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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
CLEVELAND PIANO DEALERS TRYING TO GET SHIPMENTS
Visit Eastern Manufacturers in Effort to Get Additional Stock—Starr Co. Doing Excellent Player
Business—Hart Co. Recovering From Recent Fire—Nolan to Talk on Piano Insurance
CLEVELAND, O., November 12.—Representatives
of a number of Cleveland piano houses went to
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other
Eastern cities this week to hurry along ship-
ments of pianos from the factory to their Cleve-
land stores. Shipments have been so delayed
the past month that personal solicitation by the
merchants at the factories had to be resorted
to in order to get the stock to this city. As a
result of this move by the local dealers it is
hoped that orders will be filled here much more
rapidly than they have been the past few weeks.
The Starr Piano Co. is advertising the sale
of used pianos and players at low prices. This
move is made in part to make room for the
large holiday stock which is arriving daily from
the Starr factory at Richmond, Ind. Terms are
made to suit the customer.
The Starr Co. has recently opened six new
stores in Cleveland for the distribution of their
talking machines. The price of the Starr ma-
chine went up on November 1.
A. W. Holdgate, of the bookkeeping depart-
ment of the Cleveland Starr office, has resigned
to go into the realty business here. H. E. Eng-
lish, of the credit department, is ill.
Player-pianos are still enjoying a fine sale at
the local Starr store. In fact, the Cleveland
store is sold out for the present on the players.
The medium-priced style has been most in de-
mand of late. District Manager R. E. Taylor,
of the Starr Co., went to the Starr factory, at
Richmond, Ind., last week to push along ship-
ments to the Cleveland headquarters of the
company.
Henry Dreher, president of the B. Dreher
Sons Co., is going to New York next Tuesday
to attend the dinner of the New York Piano
Manufacturers' Association and at which
National Piano Merchants and Manufacturers
Associations' executives will be present. The
war tax bill will be discussed by the officers of
the associations at the joint sessions. Mr.
Dreher, while in New York, will rush ship-
ments of Steinways and Aeolian-Vocalions to
this city.
The Drehers have just closed a sale for a
$15,000 pipe organ to be installed in a beautiful
new home on the Heights. W. R. Dorr, of the
Aeolian Co., is coming to Cleveland to install
the new organ.
McMillin's announce an unusual line of new
violins for their holiday business at their store,
recently remodeled on East Ninth street. This
store has an especially good violin repair de-
partment and specializes in the rebuilding of old
violins. Clifford Kar, of Canton, O., has joined
the staff of McMillin's, and will be associated
with Walter Logan in managing the violin de-
partment at the store. Miss Rice, of the Victor
Talking Machine Co., will continue the educa-
tional work started by Mrs. Heaton at this store
last month.
The Hart Piano Co. is gradually getting in
new stock to replace that wrecked by water in
the disastrous Euclid avenue fire ten days ago.
Mr. Hart was well covered by insurance on the
stock of seventy-two pianos which he lost. The
basement where the pianos were stored is being
rebuilt and redecorated to receive the new stock
for the Christmas trade. The company lost
pianos valued at $15,000 by a flood of water that
reached high above the keyboards on all the in-
struments in the basement. But orders con-
tinue to keep coming in fast at Hart's and the
readjustment after the fire is speedy indeed con-
sidering the tons of water that poured down
upon the pianos for hours while the fire was
going on.
Henry F. Miller grands seem to hold the
center of the selling stage at the May Co.'s de-
partment. Quite a number of these instruments
were sold at May's this week. The Angelus
players are also selling well at this store. The
Behr piano sale has closed with the finest sales
results in the history of the company.
Dan J. Nolan, president of the Cleveland
Music Trades Association, will address that
body at its regular monthly meeting in the
Hollenden Hotel next Tuesday night on "Piano
Insurance." Mr. Nolan will explain the system
at May's by which if the head of a family dies
all instalment payments are automatically
stopped from that home and the piano becomes
the property of the family.
L. M. Bloom, wholesale manager of the
Phonograph Co. for this district, will go to
Detroit this week on business. The company
here announces a big increase in the sale of Edi-
son machines since the Ciccolini tone test last
month at the company's Cleveland offices. There
is a heavy demand for patriotic records and the
type of machines priced at $250 is having the
greatest sale now. Liberty Bonds are accepted
in payment for all Edison machines.
Caldwell's are planning a clearance sale of the
Kurtzmann piano and players. It is announced
that all this stock must be sold out by November
15 to make way for the holiday business. Small
first payments are taken on the Kurtzmann and
the pianos will then be held for the Christmas
delivery. Payments start January 1.
M. P. Fitzpatrick, formerly traveling sales-
man for the Eclipse Musical Co., has resigned
to go with the Silas E. Pearsall Co., New York.
