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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
45
BOOKED MANY GOOD ORDERS.
TRADE PROMOTION WORK.
THE CRADLE KEYBOARD.
G. H. Vaughan Returns from Trip Through the
Northeast—Showing Some Choice Veneers at
New York Office of Company.
Great Plans Being Developed by the Forests
Products Federation—No Groaning About
Hard Times—Busy Developing Trade.
The Achievements of Mr. Clutsam in the Im-
provement of the Keyboard of General
Interest and Great Importance to Trade.
G. II. Vaughan, Eastern representative of the
Ohio Veneer Co., Cincinnati, O., has just returned
fioin a trip through the Northeast, touching at
various piano and case manufacturing centers. Me
The way the members of some industries get
together for co-operative work is stimulating and
refreshing. Take the great work being done by
the Forests Products Federation, which ignoring
war and hard-times talk, has gone ahead plan-
ning big things for the future. What an example
lor the music trad 1 industry, and particularly the
supply men !
It is worth noting that the initial $50,000 to
$1,000,000 fund called for in the trade promotional
plan adopted by the Forest Products Federation
at its meeting in Chicago on February 24 and 25
has been oversubscribed, thus providing finances
to begin th_" market extension work. The pro-
motional plan as approved by the executive com-
mittee calls for a central bureau, to be called the
department of trade extension, which will con-
duct campaigns of education, direct scientific in-
vestigation, and serve as an instigator of better
iiK-thods of merchandising. The department will
now begin its work, as $50,000 has been subscribed
tc finance it, the intention being to secure at least
$200,000 yearly for five years to be applied to this
work.
The report further pointed out that lumber
product from various mills has little individual-
ity. It offers little incentive to individual promo-
tion, and hence the necessity of co-operative effort
to promote lumber in behalf of the entire in-
dustrv.
If the credit of inventing the "check action" of
the modern pianoforte was due to the late Mr.
Erard, it has been left to Fred Clutsam to construct
a keyboard which is of equal importance to the in-
strument. Inventors who have taken the mecha-
nism of the pianoforte in hand in the past have
given the hammers and dampers and the action
generally a fair sliare of attention, but have done
little or nothing to improve the keyboard. Mr.
Clutsam, however, struck with the primitive and
inadequate lever employed in this particular part
of the instrument, has gone "one better," the re-
sult of his experiments being what is known as the
"cradle" keyboard. In an interesting lecture which
he gave at South Molton Street, W., a short time
since, he reminded his hearers that in the keys
ordinarily in use the fulcrum principle is employed,
and in order to obtain a proper balance each key
has to be weighted with lead. It was interesting to
learn that he had taken as much as nine pounds out
of the keys of an ordinary piano which he was con-
verting from the old system to the new. Naturally,
such keys are heavy to the touch and slow in ac-
tion, and, to get over this difficulty, he tried the
experiment of taking out the lead and balancing
each key upon a rocker. Delicately poised upon
this, the key responds very readily to the touch, and
it "repeats" more rapidly; incidentally it brings the
damper into much quicker action, with the result
that two notes are never heard sounding at the
same time.
Miss Irene Scharrer. in the course of some illus-
trations, tried the experiment of playing the "I5ees'
Wedding" (Mendelssohn) on a "cradle" keyboard
and on an excellent pianoforte fitted with the ordi-
nary fulcrum system. The result was most grat:-
fying, and the gain in limpidity and in brightness
of tone were remarkable indeed. The new system,
which can be applied to instruments of any make,
found much favor with the audience, who were
deeply impressed with Mr. Clutsani's novel inven-
tion. Its successful future is assured.—'Music
Trades Review, London.
General Sample Wareroom in New York.
reports business is excellent and states that condi-
tions throughout the section visited are improved.
At his offices in the Furniture Exchange, Lex-
ington avenue and Forty-sixth str.et. Xevv York,
Mr. Vaughan has a number of excellent samples
of mahogany, which represent many thousand feet
of choice veneer. "Mahogany in rare figures,"
added Mr. Vaughan, "seems to hold the center of
attraction among the piano manufacturers. Ma-
hogany cases always represent the largest portion
of piano sales, and inasmuch as the. largest per-
centage of pianos mnv being sold are from the
high-grade class it evidently explains why choice
vemvr is in such demand. Tlu outlook also is
\ery encouraging for a line spring."
The exportation of leatli r from Australia has
been prohibited except with the consent of the
British Minister of Trade. The United States may
not be included in this edict, but the tendency is
to make leather go higher.
KEY=LOCKING RAIL FOR PLAYERS.
( Special to The Keviow.)
WASHINGTON 7 , D. C, April 5.—A key-locking
means for player-pianos has been invented by
August Stahl, New York, Patent No. 1,133,674, for
which he has assigned to William Tonk & Bro.,
Inc., same place, and relates to novel and efficient
means for operating the key-locking rail in player-
pianos, such means being freely accessible to the
hand and exposed to the eyes of the player, with-
out, however, in any way impairing the beauty of
the instrument.
OFFICERS EVANSVILLE VENEER CO.
MATERIALS FOR
PIANO MANUFACTURERS
GENUINE FLY BRAND TUNING PINS,
GENUINE FELTEN & GUILLEAUME IM-
PORTED MUSIC WIRE, FELTS, CLOTHS
PUNCHINGS, HINGES, PEDALS AND
GENERAL PIANO HARDWARE.
CORRESPONDENCE INVITED
George <). Worland, Allen Cray and R. R. Will-
iams have purchased a large block of stock for-
merly held by the Frost interests, of Sheboygan,
Wis., and other northern Indiana stockholders in
the Kvansville Veneer Co., Kvansville. Ind. At a
recent me.ting of the stockholders Charles VV.
Talge, of Kvansville, was elected president of the
company; K. R. Williams, vice-president, and
George O. Worland, secretary-treasurer.
Mr.
Talge, Mr. Williams, Mr. Gray and Mr. Worland
were elected members of the hoard of directors.
Mr. Talge, as secretary-treasurer, has been con-
nected with the firm since its establishment at
Evansvillo ten years ago. Mr. Worland, recently
elected to Mr. Talge's former office, has been asso-
ciated with the company for five years and has
acted for some time as secretary and treasurer of
the kvansville Lumbermen's Club.
Richardson Piano CaseCo.
Manufacturers of
HAMMACHER, SCHLEMMER & CO,
NEW YORK SINCE 1848
4th Ave. and 13th St.
Player—
Piano Cases
Established 1891
LEOMINSTER
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MASS.