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APRIL 5, 1919
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
NEW PITTSBURGH ORGANIZATION PLANS ACTIVE CAREER
Board of Directors and Officers Preparing for Constructive Work—Will Hold Monthly Meetings
—Hays Co. Doing Excellent Player Business in Suburban Circles—News of the Week
PITTSBURGH, PA., March 31.—With the formation
into an organization of the Pittsburgh Piano
Merchants' Association the new organization
under the direction of President C. J. Roberts
and his official family is rapidly crystallizing
into a solid body that will work for the welfare
and general betterment of the piano trade in this
city. The members are in hearty sympathy with
the new organization and have expressed them-
selves as highly pleased not only with the fact
that the organization has been effected, but also
with the visit of George W. Pound, genera)
counsel of the Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce. The matter was very plainly stated
by a prominent piano dealer who said to The
Review representative that "Mr. Pound's talk-
was a revelation to me and his message was one
that every music dealer must needs hear in or-
der to fully comprehend the relation that the
piano merchant holds to the community at large.
It is meetings of piano dealers and talks by
such men as Mr. Pound that are stimulating
and will in time promote the well being of the
trade."
The board of directors of the organization
consists of the following: Theodore Hoffmann,
of the J. M. Hoffmann Co.; E. B. Heyser, of the
W. V. Frederick Piano Co.; W. C. Dierks, of the
C. C. Mellor Co.; Horace Hays, of E. G. Hays &
Co.; W. H. McConnell, of Roggs & Buhl; Ar-
thur (). I.echner, of Lechner & Schoenberger;
W. C. Hamilton, of S. Hamilton Co., and C. J.
Roberts, of Chas. M. Stieff, Inc. Meetings of
the organization will be held monthly for the
present.
Horace Hays, of E. G. Hays & Co., who spent
the winter in Florida with his family, started
Xorth last week. Mr. Hays is reported to be
much improved in health as a result of his so-
journ in the Sunny South. His brother, E. G.
Hays, is spending some time at Atlantic City.
Charles H. Wilt, sales manager of the Hays
Co., stated to The Review representative that
trade was especially brisk in player-pianos in the
rural and outlying districts of this city. He
predicts a steady sale of the Lester pianos and
player-pianos, which the Hays Co. specialize in.
Considerable publicity was given by the Hays
Co. recently to the announcement that Gover-
nor W. C. Sproul. of Pennsylvania, had pur-
3 Great Pianos
With 3 sounding boards
in each (Patented) have the
greatest talking points in
the trade.
chased a Lester player-piano for installation in
his home.
The San Carlo Grand Opera Co. will open a
week's engagement in the Alvin Theatre here on
Monday, April 28. The event is rich with prom-
ise, according to Impresario Fortune Galio, who
spent several days here making arrangements
for the coming of the company.
The C. C. Mellor Co. in connection with the
third Pittsburgh appearance in 1919 of Galli-
Curci announce that the noted artist who sings
at Syria Mosque on Wednesday evening, April
2, uses "the Supreme Steinway piano." In
commenting on this in their public announce-
ment the Mellor Co. further set forth that "like
all great artists, Mme. Galli-Curci employs the
Steinway piano at all her recitals. The best
is none too good for the really great artists.
And the best is none too good for you. Stein-
way is best by every standard."
E. B. Heyser, general manager of the W. F.
Frederick Piano Co., is quite optimistic con-
cerning the immediate future of the piano trade
in the territory served by the Frederick Co.
He stated that sales were keeping up at a Mat-
tering rate, especially in player-pianos. This line
of instruments he anticipates will be much in
demand as the soldiers return home, owing to
the fact that the player-pianos overseas have
instilled into the hearts of the boys a strong
desire for music. The past week the Frederick
Co. had on exhibition a handsome Estey grand
piano in their large show window.
In citing the popularity that the Stieff pianos
and player-pianos have attained in the Pitts-
burgh territory C. J. Roberts, manager of the
Chas. M. Stieff, Inc., branch here, stated that
sales recorded for the week of March 16 were
the highest with but one exception in the entire
period that the Stieff branch has been in opera-
tion here, about twenty years. Mr. Roberts
stated that sales could have been much more
pronounced had there been pianos and player
pianos sufficient to meet the demand.
$25,000 BEQUEST FOR AGED
Florence J. Heppe, of Philadelphia, Again Aids
Presbyterians on Twenty-fifth Anniversary
PHILADELPHIA, PA., March 31.—On the occasion
of his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary Florence
J. lleppe, president of the C. J. Heppe & Son
piano firm. 1117 Chestnut street, made a gift of
$25,000 to the Presbyterian Home for Aged
Couples and Aged Men at Bala.
The gift is an addition to the Heppe Memorial
Fund which Mr. Heppe founded on April 16,
1915, the fiftieth anniversary of the business and
the birthday of his mother, in memory of" his
parents.
The amount of the fund originally was $50,000,
but through annual additions, including yester-
day's, it has since been swelled to $125,000. •
ARMSTRONG OPENS IN EDMONTON
Canadian Piano Traveler Opens Retail Store
With His Son as a Partner
f
wholesale and retail.
The Heppe Piano Co.
PHILADELPHIA. PA.
LONDON, ONT., March 31.—J. J. Armstrong, who
has been on the road for the Sherlock-Manning
Piano Co. for a little over two years, recently
returned from a successful trip through West-
ern Canada for the firm. The trip, however,
again inoculated Mr. Armstrong with the
Western fever and he has returned to become a
permanent citizen of Edmonton.
Mr. Armstrong, in association with his son,
Sergeant H. L. Armstrong, who has just re-
ceived his discharge from the army, is open-
ing up business in Edmonton. Their leaders will
be Sherlock-Manning pianos and phonographs.
On leaving for the West they had not decided
as to what other lines they will take up,
A Solid Back
A Heavy Plate
Finest Materials
Best Workmanship
These are some of the
specifications of the
Christman
Piano
but its crowning attri-
bute—the "big thing"
that makes our piano
exceptional—is its full,
deep, round, powerful
Tone.
This marvelous tone,
combined with artistic
case designs and beauti-
ful v e n e e r s , makes
Christman P i a n o s ,
Players,Grands the kind
that are easy and prof-
itable to sell—the kind
that give absolute satis-
faction in quality, ap-
pearance and service.
The Christman Agency
is worth having. If you
were selling them you
would know why.
Correspondence invited.
"The first touch tells"
Christman Piano Co.
597 E. 137th Street, New York