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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OCTOBER 12,
1918
SEIDEL TO RECORD FOR COLUMBIA
SOME EDISON TONE TEST NEWS
VISITORS AT COLUMBIA OFFICES
Young Violinist, Whose Work Has Attracted
Much Attention, Will Record Exclusively for
the Columbia—To Make Concert Tour
Nearly 600 Recitals Already Booked by Edison
Dealers for This Fall—A List of the Promi-
nent Artists Who Are Giving Tone Tests
Assistant Branch Managers Visit Headquarters
—Geo. W. Hopkins Returns From Trip
G. C. Jell, general manager of the Columbia
Graphophone Co.'s recording laboratories, an-
nounced this week that Toscha Seidel, the young
violinist who is expected to become one of the
foremost violinists of the present day, had been
engaged to make records for the Columbia li-
brary exclusively. Mr. Seidel's first records will
be announced in the very near future, and mu-
sical critics who have visited the Columbia li-
braries during the past week are enthusiastic
regarding the musical and sales possibilities of
these records.
Toscha Seidel, although only eighteen years
of age, has been a student of the violin for
many years.
Since childhood he has been
studying under Professor Leopold Auer, who
has won international renown as the mentor of
some of the world's most famous violinists. As
a boy Seidel played in some of the leading
cities in Continental Europe, where he was ac-
claimed as a prodigy who gave every indication
of becoming a truly remarkable violinist.
Mr. Seidel appeared several times on the local
concert stage last season, giving concerts at
Carnegie Hall, which were attended by ca-
pacity audiences. His playing won the com-
mendation of well-known critics, who were par-
ticularly impressed with his remarkable tech-
nique and the warmth of expression evidenced
in his playing. A concert tour that will call
for his appearance in the leading cities of this
country will be inaugurated very shortly, and
there is no doubt but that Mr. Seidel will be
one of the most successful violinists on the
concert stage this year.
The unique series of recitals known as Edison
tone tests are making a bigger hit this season
than ever before. A total of 583 recitals have
been booked for this fall. These, with the 1,742
previously given, make a total of 2,325 recitals
which will have been given by this Christmas.
This means that over two million people will
have heard this convincing demonstration of the
New Edison.
At present Miss Alcock is touring in Nebraska
for Shultz Bros. Dalhart is favoring the St.
Louis, New Orleans and Atlanta zones. The
Ellerman-Seydel tour has finished four weeks
near Pittsburgh and will be heard in Iowa and
Minnesota until the holidays. Ellison has had
to split up his time between five different zones.
Madam Ferrell is on the Coast, after filling en-
gagement in Iowa, Colorado and Utah. The
charming Fleming Trio are spending twelve
happy weeks with Harger & Blish, Edison job-
bers at Des Moines and Sioux City.
Miss Gardner has been in Canada and Iowa
and will finish her season in the Middle West
shortly before Christmas.
Madame Le Fontenay opened in eastern Penn-
sylvania, after which she visits the Indianapolis
and Omaha zones each for four weeks. Marie
Morrisey covers New Brunswick, Canada, New
England and central New York during a ten-
week tour. Madame Rappold will give some
big recitals in the South. Betsy Lane Shep-
herd is squeezing in eight weeks in the Middle
West before going on a twenty-week concert
tour of her own.
Marie Tiffany also gives eight weeks in the
Richmond, Atlanta and Cincinnati zones before
the opera season opens in November.
Alice Verlet started out in Idaho and works
East via Des Moines, Chicago and Albany.
Hardy Williamson favors New England.
A gratifying feature of the Edison tone test
campaign is that the majority of dealers who
once give recitals repeat. There are dealers
who have booked as many as ten recitals since
the campaign opened three years ago. These
dealers are located in various parts and in towns
of varying size, and no one locality seems any
more suited to the tone test than another.
DRIVE FOR "SLACKER RECORDS"
Expected to Collect 1,000,000 Records for Fight-
ing Men Between October 26 and November 2
The week of October 26 to November 2 will
be devoted to a special drive for the collection
of talking machine and phonograph records in
all sections of the country for distribution
among the soldiers in camps and cantonments
in this country and overseas, and on the many
ships of the navy. The work is to be carried
on under the supervision of the Phonograph
Records Recruiting Corps, organized recently in
New York with Major-General J. Franklin Bell,
U. S. A., in command at Camp Upton as honor-
ary chairman, and Vivian Burnett, the author
and composer, as acting chairman. Over 100
men and women prominent in musical, theat-
rical and business circles coinpose the present
committee, which is growing constantly. Local
committees have been organized in over 250
towns and cities and military authorities are
lending their support and co-operation for the
drive, which is expected to net at least 1,000,000
"slacker records" during the week, after which
efforts will be made to keep the supply of rec-
ords flowing constantly from the homes to the
camps.