Mr. Jones and Mr. Valentine, of Dreher's, at-
tended the opening of the new store of T. M.
Lerch at Canton, O., on November 8. This
store will handle the Dreher line of stock, lead-
ing with the Steinways and Aeolian-Vocalions.
The Fischer' Piano Co. announces a clearance
sale of all its stock as the firm, according to the
statement, "is quitting business."
BUFFALO DEALERS START DRIVE FOR HOLIDAY BUSINESS
Advising Prospects to Do Christmas Shopping Early—Adam & Co. Well Stocked With High
Grade Instruments—Wurlitzer Co. Seeking to Reduce H. C. of L.—Personals and Other News
BUFFALO, N. Y., November 12.—The importance
of early holiday shopping is being advertised by
Buffalo piano and talking machine dealers.
Many merchants in other lines say that their
trade is now 25 to 50 per cent, over that of a
year ago. This boom promises to be equaled
in the music business in November and Decem-
ber.
"Help the delivery man" will .be the slogan
of the Buffalo dealers from now until December
25. Customers are being asked to change their
old-time habit of having their holiday purchases
held at the store until the day before Christmas.
The delivery problem is serious this year and
patrons are being impressed with the fact that
they must not only shop early but must also
have their Chirstmas purchases delivered early
or disappointments will result.
Yvette Guilbert will appear at the Twentieth
Century Club on November 19. The concert
will be given under auspices of Mai Davis Smith.
Mme. Guilbert will use a Knabe grand piano
furnished by J. N. Adam & Co.
"'We are in excellent shape to meet the holi-
day trade," reports S. H. Butler, manager of
J. N. Adam & Co.'s piano department.
"Our shipments are arriving daily and by the
end of the week we will have a complete stock
of the various makes pianos handled by the
house, including all case designs and finishes.
'"Our high-grade business for the past month
has been fine. Our department will be open
evenings from now until Christmas in order to
get all the business possible."
Frank J. Keefe has joined the sales force of
J, N. Adam & Co.'s piano department.
A report from North Tonawanda, N. Y., says
that the Rudolph Wurlitzer Mfg. Co. and other
leading firms there have placed orders for large
consignments of potatoes for the use of their
employes, giving them the advantage of pur-
chasing them at prices which will mean a big
saving in securing their winter's supply. The
Wurlitzer Co. announced that it would deliver
two carloads of potatoes shortly at its plant and
that the company's 800 employes would have
the opportunity to purchase them at prices far
below those now charged in the stores. The
men are to be permitted to buy the potatoes at
their cost, plus the freight. They are New York
State potatoes.
A well-advertised concert was recently given
at the store of Bricka & Enos, New Edison
dealers. A New Edison was used. According
to that firm "the purpose of the concert, aside
from the delight of the program, is to educate
the masses in an appreciation of the works of
great composers and masters."
Denton, Cottier & Daniels are devoting ex-
tensive newspaper space to advertise the Stroud
Duo-Art Reproducing piano.
George H. Moessinger, of C. Kurtzmann &
Co., was a member of the entertainment com-
mittee in charge of "the fun and frolic" at the
first smoker of the season, held recently at the
Orpheus clubrooms.
In Batavia, N. Y., a plan to close the piano
and other stores of that city for two or three
days and send the employes to the farms of
Genesee county to help harvest the great crop
of potatoes and beans there is being considered.
The unharvested crops of the county are valued
at $2,000,000. This is as much money, according
to a Batavia business man, as a factory em-
ploying 2,500 men would pay out in wages in a
year. The comparison has served to impress
dealers, whose business depends in part upon
the farmers' trade, with the seriousness of the
situation. The dealers of Hornell, Attica and
Dansville, N. Y., are co-operating with other
merchants to aid the harvesting of potatoes on
the farms near these towns.
Adeline Francis, the "Grafonola Girl," recently
appeared at Shea's vaudeville theatre, Buffalo.
One of the hits was her singing of a duet with
herself by the side of a Grafonola. Her act was
a distinct novelty.
Alexander Dankman, wholesale salesman at
the Buffalo branch of the Columbia Co., recently
won the district salesman's cup offered by the
company.
Madame Schumann-Heink will sing at Elm-
wood Music Hall Wednesday evening, Novem-
ber 21. A Steinway grand, furnished by Denton,
Cottier & Daniels, will be used.
Friends and associates in Adam, Meldrum &
Anderson Co., Pathephone dealers, recently pre-
sented Major Walter F. Gibson, of that firm,
with a handsome silver loving cup and a ham-
mered gold cigarette case as expressions of their
esteem and as good luck wishes. Major Gibson
is now at Spartanburg.
For over 25 years Specialists
in high grade Piano Cases
Paterson Piano
Case Co.
PATERSON, N. J.