Music Trade Review

Issue: 1920 Vol. 70 N. 3

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
JANUARY 17, 1920
BUYS INTEREST IN PACIFIC CO.
W. E. Bailey and His Son Acquire Share in
Business of Pacific Music Co.—Management
Transferred to Russell Bailey
January 10.—Controlling in-
terest in the Pacific Music Co., S18 Sprague ave-
nue, has been purchased by Wil'iam Iv Bailey,
sales manager of the Spokane Drug Co., and
Russell T. Bailey, a sou. Tin: management of
llie concern was transferred to Russell Bailey
January 1. W. K. Bailey will continue his work
with'the Spokane Drug Co.
The business recently has been controlled
by Arthur Miller, under the management of his
father, J. W. Miller. Since the first of the year
"J W. Miller has divided his time between the
Spokane and Seattle branches of the company.
The Pacific Music Co. was organized in March,
1915, with offices and salesrooms in the Arthur
D. Jones Building. From March, 1916, to March,
1919, it operated in the Sherman, Clay & Co.
building, and since that date has been at the
present location.
The company has the largest band and small
instrument department in Spokane, and claims
the largest used band instrument department in
the Northwest.
SPOKANE, WASH.,
SOUSA PROPOSES BAND CIRCUITS
Famous Bandmaster Urges League of Cities to
Promote New Band Idea Which Should Meet
With Favor in Music Circles
The idea of co-operation among municipali-
ties for the advancement of band music has
just been brought forward by no less an au-
thority than John Philip Sousa. To the many
achievements of his famous career as band di-
rector and composer, Mr. Sousa, or rather Lieut.
Sousa, has now added the distinction of hav-
ing whipped into shape the mammoth 1500-piece
band of the Great Lakes, Illinois, Naval Train-
ing Station. His words relating to the future
of the American brass band are, therefore, of
more than passing importance.
"It has long been a dream of mine," says Mr.
Sousa, "and I sincerely hope its fulfillment is
near, that our various municipalities co-operate
and form band leagues, much on the order of
baseball leagues common to our country. These
leagues could be operated according to geo-
graphical position and size of population and
sustained by municipal appropriation during the
season of outdoor pleasures and entertainments.
each band making a circuit of its league cities,
playing, as the case may be. a week or two in
each city, town or village of its circuit. The
public, by this means, would have an oppor-
tunity to hear eight, ten or twelve bands, to
note the stimulating effect of novelty in music,
personality in conducting, and the best effort
in personnel."
.Vow that so many cities are establishing mu-
nicipal music commissions and civic music asso-
ciations, it is reasonable to believe that progress
will be made along the line of combinations
among them.
TRADE
NIGHT ENGINEER A VIOLIN MAKER
TALKS ON ORCHESTRA INSTRUMENTS
Chatham, N. Y., Man Has Made Several Violins
of Stradivarius Pattern
Metropolitan Museum of Art Conducting Series
of Discussions on Individual Instruments
Kvery man is said to have a hobby, and that
of Robert Westovcr of Chatham, N. Y., is the
making of violins, his first having been made
from a cigar box many years ago. Since that
time he has manufactured four, two of which
are now about to receive the finishing touches.
Mr. Westover is the night engineer in the
plant of the Chatham Electric Light, Heat &
Power Company, and the greater part of his
work on the instruments has been done in that
plant during his spare moments.
All of his violins are of the Stradivarius pat-
tern, the first having been made in 1914, the sec-
ond in 1915 and the other two in 1919. Those
made in 1914 and 1915 were made in Auster-
litz, where he formerly lived.
During this month the Metropolitan Museum
of Art will give on the regular days of its free
concerts a series of informal talks on the Or-
chestra. These will be given by Frances Mor-
ris, assistant curator of decorative arts, and will
call attention to the parts played by the indi-
vidual instruments in musical composition with
particular reference to the program of the eve-
ning. Miss Morris will be assisted by Mrs.
Henry L. de Forest at the piano, and the lec-
tures will be further illustrated by lantern slides
and instruments from the Crosby Brown collec-
tion of musical instruments.
