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NOVEMBER 8,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
1919
CLEAN ADVERTISING A FEATURE OF MILWAUKEE TRADE
Bettter Business Bureau Has Raised Standards oi Viano Advertising—Death of Charles Steinway
Shocks Local Trade—Plans Under Way for Big Music Show This Month—Other News
MILWAUKEE, WIS., November 5.—A cursory glance
at the newspapers of Milwaukee on any week-day,
but more especially on a Sunday, cannot help but
demonstrate that the piano and talking machine
trade of this city consists of a most energetic and
progressive class of merchants. It also demon-
strates that the old saying, "When business is good,
advertise; when business is not good, advertise," is
recognized by the Milwaukee trade as wholesome
philosophy.
Thanks to the lessons which Milwaukee music
dealers have learned in the past, and to the knowl-
edge that the watchful eye of the Better Business
Bureau of the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce is directed upon them constantly, the ad-
vertising which is now being done is the cleanest and
most straightforward that has ever been known.
Milwaukee is the headquarters of C. L. Dennis, sec-
retary of the National Association of Music Mer-
chants, and also manager of the Better Business
Bureau, and consequently even the slightest devi-
ation from the straight and narrow path is quickly
and swiftly noticed.
The amount of display sapce already used is but
the forerunner of the most pretentious co-operative
campaign which the Milwaukee Association of Music
Industries has ever undertaken. This is about to get
under way and will run up to December 31. Between
$5,000 and $6,000 will be expended by the association
out of a fund secured by voluntary subscription
among members.
The amount of display space already used is but
with the music show which the association will
stage during the week of November 20 to 25 in the
Auditorium as one of the principal features of a
big Food, Household and Music Exposition spon-
sored by the Milwaukee Journal. These two great
sales promotion efforts are designed to be of as
much benefit to the local trade during 1920 as during
the time they are before the public. There is not a
dealer in Milwaukee who will have enough goods to
fill all orders between now and January 1, but with
acute foresight, the trade is making a relatively
enormous investment in selling effort at this time
to sustain the present deeply-rooted and substan-
tially founded interest in music with the idea of
reaping the harvest of dividends later.
The formal opening of the new music house of
the Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co., in the Plankinton Ar-
cade, will be held at the end of this week. The
company finally has overcome annoying and irritat-
ing delays in carrying out its plan of developing its
exclusively talking machine and phonograph busi-
ness to embrace pianos and other musical instru-
ments and merchandise. As already noted in The
Review, the company has selected the Knabe as its
leader, and will also represent the Bradbury, Web-
ster, Haines Bros., Schumann, Bush & Gerts, Mar-
shall & Wendell and Behr Bros. The Edison and
Victor lines will, of course, continue to be the
leaders of the talking machine department of the
developed business. The new store is located at
FOTOPLAYER
for the finest
Motion Picture
Theatres
AMERICAN PHOTO
PLAYER CO.
San Francisco
Chicago
New York
107 Grand avenue and 167-171 West Water street.
The death of Charles H. Steinway, head of Stein-
way & Sons, was announced in a telegram sent
from New York by Edmund Gram to his store in
Milwaukee, and caused deep regret in the piano
trade. Mr. Steinway visited this city on two or
three occasions in past years and is remembered by
all who were privileged to make his acquaintance
on these occasions as an outstanding figure, both
in business and in social relations.
Alex. McDonald, of Sohmer & Co., New York,
and director of publicity of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, spent a day in Milwaukee
last week to call upon the local Sohmer representa-
tive, the J. B. Bradford Piano Co., 411 Broadway
and 5S6 Mitchell/ street, and also to confer with
National Secretary C. L. Dennis, of the Merchants'
Association.
Frederick D. D. Holmes, secretary and manager
of the Smith Piano Co., 90 Wisconsin street, has
recovered sufficiently from his recent serious illness
to be able to be at his post of duty at the store
every day. Mr. Holmes reports business as excep-
tionally active, the main limiting factor being the
matter of getting adequate stock. He has recently
added two new salesmen, A. N. Hurst, formerly of
Pittsburgh, and L. F. Broeker, who was with Gimbel
Bros.' piano department for two years. An idea of
how busy the Smith store is these days may be
gained from the fact that during the busiest time
of the day last week, F. C. Rudolph, cashier of the
house, jumped into the breach when all other mem-
bers of the staff were busy with customers and
made the sale of a Strohber player unassisted in less
than fifteen minutes.
Hugh W. Randall, now the sole owner of the
J. B. Bradford Piano Co., has completed the re-
organization of his administrative departments on a
new basis. At the main store, 411 Br*..lway, the
executive staff is as follows: Oscar Swanitz, cashier
and office manager; Emery J. Morton, assistant sales
manager; Hugh M. Holmes, manager of Mason &
Hamlin and Chickering sales; Christ. Ocrding, man-
ager piano department; C. C. Hayes, manager player
department; S. S. Patchin, manager Victor and
Sonora departments; Miss Ruby Knox, manager
Victor record department; Mrs. Viola Hepp, man-
ager player roll department; Miss Ethel Bielefeldt,
manager service department. At the South Side
branch store, 596 Mitchell street, Theodore Heaton
is manager; E. J. Courtenay and Joseph Sommers.
assistant managers, and Miss Viola Spechen, man-
ager player roll and talking machine record depart-
ment. H. H. Effler, who resigned from the Brad-
ford sales staff last January to become chief
librarian of the First Church of Christ Scientist, has
rejoined Mr. Randall's staff.
Victrola XVII, $300
Victrola XVII, electric, $365
Mahogany or oak
Other Styles $25 to $950
Victor
Supremacy
is real
It is backed by its
wonderful musical
achievements.
It is the power be-
hind the success of
every Victor retailer.
Victor Talking Machine Co.
FLOOR PATTERNS FOR PIANOS
Camden, N. J., U. S. A-
The M. Doyle Marks Co., of Elmira, N. Y.,
has found a new way to sell more pianos. It's
like this:
Very few people would buy clothes if a fitting
were denied them. But it didn't make any dif-
ference about pianos in the old days, when rooms
were big. Now, however, rooms are small, and
thp-.-company figured out that a great many peo-
ple don't buy pianos because they are in doubt
about the fit.
So the store simply furnishes one with a floor
pattern of a piano oh request, so that one may
rearrange one's furniture to see if the piano
won't fit after all. The experiment doesn't cost
one anything, but it does get one's piano. The
store's piano sales record proves that the iden
is sound.
" V I C T R O L A " is the Registered Trade-mark
of the Victor Talking Machine Company desig-
nating the product! of this Company only.
The Model Music Co., Inc., has been incorporated
in New York to muke musical instruments and sew-
ing machines. The capital is $10,000 and the incor-
porators are J. Garbus, E. Sborowsky and C. Bush,
225 Fifth avenue.
WARNING: The me of the word Victrola
upon or in the promotion or >ale of any other
Talking Machine or Phonograph products is mis-
leading and illegal.
IMPORTANT NOTICE. Victor Record,
and Victor Machines arescientifically co-ordinated
and synchronized in the process?i of manufacture,
and should be used together to secure a perfect
reproduction.