300,000.
The property has a frontage of 18 feet and a depth
of 104 feet, and is assessed at $215,000. The others
are 18 feet 6 inches by 104 feet each, and are as-
sessed at $240,000 and $200,000, respectively. That
nearest Thirteenth street, 130(5, was bought by Mr.
Miller some years ago for about $280,000, and was
improved by him with a new building, while 1310
was purchased about seven years ago for about
$280,000, or at the rate of about $15,100 a front
toot. Yesterday's transaction shows a front foot
valuation of $16,666,66 2/3, an increase of about
$1,500 a front foot in that period.
The property 1308 Chestnut street was im-
proved recently by the erection of a new.front on
the revised building line, widening the sidewalk in
front of the property five feet. It is occupied by
GRAND PIANO DEMAND ACTIVE
Among the Leading Piano Houses in Detroit—
This Is Especially Marked in the Sales of
Steinway, Weber, Hardman, Starr and Other
Instruments—Recent Visitors to Detroit.
(Special to The Review.)
Detroit, Mich., Oct. 3, 1911.
If the demand for grand pianos is any criterion,
money is plenty in Detroit just now. It isn't a
streak of luck that runs to any one house, but seem-
ingly a widespread desire to own one of the smart
set of pianodom. At Grinnel's the fancy-priced
Steinway is the headlincr in active sales these days.
J. Henry Ling has sold six Weber granus in &ix
weeks. The Starr Piano Co.'s branch is meeting
a bigger call for grands than at any time since they
opened the new store. The Detroit Music Co. are
Jelling lots of Hardman grands. The sales of up-
rights keep up well. The activity of grands is not
hurting the business in other instruments. It seems
rather to be an unusual feature of a hopeful fall
opening.
Visitors this week were scarce but choice. Her-
bert I. Avery, a live wire recently added to the
Lyon & Healy staff, made his first venture into De-
troit and escaped with considerable booty. He is
covering Michigan and Indiana, after a trip West,
and the results keep him jolly.
W. S. Robertson, of the Maynard Piano Co.,
Chicago, circulated reports of the virtues and ex-
cellence of the instruments made by his house,
while M. L. Abbey, a well-known piano dealer of
Adrian, Mich., ventured in to look over the big
show.
OLD-TIME PIANO MAN PASSES AWAY.
William M. Simpson, who at one time was en-
gaged in the piano business on Chestnut street,
i hiladelphia, retiring some fifteen years ago, died
m his apartments at Atlantic City, N. J. f on Sep-
tember 29 after an illness of two months.
401-424 E. 163d St., New York
Chicago Office: Republic Bldg.

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