One talk was already given on January 10,
and others will be on January 17, 24, and 31
in the lecture hall, beginning at 5 o'clock.
JAZZ AN INSTRUMENT OF GOD
FRITZ KREISLER'S FAMOUS VIOLINS
Philadelphia Clergyman Declares Jazz Epito-
Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist and Victor
mizes the Spirit of the Age—God Can Use artist, is the proud possessor of three extraor-
Jazz to Work Out Salvation of Mankind
dinary violins. One is a rather small Stradi-
various, not large in tone, but of exquisite quality.
Americans are living in a jazz age, the Rev. The second is a Cagliano, the work of one of
Dr. John Allan Blair told a congregation at the the earliest and most famous of the Italian vio-
centennial exercises in the Tabernacle Presby- lin makers. The instrument, however, that he
terian Church, held recently in Philadelphia.
uses the most is one made by Josef Guarneri del
The clergyman intimated that the church was Jcsu, which was formerly the property of the
meeting with difficulties owing to the ragtime great Wilhelmj. It is a large instrument, with
proclivities of the present generation, but, he the big, mellow tone characteristic of its kind,
said, God can use even a jazz age to work out and Kreisler uses it almost entirely when he
the salvation of mankind.
plays concertos with orchestra.
"Some one has said that Americans are wor-
shipers of the great god Jazz," Dr. Blair
told his congregation, which included many Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania students. "It may be
true that we are living in a jazz age. We are
living in an age where everything goes. We
are impatient under restraints.
"In Bolshevism we have in extreme form the
T H E OLDEST AND
thing which affects all of us.
LAROEST MUSICAL
"Jazz epitomizes the spirit of the age. Jazz
is the most popular dance and jazz is the most
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
popular music."
IN AMERICA
With jazz in the atmosphere, and even the
moral structure jazzing, Dr. Blair said the
HTAMJSMtO I M *
question confronting the church was whether it
should "quit or go on." The clergyman did
not take a pessimistic view of the situation; on
the contrary, he said the church has its greatest
Victor Distributors
task before it.
RONQ
A. BURDWISE
WHOLESALE
NEW YOM.K
MERCHANDISE
TIL iMrXrln
BEST STRINGS
JOHNFRIEDRICH&BRO.
SEND FOR
OUR
ALOGUES
3279HrTHAVE
t«"e« of
Superior Quality MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributor*
1108 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established over Half a century
Manufacturers
i m p o r t m and J«kbm •*
Buegeleisen & Jacobson
MUSICAL
BALTIMORE, MD.
BOSTON. MASS.
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
41
REVIEW
OLIVER DITSON CO.
DURRO
AND
STEWART
113 Untvmrstty Place
MUSIC
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
ESTABLISHED ISM
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
Nev Brunswick, N. J.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
42
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
JANUARY 17, 1920
CONDUCTED BY V. D. WALSH
HALF CENTURY IN MUSIC BUSINESS
Geo. H. Benzon, Dean of Philadelphia Music
Salesmen, Celebrates Fiftieth Business Anni-
versary—Entertained at Testimonial Dinner
Another Big One!
PHILADELPHIA, PA., January 12.—George H. Ben-
zon, who is hailed as the dean of Philadelphia
music salesmen, last week celebrated the fiftieth
anniversary of his connection with the sheet
music trade at a testimonial dinner given him
by his friends of the Theodore Presser Co., the
publishers, in the restaurant operated by that
company for its employes.
Mr. Benzon was first employed as an office
boy by the firm of Lee & Walker, Philadelphia,
in 1870. Five years later that company joined
with the Oliver Ditson Co. and became Phila-
delphia representatives for the Ditson house,
and Mr. Benzon remained with the organization
until 1909, when the local Ditson establishment
was closed. At that time he entered the em-
ploy of the Presser Co., where he has since re-
mained. In the course of his career Mr. Ben-
zon has enjoyed the friendship of numerous
artists, including Adelina Patti, Emma Abbott,
Theodore Thomas and others.
Eighty-two friends attended the testimonial
dinner, at which Theodore Presser presided as
toastmaster, and in honor of the event Mr. Ben-
zon was presented with a handsome gold ring.
