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THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
47i
STEEL VERSUS WOOD.
Cost
Would
Be Prohibitive—Wood
Will Stand.
Products
One of the furniture papers quotes Thomas A.
Edison as saying that an absolute law appears to
be operating to substitute steel fo.r wood in the
making of furniture. He points this law as being
the gradual increase in the price of lumber, which
makes the steel cheaper, and predicts that the
people of the next generation will use steel furni-
ture and not know what wooden furniture is.
Surely the wizard is indulging in one of nis
periodical pranks with the newspaper men, says
an exchange. He is said by those who have been
associated with him to enjoy more than anything
else the stringing of newspaper men, the weaving
of fanciful stories for their benefit, which he gets
a world of enjoyment out of. It is not so long
back that his prediction as to the furniture of the
future took on a strong cement flavor, and it is
a pretty safe bet that both in the case of the
cement and in the present instance of steel the
great inventor was having a little fun with the
newspaper folks.
It is either a joke or an error, because it is not
an absolute law that is operating to substitute
steel for wood, but press agent push. There is
nothing that has been press-agented more indus-
triously of late than steel in furniture and car-
building, and it is a bit strange that people will
swallow all this stuff as a sort of gospel truth.
The fact of the matter is that steel furniture to-
day costs considerably more than good wood fur-
niture and is nothing like as desirable. You can
get evidence on this po.int by stepping into any
prominent office supply house and pricing steel of-
fice furniture and wood furniture of the same design
and appearance. You will find the steel furniture
from 25 to 30 per cent, higher in price and a cold
and uninviting imitation of the woodwork. Those
interested in the pushing of wo.od products in
furniture should set about for ways and means to
counteract this press-agenting of the steel furni-
ture business, because there is really but little to
commend it and their is plenty of good argument
in favor of wood furniture, and plenty of woo.d
to make it with, at prices that cannot be duplicated
in steel products.
PROVIDE INCREASED FACILITIES.
The offices of Henry Haas & Sons, manufactur-
ers of piano and player-piano hardware and supplies
at 1900 Park avenue, New York, have undergone a
general rearrangement, and increased facilities
have been provided fo.r displaying the various spe-
cialties produced by this house. The officers arc
now most attractively arranged, and are well
worthy the visit of members of the trade corning
to New York.
The Ohio Veneer Co.
CINCINNATI, O.
Importers and Manufacturers of
Circassian Walnut and Figured
Mahogany Veneers for high grade
piano cases and cabinets.
New York Office and Sample Room
N. Y. FURNITURE
EXCHANGE
Lexington Ave. and 46th St.
G. H. VAUGHAN, Eastern Representative
Lumber and Veneers
ASTORIA VENEER MILLS & M C K CO. BIRD'S-EYE VENEER CO.,
ASTORIA, L. I., N. Y.
Custom mills for band and veneer
sawing; slice and rotary cutting of
Mahogany, Circassian and Fancy
Woods.
Mfrs. of Bird's-eye Maple and plain
wood for Piano Linings.
THE E. L. CHANDLER CO.,
HENRY S. HOLDEN,
ORLEANS, VT.,
GRAND RAPIDS. MICH.
Cross-banding Veneers in Poplar,
Gum and Birca. Rock Maple for
Rest Plank. Piano Lining in Maple
and Mahogany.
Rotary-cut Rock Maple, for Piano
Pin Blocks. We also manufacture
Birch and Maple Panels.
ESCANABA, MICH.
A MUSICAL DEV11CE FOR CABARETS.
Edwin S. Mayland Evolves a Series of Artificial
Birds and Other Sound Producing Devices
Which Will Be Useful for Orchestras.
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, June 30.—Patent
Nn.
1,100,898 for a musical device was last week
granted to Edwin S. Mayland, New York, N. Y.,
which relates to an improvement in musical de-
vices, particularly adapted for conservatories, cab-
aret performances, etc.
The object of this improvement is to construct
a musical device consisting of a plurality of ar-
tificial birds, preferably in cages, the cages to be
hung among the floral decorations of a room or
banquet hall. The birds will contain whistles, or
o.ther sound producing devices, the said whistles
or sound producing devices to be preferably pneu-
matically operated, the pneumatics being con-
trolled by a key-board. The sound producing ele-
ments in the birds will be tuned to correspond to
the tones represented by the keys of the key-
board.
