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MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
FORMAL OPENING OF EDMUND GRAM'S NEW MUSIC HOUSE.
Musical Program on Each Day of the Celebration of Exceptional Interest—Notable Artists
Heard—Large Crowds of People Attend and Express Delight Not Only With the Mag-
nificent Line of Instruments Displayed, but With the Building Which is Admirably Laid
Out and Furnished Throughout— Discription of New Building—Many Sales of Steinways
and Welte-Mignons as Well as Other Instruments Made the Opening Days.
(Special to The Review.)
Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 17, 1912.
The new three-story building of the Edmund
Gram Music house at 414-416 Milwaukee street, re-
modeled at a cost of $40,000 and representing a
total investment of $125,000, was opened formally
Sept. 10 to 13 in a manner which will probably
never be forgotten in this city.
On each day of the opening week a musical
program was rendered by the best musical talent
in Milwaukee and from about the State. The vari-
ous events had been advertised thoroughly by the
Gram house, and from 3 to 5 o'clock on each after-
noon the new store was crowded with people, who
were quick to appreciate the high class musical
numbers offered and who were anxious to inspect
the handsome structure.
The big display windows of the new store were
literally banked with flowers from Milwaukee
merchants and the many friends of Mr. Gram and
from the employes of the house. Each visitor at
the store was presented with roses.
The Steinway, Everett, Weber, Steck, Jewett,
Harvard, Gram-Richsteig and other pianos carried
by Mr. Gram were featured in the afternoon recit-
als by such Milwaukee artists as Hans Bruening,
associate director of the Wisconsin Conservatory
of Music. J. Eric Schmaal, prominent on the con-
cert stage, Arthur Shattuck, wealthy and talented
young pianist, Mrs. Norman Hoffman, of the Wis-
consin Conservatory, Adams Buell, Franz New-
man, Prof. Jacob Moerschel and others.
The entire Aeolian line, the Orchestrelle and
the Welte-Mignon were featured also, under the
direction of Mr. Gram. Charles H. Jackson, a
member of the Gram sales force, had charge of
the player recitals, while the Victrola features of
the program were under the direction of Paul A.
Seeger., head of the new talking machine depart-
ment at the Gram store.
The new Gram building is without doubt one of
the finest piano houses to be found west of New
York city and is a fitting proof of the success at-
tained by Edmund Gram in the piano business.
No expense has been spared in decorations or fur-
nishings, while the whole effect is elegant and re-
fined. Oriental rugs, beautifully designed wall
tapestries and handsome furniture are arranged in
just the proper manner.
The- first floor is given up to a great demonstra-
tion floor, the offices and the player roll library.
A Roman Ionic interior is presented here with
the details of the decorations in rich ivory, which
conforms well with the handsome stucco work and
brings out a dignified and classic effect. The ceil-
ing is in a color to suit the indirect lighting sys-
tem. The side walls are made up of panels of a
richly modeled, yellowish brown, the styles being
in French gray, and forming a pleasant contrast
with the warm ivory of the ornamentation. A
border of verde antique marble forms the divid-
ing line between the side walls and the floor.
Handsome square pillars in ivory and white stand
in the center of the floor, covered with decorative
cartouches, symbolic of music and the fine arts.
The entire rear wall of the main portion of the
first floor, making up the dividing line between
the demonstration floor and the offices and player
roll department, is an artistic creation of art glass,
set in a mahogany frame.
The second floor offers a change to the lighter
French renaissance. Here the Steinway hall is
located, one of the handsomest rooms in the en-
tire building. The ornamentation in this hall is in
the lighter vein of Rococo, with satin-finished pink
panels, gray stiles and ivory ornamentation, ar-
tistically treated and lighted in gold. The player
quarters and the Everett parlors are on this floor
also, one done in green with modern art nouveau
decorations and the other in brown.
The decorations on the third floor are done in
rich colors, toned down to conform with the artis-
tic furnishings. Here the Weber, the Gram-Richt-
steig, the Jewett, Harvard, the Peerless Electric
and other lines are displayed.
The various floors are connected with a modern
automatic electrically operated elevator and hand-
some mahogany stairways. The lighting fixtures
each carry 400 watts and are patterned after the
indirect lighting system, so that the illumination at
night is especially fine. The natural lighting of
the store is excellent.
Mr. Gram and his sales force made many fine
sales of Steinways and other pianos during the
opening week. Probabably one of the most in-
teresting sales was made by Mr. Gram personally,
who sold a Welte-Mignon to Col. Gustave Pabst,
head of the Pabst Brewing Co., and a personal
friend of Mr. Gram. This is the second Welte-
Mignon, besides a Steinway Grand, style B, that
Col. Pabst has purchased of Mr. Gram during the
past year or so for his handsome residence at 416
Terrace avenue.