A systematic survey of the camps of this
country is already under way, and machines and
records will be distributed through the author-
ized official and semi-official welfare organiza-
tions. An advisory committee, consisting of
representatives appointed by the Y. M. C. A., Y.
W. C. A., J. W. B., K. of C. and War Camp
Community S&rvice, will work out the problems
of assorting, shipping, etc. In addition, U. S.
ships of all sorts will be liberally provided.
The headquarters of the National Phonograph
Records Recruiting Corps are at 21 East For-
tieth street, New York.
COMMISSION FOR KENNETH R. MOSES
Kenneth R. Moses, formerly sales manager
for the Amberola line of Thomas A. Edison,
Inc., has just received his commission as a
second lieutenant in the quartermaster corps.
Lieutenant Moses enlisted in May, 1917, as a
private. He became a corporal—then a sergeant.
With his appointment as a lieutenant came a
transfer from Camp Wadsworth at Spartanburg,
S. C, to Anniston, Ala., where he will be an
assistant quartermaster at Camp McClellan.
DEPARTMENTS SEPARATED
The R. S. Williams & Sons Co., Ltd., Edison
jobbers in Toronto, Ont., have recently removed
their wholesale departments to other warerooms
at 458 King street, West, that city, and will in
future keep the wholesale and retail departments
distinctly separate. O. Wagner has been ap-
pointed general supervisor of the wholesale
division.
Robert E. Clark, well-known Edison artist,
is at present doing valuable work with the Y.
M. C. A., as a musical director in the army
camp in the Southeastern Military Department,
and according to Y. M. C. A. officials is accom-
plishing wonderful results.
Among the visitors this week at the executive
offices of the Columbia Co. were R. R. Spar-
row, assistant manager of the Columbia Co.'s
Atlanta branch, and M. C. Perkins, assistant
manager of the Boston branch. Both of these
visitors spoke optimistically of the business sit-
uation in their respective cities and made a
unanimous plea for the shipment of merchan-
dise.
George W. Hopkins, general sales manager of
the Columbia Co., returned this week from a
visit to the company's Buffalo and Toronto
headquarters. The business situation in Can-
ada is splendid, and James P. Bradt, who is in
charge of the Columbia Canadian business, is
achieving remarkable success in putting Colum-
bia products "over the top."
J. D. Elliott, manager of the talking ma-
chine department in the Shepard Co.'s store,
Providence, R. I., was another caller at the Co-
lumbia offices this week, bringing with him
pleasing reports of the business being closed by
this well-known house.
DORIAN OOESJTO SEATTLE
Will Begin Duties as Manager of Columbia Co.'s
Branch There November First
George W. Hopkins, general sales manager of
the Columbia Graphophone Co., New York, an-
nounced this week that Frank Dorian, formerly
general manager of the company's Dictaphone
department, had been appointed manager of the
Seattle branch of the Columbia Graphophone
Co., and will assume his new duties about No-
vember 1.
In a letter to the members of the sales staff
Mr. Hopkins said: "This is Mr. Dorian's per-
sonal choice, and we feel that the company has
very materially strengthened its hold on Pacific
Coast business by Mr. Dorian's becoming man-
ager. To say that our good will goes with him
id hardly necessary. Activities on the Coast
make it a particularly pleasing move to us, as
big men are needed when a big job looms up.
"Mr. Williams, the present manager of Se-
attle, will be transferred to another important
position, to be announced later."
Frank Dorian is one of the best-known mem-
bers of the Columbia Co.'s executive and sales
organization, and during his many years' asso-
ciation with the company has won the esteem
and friendship of the sales staff from coast to
coast. He is thoroughly conversant with Co-
lumbia merchandising policies and plans, and the
Seattle trade is to be congratulated upon Mr.
Dorian's appointment as manager of the Colum-
bia branch there.
START TONE TEST TOUR
Two Popular Edison Stars Now on 12,000-Mile
Tone Test Tour
Florence Ferrell, the popular New England
lyric soprano, and Grace Freeman, the well-
known California violinist, are off on a twelve
thousand-mile tour in the interests of the New
Edison. Commencing in Armour, S. D., Madam
Ferrell has been booked in tone test recitals con-
tinuously until the middle of December. Her
route will take her through South Dakota, Ne-
braska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Wash-
ington, British Columbia, Oregon, California,
Nevada and Arizona. Madam Ferrell covered a
portion of this same territory last spring and
her success was so great that she was imme-
diately rebooked wherever she went.