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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
NOVEMBER 29, 1919
VICTOR OUTPUT REACHES NORMAL, SAYS ADVERTISEMENT
COLUMBIA NEWS GLEANINGS
Full Page Announcement in Daily Papers Last Saturday Carries Welcome Message to the Trade
and the Public—Plans for Expanding Victor Plant Fully Matured
Miss H. A. McKillop Appointed Manager of Little
Wonder Department—A Visitor From Canada
—F. E. Mann Entertains Massachusetts Dealers
on Visit to Bridgeport Factory Last Week
The daily papers of last Saturday, November 22,
placed before the public full page advertisements
issued by the Victor Talking Machine Co. which an-
nounced in the caption "Victor Output Reaches
Normal—the Shortage in Victrolas Will Soon Be
Relieved." The advertisement, set in large type,
goes on to state that plans for expanding the Vic-
tor plant to meet the tremendous increase in demand
have been fully matured and are under way and
that astonishing increases are assured within the
next few months.
The text of the advertisement, which surrounds
a reproduction of the letter of appreciation for the
company's war work, received by the Victor Co.
from Franklin D. Roosevelt, Acting Secretary of the
Navy, read in part as follows:
"The value of the Victor Talking Machine Co.'s
output for October was the greatest in its history.
The unprecedented shortage of Victrolas will there-
fore soon be relieved.
"During the war practically 90 per cent, of the
$36,000,000 Victor investment was devoted to war
work. This was responsible for the almost total
disappearance of Victrolas from the market.
"The armistice was signed in November, 1918, but
it was not until March, 1919, that the Victor Co.
could clear its plant of war orders. And as it re-
quires at least four months to manufacture Victro-
NEW EDISON PRICES ANNOUNCED
las in the way the Victor Co. manufactures them
and in the way they should be manufactured, the
rapidity of our recovery to normal output will be
appreciated by all who know anything about
manufacturing.
"The Victor Co. is the only talking machine com-
pany in the United States which has a complete plant
for the manufacture of complete talking machines.
All others are operated more or less by a system of
contract construction—the fabricating system.
"Years ago the Victor Co. found it necessary to
erect a large plant for its own in order to maintain
its own standard of quality—Victory quality.
"As this plant happened to be exactly what the
government required to produce bombing hydro-
aeroplanes and other submarine detecting devices,
the Victor plant was chosen for the place of honor
and sacrifice, while our less fortunate or less com-
petent competitors were ignored and allowed to con-
tinue.
"This is the true story, the cause of the shortage
in Victrolas, which our competitors have not been
slow to take advantage of."
The Victor Co. announcement proved as interest-
ing to the trade as it did to the public, being accepted
as an assurance that the company would soon be in
a position to take care of the overwhelming demand
for its products.
COLUMBIA ACTIVITY IN THE WEST
First Increase Since September, 1918, to Go Into Frank K. Pennington, Assistant Sales Manager,
Tells of Visit to Minneapolis, St. Louis and In-
Effect December 1—Amberola Prices Not In-
dianapolis Branches of the Columbia Co.
creased and Chalet Model Remains the Same
Thomas A. Edison, Inc., has just announced an ad-
vance of the list price of the New Edison, effective
December 1. This is the first increase in price since
September 1, 1918, and affects the following models:
Heppelwhite, Sheraton (sans inlay), Jacobean, Wil-
liam and Mary, Chippendale, Sheraton (inlaid),
Louis XIV, Eighteenth Century English (Adam)
and Italian (Umbrian). No changes have as yet
been made in the prices of the higher priced models,
or of the Chalet model. Neither have the Amberola
prices been increased.
Thomas A. Edison, Inc., show in this bulletin
that they have not profited a penny as a result of the
public's present apparent willingness to pay any price
asked for Edison phonographs, but instead are writ-
ing off, as a loss, 50 per cent, of the increased cost
of manufacture. The bulletin reads, in part:
"We have absorbed a substantial portion of the
increased cost of manufacture, and the prices named
herein reflect, according to our figures, only 50 per
cent, of the increased cost of manufacture that has
occurred during the past twelve months."
The company withheld an announcement of ad-
vanced prices until it could be sure that cost figures
were thoroughly dependable.