CENTRAL BUREAU OF CREDIT
Proposed by R. L. Crampton at the Convention
of the American Bankers' Association in
Detroit—Suggests Method for Registering
Commercial Notes and Other Bankable Ob-
ligations Placed in Open Market.
(Special to The Review/)
Detroit, Mich., Sept. 14, 1912.
Speaking before the National Convention of
State Secretaries, one of the organizations affiliated
with the American Bankers' Association, which met
in this city last week, Richard L. Crampton, of
Chicago, secretary of the Illinois Bankers' Associ-
ation, proposed a central bureau of credit to "'pro-
tect commercial bank credits from assault."
He suggested a universal method for conven-
iently registering commercial notes and other bank-
able obligations placed in the open market; investi-
gation regularly of borrowers using the open mar-
ket, and reports on the financial condition of the
borrowers, and urged a broader market in the
United States for "legitimate short-time commer-
cial paper."
THIRTY=FOUR YEARS IN BUSINESS.
A. C. Green, the Well-Known Piano Dealer of
Willimantic, Conn., Celebrates Anniversary
of Active Business Career This Month.
(Special to The Review.)
Willimantic, Conn., Sept. 16, 1912.
This month marks the thirty-fourth anniversary
of the active business career in Willimantic of A.
C. Green, the well-known music dealer of this city.
He is one of the oldest business men on Main
street in years of activity in the commercial busi-
ness. The music business was started in 1878 and
for a year occupied quarters on the second floor of
the Willimantic Savings Institute. In 1879 the
The Gift to the City by Cyrus H. K. Curtis—
business was moved to the Franklin Block and
Will C. Macfarlane, of New York, Appointed
united with that of T. H. Rollinson. In 1880 Mr.
Official Organist—Will Reside in Portland.
Andrew purchased Mr. Rollinson's interest in the
business and returned to the Institute building.
(Special to The Review.)
Later he moved successively to the Buck and
Portland, Me., Sept. 16, 1912.
Portland has secured as official organist for its Turner buildings and in July, 1893, took the busi-
new $60,000 pipe organ Will C. Macfarlane, who ness to its present location. Here he arranged an
has been organist and musical director at St. especially attractive store in which he has done .i
Thomas's Church in New York city, and was or- large volume of business.
The business that Mr. Andrew has built is a large
ganist at the Temple Emanu-el there until he ac-
one
and his field of operation has not only been
cepted to-day the appointment as city organist for
limited to eastern Conecticut but he has sold instru-
Portland.
ments all over New England and New York State.
The organ on which Mr. Macfarlane will per-
form is a gift to the city from Cyrus H. K. Curtis,
ATTRACTS FAIR VISITORS.
president of the Curtis Publishing Co. of Philadel-
F.
W.
Baumer Co., the Successful Piano House
phia, who was born in this city. The erection of
of Wheeling, W. Va., Makes Special Display
the new million dollar municipal building, with its
of the Instruments in Its Line During the
large auditorium, gave him an opportunity for
Time of the Recent Fair in That City.
which he had been looking, and he gave an order
to the Austin Organ Co. of Hartford, Conn., to
(Special to The Review.)
install in the auditorium the finest pipe organ it
Wheeling, W. Va., Sept. 10, 1912.
could build, regardless of cost. The organ is ded-
The F. W. Baumer Co., the prominent piano
icated to Hermann Kotzchmar, a noted composer
house of this city, took advantage of the recent fair
and instructor,-who was a close friend of the Cur-
held in this city to make special displays in its
tis family and for whom Mr. Curtis was named.
store at 1418 Market street, for the purpose of at-
The organ .cost $60,000 and is one of the four tracting the attention of the many visitors to the
largest in the world. Mr. Macfarlane says it is city. The store was kept open each evening and
the finest and has the greatest* posibilities of any elaborate recitals, at which were demonstrated th: 1
instrument he has ever used. Because of his great various instruments of the Pianola line and the
liking for the organ he comes to Portland at a Victor Victrola, were given each morning, after-
considerably smaller salary than he was receiving noon and night. The recital hall was filled to ca-
in New York.
pacity on almost every occasion.
GREAT ORGANJFOR PORTLAND.
SMALL DAMAGE CAUSED BY FIRE.
Fire in the music store of B. R. and Geo. E.
Davis, at 21 North California street, Stockton, Cal.,
caused damage to pianos and other musical instru-
ments in the stock estimated at over $700. The
loss is fully covered by insurance.
WINTER & CO.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, N E W YORK
Manufacturers of
TUNERS' GUILD INCORPORATED.
The American Guild of Piano Tuners, Chicago,
has just been incorporated under the laws of Illi-
nois for the purpose of promoting efficiency in
business. The incorporators are William Braid
White, Daniel J. Ward and Philip Sultan.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos