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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
HIGH GRADE PIANO THE FAVORITE IN DENVER.
Mrs.
George H. Campbell, President of the Knight Campbell Music Co., Reports Record
Volume of Steinway Business—Status of the Club Sale—Players in Demand.
"The high-grade piano is at the present time en-
joying a wave of exceptional popularity in our
territory," stated Mrs. George H. Campbell, presi-
dent of the Knight-Campbell Music Co., Denver,
Col., who was a visitor to New York this week for
a few days. "The past year has been the best year
in our history with the Steinway line, our leader,
and, as is customary in times of no special pros-
perity, the very best and the very cheapest lines are
the leading sellers, the medium grades suffering
somewhat until good times become general
throughout the country."
The Knight-Campbell Music. Co. a few years
since conducted a club sale which was one of the
most successful sales ever presented, and at which
625 pianos and players were disposed of within a
period of less than three months. This is also the
largest number of instruments sold by any piano
house in Denver in such a brief period. From her
experience with this sale Mrs. Campbell is nat-
urally keenly interested in the holding of these
club sales throughout the country, and her ideas
and views on this important subject are interest-
ing and informative.
"The club sale may be featured at frequent inter-
vals with success in very large and busy cities,
such as New York and Chicago," stated Mrs.
Campbell, but in the smaller and comparatively
more settled cities and communities these club sales
should be held at infrequent and quite rare in-
tervals in order to keep intact the normal, every-
day trend of the various firms holding these sales,
and in fact the entire industry.
"In addition to the holding of these sales at com-
paratively rare intervals, it is absolutely essential,
of course, that these sales should be bona fide in
every sense of the word. The public must receive
full value for every dollar expended during this
sale, as they should receive during the entire course
of the year. Every advertised statement regarding
the quality of the instruments, their true value,
and, in fact, every detail incident to the sale, must
be thoroughly reliable and trustworthy, or else the
club sale has no right to exist. With absolutely
full value given the public in all respects, the club
sale, held along legitimate lines and at infrequent
intervals, should prove successful and act as a
general impetus to business in general.
'Our player trade is growing, and growing rap-
idly. The popularity of the player-piano in the
Western part of the country is increasing far be-
yond all my expectations, and there is no doubt but
that this popularity is in its infancy.
"We are handling our music rolls on a purely
straight selling basis, and my experience with this 1
phase of the business leads.me to believe that this
method of handling music rolls is the only proper
way. Aside from the fact that we are showing a
nice profit in this end of our business, our cus-
tomers are all satisfied and well pleased.
"Business conditions in Denver just now are
very encouraging. Our crops have been generally
satisfactory, and we have every reason to feel
gratified at the business closed this year, as we are
showing a substantial increase over last year, and
Denver gives every sign of having a prosperous
year in 1914."
The Knight-Campbell Music Co., which is one
of the most prosperous and best known piano
houses in the West, handles an essentially high-
grade line, which includes the Steinway, A. B.
Chase, Apollo, Autopiano and Kohler & Campbell
makes. The house is progressive and high class in
every respect, and its success to date is a tribute
to the true value of the better type of piano mer-
chandising.
AN IMPORTANT RULING.
CAPITAL STOCK INCREASED.
High Court Holds in Decision Just Handed
Down That Informal Letter Is Credit Guar-
anty— Manufacturers Should Take Note.
The capital stock of the Alfred Fox Piano Co.,
Bridgeport, Conn., has been increased from $30,000
to $50,000.
It may interest members of the piano trade to
know that when an informal letter offering to
R. W. Bonyea Selling A. B. Chase and Hallet &
guarantee an account is not rejected by the firm
ture and Carpet Co. Opens Department in
offering credit, and credit is given, the guarantor
may be held liable for the account in the amount
(Special tcf The Review.)
of his guarantee, even when he refuses to sign a
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL, December 8.—Two
formal guaranty paper. This was the decision of
new piano houses opened in the Twin Cities this
the Appellate Division recently in dismissing the week, and without doubt the management of each
appeal of Harry and Benjamin Moskowitz from a is convinced that the field is not fully occupied.
City Court judgment against them obtained by the Possibly they are right. In St. Paul R. W. Bonyea,
American Woolen Co.
well known in the city, began to sell pianos at 53
In their appeal from the judgment, the Mosko- East Sixth street, opening the sixth piano store on
witzes, who were brothers, relied on the fact that that thoroughfare in the two blocks between
they had torn up a formal guaranty blank sent to Wabasha and Minnesota streets. He will carry
them by the woolen company. They contended the lines of the A. B. Chase Co. and Hallet &
that their failure to return this blank showed that Davis. Mr. Bonyea will organize a company later
they had merely offered in a letter to make a on with himself as manager. His store is well
guaranty and had never really made one. Their adapted for piano salesrooms, being unusually wide
letter read:
and having a fine show window.
"We agree to guarantee the account of N.
The New England Furniture & Carpet Co. sur-
Mittelman & Co. for the sum of $1,000 for one prised Minneapolis piano dealers by displaying a
year from date."
piano in their show windows. The instrument was
It was shown in the trial that one of the mem- a Story & Clark player, and it was announced that
bers of the Mittelman firm was a third Moskowitz the piano department was installed as permanent,
brother and that the other member of the firm was but that it will not be exploited to any extent.
the Moskowitzes' brother-in-law.
Only the one line will be carried.
The woolen company showed that they had
Dark gloomy clouds and heavy mists have hung
placed the letter in their credit files and had ex- over the Northwest for several weeks and these
tended credit to the Mittelman firm after receiving conditions have not helped the piano trade a mite,
it. The Appellate Division ruled that had this let- for many people are affected by the weather and
ter been returned as unsatisfactory instead of
gloomy people don't buy pianos. So the run of
being filed, the Moskowitzes could not have been things has been draggy since the sun went under
held.
cover. The weather has been topsy turvy, for in-
QUESTIONABLEJHETHODS HURT.
This Is Illustrated in the Difficulty Those
Manufacturers, Who Indulged in Puzzle and
Premium Schemes of Publicity, Have in Get-
ting Dealers to Handle Their Line in Detroit
— J . Henry Ling's Interesting and Pertinent
Comment on the Subject.
(Special to The Review.)
DETROIT, MICH., December 8.—-Proof that ques-
tionable methods of merchandising, especially in
the piano business, are bound to react upon the
perpetrator is being furnished in Detroit just now.
Several dealers, members of the Detroit Music
Trades Association, have received letters from
manufacturers of pianos which have in the past
been advertised and exploited, either through
agencies or branch stores, at the dollar-down-and-
dollar-a-month rate, or by puzzle ads, or by pre-
miums, or other such catchpenny schemes, asking
them to handle their lines. Very attractive prices
are quoted. But none of the dealers even answer
the letters. The reason was given by J. Henry
Ling, one of the dealers approached.
"Any merchant who will consider for one mo-
ment a proposal of purchasing pianos which have
been exploited in his town by questionable or un-
businesslike methods, and through which the sale
for the piano has been practically destroyed, must
certainly lack self-respect and good business acu-
men," he said. "All three of these companies,
when represented here before, did not care a rap
what damage they did to the trade in general, or
to their own interests, if only the;' could get a
few dollars' worth of immediate business. To
handle their lines now would stamp a dealer be-
fore the public as addicted to the practices which
had made those lines famous, or rather infamous.
One or two of these manufacturers backed F. J.
Schwankovsky in his wildest days, when they
knew his methods were detrimental to the trade.
They are now getting their reward.
"I am glad the piano merchants of Detroit are
a unit in their attitude toward these concerns. The
damage they did to the trade here will be felt for
twenty years to come. The recurrence even of the
names of the pianos in music trade circles would
renew the baneful influence."
TWO NEW RETAIL PIANO HOUSES OPENED IN TWIN CITIES.
WINTER & CO.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, N E W YORK
Manufacturers of
Davis Lines in St. Paul and New England Furni-
Minneapolis—Warm Weather Hurts Trade.
stead of two feet of snow, with all the waters ice
bound, the people still are wearing summer cloth-
ing, the pastures are green and the pussy willows
and lilacs are out. It's fine for the ultimate con-
sumer, but tough on the coal man, the fur man
and the clothing merchants.
William A. Linquist, although one of the busiest
men in the trade, has invented an automobile
fender, which he declares is a wonder. He expects
to put it on the market and will not be surprised
if his invention should make him a millionaire
some day.
Paderewski was here this week in Minneapolis
December 9 and in St. Paul December 12, and he
played the Steinway before large audiences in both
cities. He has his own instruments with him, but
as an emergency both Dyer & Brother and the
Metropolitan Music Co. had Steinway concert
grands in readiness for his commands.
A Pianola and Victrola recital was arranged to
be held December 20 at the Metropolitan music
parlors. Undoubtedly these recitals will be sched-
uled regularly, probably twice each month. The
Metropolitan has had a nice Steinway grand busi-
ness during the past week.
Paul Fink, representing the Behning house, was
in the Twin Cities last week. He has been in the
South and in the West, and in both sections found
business conditions only fair.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos