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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
BANNER YEAR FOR TWIN CITIES.
Heavy Holiday Trade Brings Year's Average of
Piano Trade to a Very Satisfactory Point—
Northwest Prosperous—Ordering Steinways
by Telegraph—General News of the Week.
(Special to The Review.)
•-TST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., December
-13.—With a heavy holiday trade to close the year,
1915 wiil go down in the piano history of the twin
cities as among the best years, when all is said and
done. The last fortnight will be pleasing for all
the dealers without any question, as the injunction,
"Do your Christmas shopping early and often,"
has done much for the piano trade. The warm
weather has been somewhat of a drag on the local
volume, as everyone is intent on getting as much
country touring out of their cars as possible. The
roads are in excellent condition, and with the ther-
mometer ranging from thirty to forty above the
motoring conditions arc ideal except that it hurts
the piano trade a little.
Generally speaking, the Northwest is highly pros-
perous. Some of the big plants are getting war or-
ders and there is less unemployment in the twin
cities at present than for many years. The country
is even better off than the cities. A $1,000 Steinway
piano was sent by W. J. Dyer & Rro. to the hamlet
of White Rock, S. D., and this incident tells a con-
vincing story of rural prosperity.
The American Society of Equity, which met last
week in St. Paul, is not exactly satisfied with con-
ditions. They condemned the Federal reserve bank
system, and John Burke, Treasurer of the United
States, led the attack. The main complaint, when
analyzed, is that some farmers are disappointed
because they cannot get unlimited credit at the
bank at nominal interest.
Although F. K. Dolbeer, credit manager of the
Victor Talking Machine Co., is not a piano man, he
was warmly welcomed by several while visiting St.
Paul and Minneapolis last week. He complimented
W. J. Dyer & Bro. on the fact that the 1915 business
was $75,(100 ahead of that of the previous year. The
Dyers sold a Fotoplayer to a Duluth motion picture
theatre for $3,500, and this new branch of their
business shows an increase of more than 150 per
cent, when comparing the first five months of the
firm's fiscal year with that of the corresponding
period of 1914.
"We have all that we can do, and we are going
to break all records in December," replied Robert
(). Foster in response to the inevitable question.
"We just simply are too busy to talk anything but
piano sales."
The Cable Piano Co. stores also are too busy
to stop to discuss business prospects or trade condi-
tions. Sordid business is all that interests them.
Next month, maybe, they will organize bowling
teams, but not now.
The Metropolitan Music Co. has been compelled
again to order Steinway pianos by telegraph, as it
is impossible to keep up its stock. A notable sale
1 his week was a Steinway Duo-Art grand to Horace
Lowry, the street railway magnate. It cost Mr.
Lowry $2,500.
Influenza has gripped the twin cities and has
thousands of people under its power. The piano
store staffs are suffering somewhat. Allan T. Wat-
son, of the Watson-Lister Piano Co., has been con-
fined to his home for several days by the prevailing
malady.
Two Emerson grands were included in the early
December sales of the Linquist Piano Co.
The show windows of the T. C. Borg Furniture
•Co,, : St. Paul, are all but concealed in huge yellow
posters announcing a "$10,000 manufacturers' bank-
rupt stock sale." The sale is to be driven hard, as
the newspapers also are loaded with display ads
for the event.
ACTIVITY
SECTIONS
CALENDAR TIME IS HERE.
Is the Report Received by the A. B. Chase
Co. and Which Is Followed Up by Orders.
First of the Season's Souvenirs Comes from the
Laffargue Co., New York.
tSi>eeial to The Review.)
As we are rapidly reaching the stage in the year
when all find it necessary to have recourse to the
dates of the days in the new year, preparations
throughout the trade are made to provide the
proper record for us to keep tabs on old "Father
Time." Calendars of all shapes and sizes are dis-
tributed freely with the compliments of the sender-.
One of the first calendar arrivals at the office of
The Review is from the Laffargue Co., 134th street
and Cypress avenue, New York City. Its simplicity
of design and the excellent individuality shown in
the character of the picture depicting a beautiful
young lady seated before a Laffargue grand should
find it a place in the offices of many Laffargue
dealers during the coming year.
NORWALK, O., December 13.—Warren C. Whit-
ney, vice-president and general manager of the A.
B. Chase Co., this city, who has recently returned
from a trip through the East, reports that there is
a decided uplift in trade conditions in that section
of the country. The same report also comes to the
A. B. Chase factory from other sections of the
country and is emphasized by the heavy increase
in orders received during November and the first
few days of December. The grand department of
the A. B. Chase factory alone shows an increase
of 50 per cent, over a year ago, with prospects of
a still further increase.
Among the important deals closed by Mr. Whit-
ney while in the East was the placing of the A. B.
Chase line with Morehouse & Loomis, the success-
ful piano house of New Haven, Conn., which has
only recently moved into new and larger ware-
rooms in that city.
An up-to-date piano store will be opened in the
new Brokaw Building at St. Clairsville, O., as soon
as that structure is completed, by the Brokaw
Music Co.
MERICAN
OGANY
A New Type of Mahogany
Acid Stain, of Quality
Thoroughly Established,
Yet Not Dependent Upon Europe
for Its Raw Materials.
question of time when those dependent upon
aniline dyes would be in dire circumstances, due
to the complete stoppage of imports.
we turned our attention to the production of a
stain that would be independent of the European
sources of supply for its raw materials.
(J We concentrated upon the problem the entire facilities of
our technical department. Success did not come in a day.
We have been working at it for months. But we have suc-
ceeded in producing—in American Mahogany Acid Stains—
goods of absolute reliability.
finished with American Mahogany Stains, have been exposed
to light for months at a time, and the colors proved perfectly
FAST.
as our materials are of American origin, and our base of sup-
plies within easy reach ; We are ready for your orders.
The Marietta Paint & Color Co.
Marietta, O.
THE BALDWIN PIANO USED.
The Baldwin piano was used at a song recital
given by Miss Alice Sovereign, well-known con-
tralto, at Aeolian Hall on December 11. Miss
Sovereign rendered a very interesting program,
which was well received by the audience.
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