The present list prices and the list prices to be-
come effective December 1st are:
George W. Hopkins, general sales manager of the
Columbia Graphophone Co., announced last week
the appointment of Miss Helen A. McKillop as
manager of the Little Wonder department, with
headquarters in the executive offices in the Wool-
worth Building. Miss McKillop, who has been as-
sociated with this department for some time past,
succeeds B. W. Jennings, who has just been ap-
pointed assistant manager of the company's Philadel-
phia branch.
A recent visitor at the Columbia executive offices
was A. E. Landon, newly appointed Canadian branch
manager. Mr. Landon's reports are unusually op-
timistic and he bases this optimism on the fact that
in October the Columbia Canadian branch closed a
business which surpassed all figures for any single
month in the history of the business. November has
started in equally as well, and judging from the sales
totals for the first three weeks, it will even out-dis-
tance October.
Fred E. Mann, manager of the Boston branch of
the Columbia Graphophone Co., was the host to 101
Columbia dealers of Eastern Massachusetts last
Wednesday when they visited the Columbia factories
at Bridgeport, Conn. A luncheon was given the
dealers at the Hotel Stratfield, at which interesting
addresses were made by T. C. Roberts, assistant to
the president and in charge of manufacture; Frank
K. Pennington, assistant general sales manager of
the company; Fred E. Mann and others. The dealers
thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the plant and were
greatly impressed with the tremendous activity that
is apparent in every single department of this mam-
moth factory.
Frank K. Pennington, assistant general sales man-
ager of the Columbia Graphophone Co., New York,
returned recently from a two weeks' stay at the PRINCE OF WALES LIKES EDISON
company's Chicago branch, subsequent to which he
visited the Minneapolis, St. Louis and Indianapolis Is Entertained by New Edison Furnished by Lay-
branches. He states that business throughout the
ton Bros. While in Montreal
West is excellent, and that the total amount of sales
closed by Columbia dealers is limited only by the
When H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, was in Mon-
available merchandise.
treal, Layton Bros, loaned him a New Edison from
The new location of the Minneapolis branch has which the Prince derived much pleasure and which
been the subject of enthusiastic praise from Colum- he described to Gilbert Layton as wonderful. Sir
bia dealers.
This
branch is equipped to
handle many times
the volume of busi-
ness that it has closed
in the past, and judg-
ing from the reports
for November, W. L.
Sprague, manager of
this branch, and his
sales organization will
achieve record-break-
ing figures during the
coming year.
At St. Louis, John
McKenna, manager of
PRICE
DECEMBER
the branch, and the
NOW.
I St.
members of his force
Chalet
$95.00
$95.00
are p r o d u c i n g re-
Heppelwhite
155.00
167.50
markable results, and
Sheraton (sans inlay").... 195.00
200.00
the demand for the
Tacobean
250.00
265.00
Chippendale
285.00
295.00
Columbia product in
William and Mary
285.00
295.00
the St. Louis terri-
Sheraton (inlaid)
300.00
350.00
tory is far beyond the
Louis XIV
300.00
350.00
New Edison in Suite Occupied by Prince of Wales at Ritz-Carlton Hotel
supply at present.
Eighteenth Century Eng-
lish (Adam)
450.00
500.00
Ben
L.
Brown,
manager
of
the Indianapolis branch, Godfrey Thomas, private secretary to the Prince of
Italian (Umbrian)
450.00
500.00
and his organization showed a remarkable increase Wales, wrote Wm. Maxwell, of Thomas A. Edison,
The Wanamaker Store, New York, last week in business for the month of October. Mr. Brown Inc., expressing H. R. H.'s appreciation, and stated
featured the Steger phonographs very strongly in and his staff have established the most cordial rela- that the Prince was much struck by the instrument.
The illustration shows a portion of the royal
some special advertising, laying particular emphasis tions between this branch and the Columbia clientele,
upon the attachment to the tone arm of the Steger and many out-of-town dealers make the Columbia suite at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in Montreal, where
for the purpose of regulating the pressure of the branch in Indianapolis their headquarters when vis- the New Edison was given a prominent place, as
can be seen.
iting that city.
soundbox on the record.