Word* by
WILLIAM LE BARON
Music by
VICTOR JACOBI
CHAPPELL & CO., LTD., New York, London, Toronto, Melbourne
MANY-COLORED TITLE PAGES^RAPIDLY COMING IN VOGUE
Tendency Toward Better Class of Art Work on Sheet Music Appears to Be Sweeping the
Publishing Trade—Higher Prices for Editions Make Elaborate Productions Possible
Three years ago anyone who announced that
he was going to publish music with eight-color
title pages would have been regarded with
sympathetic sorrow by his competitors. Four-
color title pages from process plates were then
the limit and they were admired only from a
OUINCKE WITHJ5HARPE=MIN0R CO. distance
by the music publishers, with one or
Los Angeles Publisher Sells Out Interest in two venturesome exceptions.
But times have changed. A certain Hartford
Firm to Join Staff of New Publishing Concern
music publisher started the revolution in music
—Several New Numbers Just Released
titles a year and a half ago, when he boldly
W. A. Quincke, of Quincke & Co., music pub- announced and produced eight-color offset litho-
lishers, Los Angeles, Cal., recently disposed of graph covers for his high-priced editions.
his interests in that firm to Frank Brehm, of the Within six months the title page pot was boil-
Brehm Music Co., and has joined the recently ing. Publishers began a wild scramble to pro-
organized C. Sharpe-Minor Co., a publishing duce six, seven, eight and nine-color title pages
firm having a large staff of composers and which for their new publications, at first avoiding add-
contemplates opening up branch offices in all the ing the extra expense to their hits and trying
larger cities throughout the country. It is also them only on counter sellers. But the hits began
understood that there will be inaugurated a to appear in six and eight-color titles.
Now they say the dealers look askance at any
national advertising campaign to exploit the
works of the company on a big scale.
title page that has less than six colors. The
Chas. S. Sharpe-Minor is president, Earl day when the publisher raved over an engrav-
Burtnett is sales manager and John Cooper is ing bill for more than $20.72 for a title page has
become as passe as kings and emperors. The
professional manager of the new concern.
The following numbers have been released: music business has taken a distinctive step for-
"American Legion," described as the official Le- ward and the artistic sense of the customer is
gion song; "Common Oysters," a clever novelty appealed to in order to induce him to look
number; "I'm Walking in a Circle," a life song; inside the cover of sheet music.
Now comes the same Hartford publisher who
"Over the Trail to Mary," a new ballad by
Harry Kerr; "Suzan Doozan," by Byron Gay, started the fracas with eight-color ads on the
back of his music and beautiful landscapes
and "Baby Eyes."
"JUST ANOTHER
adorning the inside sheets. There is only one
step further to illustrating the music pages in
color and no one need be surprised to see repro-
ductions of expensive oil paintings interspersed
with the sharps and flats.
And that isn't all. The scramble to secure
expensive pastels and oil paintings for these
title pages has reached the proportions of a
riot in oil stock. One artist who used to sell his
art to a magazine and forget it now sells the
magazine the magazine rights only and then
secures without difficulty $200 to $400 for the
music title rights and after that still more for
calendar rights, regardless of the fact that six
and eight-color plates cost $200 to $400 addi-
tional. One jobber of art designs has sold at
least 300 pastels of well-known artists for from
$50 to $500. Many publishers are reported to
be bidding up on these pastels to even higher
figures for the drawings alone.
The investment necessary to operate a music
publishing business is greater than it used to be,
and this serves to make it more difficult for the
newcomer with $50 and a million dollars' worth
of confidence to butt in and overload a lot of
dealers with "the biggest hit of the season" and
then disappear into the great unknown of music
publishers' oblivion. The publisher takes a genu-
ine pride in his product. The composer feels
that he is appreciated almost as highly as
a book or magazine writer.
Last, but not least, the added expense of
HIT"
Just Another Kiss
A Waltz of Rare and Haunting
Don't Wait—Order To-day
Direct or Through Your Jobber
RICHMOND
PUBLISHER
14 5 West 4 5'-i st
HARRYj[COLLINS,^SalespvIanager
Charm
18c Per Copy

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