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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 6, 1919
DEMAND CAUSES SHORTAGE^ OF^PIANOS IN TWIN CITIES
Local Warerooms Depleted of Stock, With Many Unfilled Orders on Their Books—Golden
Rule Department Store to Open Piano Department—August Business Very Satisfactory
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, MINN., September
1.—St. Paul is to have another piano store.
The Golden Rule, a large department store, is
arranging for a piano department and announces
that it will be conducted on the Golden Rule
scale, both as to size and quality of instruments.
J. L. Pofahl, now in charge of the Victrola and
art departments, will have general supervision,
with Robert W. Bonyea, a widely known piano
man, in active charge. The main lines to begin
with will be the Hazelton Bros, and Kurtzmann
products. The work of preparing and decorat-
ing the home of the new department is under
way and it is expected that everything will be
in readiness for the visit of President and Mrs.
Wilson, which is scheduled for September 9.
Their itinerary does not include the Golden
Rule, but they and their party will be very wel-
come.
Northwestern piano dealers now have the
grim and stern pleasure of facing a widespread
demand for nice pianos with little or nothing
with which to satisfy the cravings of the pub-
lic. There is not a storeroom or a showroom
in the Twin Cities that has even the appearance
of preparedness for an active business sea-
son, and while they are doing better than last
year this does not satisfy by any means under
the circumstances.
The Minnesota State Fair, which is expected
to attract about 500,000 visitors, is on this week,
with a list of magnets that places it in the class of
high-grade expositions. None of the piano deal-
ers has taken any particular interest in the
fair, for one reason because there are no ade-
quate provisions for housing the industrial arts
and further because the dealers have no pianos
to spare for purely exhibition purposes. The
fair has brought quite a number of dealers into
the Twin Cities and they are begging for talk-
ing machines and pianos. They are having just
about as much success as the Twin City deal-
ers have in seeking to induce the piano manu-
facturers to relent.
Raudenbush & Sons have a whine. Some
months ago they arranged with a manufacturer
to ship them a carload of pianos a month to
help out their factory, which is about two
months behind in orders. Not a piano has been
received. And then nearly every day a rural
dealer shows up with a plea to open an account.
A turn-down is compulsory, although it hurts
like pulling teeth. Even the catching of great
big pike in the lakes near Backus, Minn., which
fell to the lot of F. H. Raudenbush, offers lit-
tle consolation in such cases.
In a general way the majority of the dealers
concluded August with a generally satisfactory
balance sheet. Things have been moving along
very nicely. Now that the United States Grain
Corporation have arranged a new scale of wheat
prices so that the shrunken wheat, which is so
common this year, will obtain better prices the
commercial and agricultural interests are much
relieved, for the new dispensation will increase
the income of the Northwestern farmers sev-
eral millions of dollars. One authority has fig-
ured the increase at $40,000,000. Well, it will
help.'
Col. Beall, of the John Church Co., spent a
few days last week with the Brooks Piano Co.,
winding up the business relations which have
existed between the two concerns for many
years.
VIDAUD JOINS BRAMBACH FORCES
Prominent Piano Man Becomes Associated
With Brambach Piano Co.—Has Had Long
Experience and Enjoys Wide Acquaintance
have for 33 years
justified their right
to be called
Mark P. Campbell, president of the Bram-
bach Piano Co., announces that Edward E. Vi-
daud has joined the forces of that organization,
a connection which should prove of decided ad-
vantage to both Mr. Vidaud and the Brambach
Co.
The Brambach Piano Co. gains in Mr. Vidaud
a man whose experience will enable him to do
much in furthering the policies of the organiza-
tion. His experience in the piano business with
some of the foremost houses of the country has
given him a keen insight into all the branches
of manufacture and especially fits him for the
sales and executive work which will be his in
his new connection.
Mr. Vidaud is an expert on efficient manufac-
turing and the determining of costs and has in
the past conceived many methods and short-
cuts that have been of decided interest to the
organization he was with.
When the war broke out Mr. Vidaud resigned
his position and went into war work, feeling
that his particular qualifications would permit
him in a special way to perform his patriotic
duty. His work in that capacity was to cir-
culate among the manufacturers who were do-
ing contract work for the Government, de-
termining cost basis and fixing in this way the
amount the Government would eventually pay
for the products manufactured. This experi-
ence has been exceedingly valuable to him. It
has enabled him to enter large and efficient
manufacturing organizations and in this way
observe methods of production that could not
be obtained otherwise. When entering for this
war work it was his idea to return to the piano
trade as soon as he was released and this con-
nection with the Brambach Co. is the result
ot this decision.
He has in his years of travel among the piano
trade formed a wide circle of business ac-
quaintances who, no doubt, will be interested to
learn of his new connection.
Pianos of Character
FIRE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
CHARACTER
"Admirable Quality; Acknowledged Reputation"
—{Standard Dictionary)
PIANOS
Manufactured by
Smith, Barnes
and
Strohber Co.
FACTORIES
North Milwaukee, WU.
Chicago, III.
OFFICE
1872 Clybourn Avenue
Chicago, III.
T. V. Short's music store in the Hare Block,
Main and Bond streets, Springfield, Mass., was
badly damaged by smoke and water last week
as a result of a fire which had broken out in
an adjacent store. The loss through damage
to the stock of pianos was partly covered by in-
surance.
When you buy
Christman
Pianos Players Grands
you are surely buy-
ing the very best
pianos made for the
price.
From the casters to
the top they are of
exceptional quality
in
Materials
Case Designs
Workmanship
Finish and
Tone
Both you and your
trade will like them.
If you wish more
profits and sales
order a sample to-
day, for your per-
sonal inspection or
examination will be
a thousand times
more convincing
than anything we
might say.
" The first touch tells"
Christman Piano Co.
597 E. 137th Street, New York