When the key-board is manipulated the birds
will give forth the musical tones, preferably
whistling the selection played. The effect ob-
tained by the improved device will be pleasing, as
every part wiJi be concealed, except perhaps the
cages containing the artificial birds, hence the
selection will appear to issue from the birds.
HOFFMAN BROTHERS CO.,
Established 1M7.
Incorporated 1904.
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.
Specialties, Hardwood, Veneers, and
Lumber for Musical Instruments.
J. J. NARTZIK
Plain Sawed and Rotary Cut Venetrt
l»fli Maud Ave.,
CHICAGO, ILL.
Soft Poplar and Gum Cross-baad-
ing. Hard Maple Pin Block Stock.
Bird's-eye or Jflain Linings.
SOME STRANGE_FIBRES USED.
For the Production of Artificial Wool—These
Include Species of New Zealand Flax Ob-
tained from the Sea an Banana Fibre.
Among the fibres now in use for the pro.duction
of artificial silk and wool are a variety of New
Zealand flax, obtained by dredging shallow places
in the sea and banana fibre, which resembles jute
and hemp. The first is found in very large quanti-
ties imbedded in sand, from which it is separated
by washing. Chemical and microscopical exami-
nations indicate that this fibre is a land plant which
has been submerged by an incursion of the sea,
thereby undergoing a process of natural "rotting."
It is very cheaply produced and while rather
brittle and deficient in tensile strength, it is still
possible to use it in conjunction with wool or
shoddy. In its natural state this fibre is rich in
salts of soda and magnesia, which tend to make it
non-inflammable. In dyeing, it has been found to
have strong attraction for basic colors. In this
respect it is similar to jute.
The Chinese were the first to use the banana
fibre, the supply of which is practically unlimited.
The cloth produced from this fibre is very suitable
for use in tropical countries, where the raw mate-
rial is most accessible.
BOOK MANY GOOD ORDERS.
J. R. Commerford, secretary Geo. A. Smith &
Co., Inc., 74 Cortlandt St., New York, manufac-
RUBBER PRICES_ARE LOWER.
turers of "Magnet" Decalcomanie, has returned
There was only a fair demand for the offerings from a New England trip, during which he suc-
ceeded in closing a number of dealers for fallboard,
at the fortnightly auction of crude rubber which
was held in London last week, and, according to warrant}', hammer rail and window, sign Decal-
cables received in this market, only 400 tons had comanie. In his official capacity, Mr. Commer-
been sold. Prices were slightly lower than at the ford had the opportunity of calling upon a number
last previous sale, smoked sheets having closed at of commercial lines and speaking of conditions as
2s. 3V<:d., and pale crepe at 2s. SVid. The opening he found them. He said that "seasonable" would
figure on pale crepe was given as 2s. 4d. Up-river describe it better than any other word.
fine was quoted regularly in London at 2s. 9%d.
for July and August delivery. Here the same
Man at Desk—Why do you claim a trombone
grade was held at 69 cents for spot delivery, and
player is less of a bore than a pianist?
in Para it was nominally quoted at 68 cents for
Man in Chair—He Is because he doesn't get the
spot. This figure is dangerously close to the low- chance. He doesn't find a trombone in every home
est ever touched on this grade. A second aucLion he visits.
was held at Antwerp, where 350 tons of plantation
and Congo rubbers were sold at declines ranging
from 1 to 3% cents a pound.
Piano Manufacturers ^ t £ 3
VISITED THE LOCAL TRADE.
A visitor around the New York trade last week
was William H. Lockhart, whose headquarters are
in Bo.ston, Mass. While he found trade some-
what quiet, yet he booked some orders for covered
strings and sounding board parts which he manu-
factures and controls.
soft yellow poplar for cross band-
Ing is unapproached in this country.
A large supply always on hand.
The Central Veneer Co., Huntington, W. Va.
SPSS INVISIBLE HINGE
A s m a l l , neat
but strong in-
visible h i n g e ,
having a wide
clearance be-
tween the plates
when open.
SEND FOR CATALOG NO. 103
CllQQ
M C P Pfl
OUOO I T l r u . b U . ,
435 ATLANTIC AVE.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.