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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MARCH 19, 1921
A FITTING MONUMENT TO SOHMER PROGRESS—(Continued from page 8)
but has put into the business and into the instru-
ment those things that proper guidance, broad
experience and a thorough understanding of the
advance of the industry have shown to be wise
and warranted. The result has been that the
Sohmer instrument has ever kept its "place in
the sun" and has found a hearty and permanent
welcome not only in the homes of the elite, but
in public places, in concert halls, theatres and
in the great institutions of musical learning.
To Hugo Sohmer is credited the production of
what is said to be the first successful small
grand piano, which was originally placed on the
market close to thirty-seven years ago, and
which type of instrument has been one of the
leading factors in the Sohmer line constantly
since that time. This first small grand, of
course, subsequently was a subject of develop-
ment as a knowledge of small grand possibili-
ties increased, and that the Sohmer Cupid grand
to-day is one of the really popular instruments
of its class is simply the logical and worthy de-
velopment of that first small grand of nearly
four decades ago. The Sohmer instruments
generally, both grands and uprights, contain
numerous patented inventions of recognized
merit that have aided materially in winning for
the Sohmer line its present high position among
the leading pianos of the industry to-day.
As the production end of the business has
been watched and developed steadily with results
already noted and so generally recognized, the
distributing end has likewise received the consid-
eration due that important factor of the business.
Up to 1898 the Sohmer warerooms were main-
tained on Fourteenth street, then the heart of
the retail piano district, and from these ware-
rooms were distributed many thousands of Soh-
mer instruments. In that year (1898) the re-
tail warerooms were moved to what was known
as the Sohmer Building at Twenty-second street
and Fifth avenue, this new location, too, being
in the recognized retail piano section. Approxi-
mately ten years later the retail department of
Sohmer & Co. made another move toward the
north, this time to Thirty-second street and
Fifth avenue, a location which until last year was
most familiar to those who had occasion to buy
or be interested in pianos and player-pianos.
Through all the years, however, it was found
that a permanent re-
tail home for the Soh-
mer was not only de-
sirable but distinctly
necessary, and, with
this end in view, the
final selection was the
location at 31 West
Fifty - seventh street,
in the exclusive busi-
ness and residential
district adjacent
to
upper Fifth
avenue
and in close proxim-
ity to Carnegie Hall,
the recognized musi-
cal center of the city.
It was on this loca-
tion that there was
erected, and has since
been
occupied,
the
magnificent
m o n u-
ment to the Sohmer
institution, a six-story,
white-fronted
build-
ing, of original design
both i nside and out,
and
laid
out
and
equipped with all the
requirements
of
a
high-class, efficiently
Music Roll Department,
conducted retail piano business.
To attempt to enlarge upon the attractiveness
of the new Sohmer Building would represent an
almost futile effort, because from the standpoint
of both architectural and interior decoration it is
a structure that re-
quires personal
in-
spection in order that
its charms may be
fully appreciated. The
ground floor, and for
that matter the second
floor, which is in re-
ality a deep mezza-
nine, is glass-fronted
and through this great
spread of plate glass
the magnificent inte-
rior of the main floor
salon, with its rich ar-
chitecture and mural
decorations, and its
furniture
thoroughly
in keeping, is spread
before the gaze of the
passer-by. One of the
accompanying
illus-
trations gives some
idea of the general
aspect of this interior
and brings out with
particular
clearness
the details of the ceil-
ing decoration. This
may be said to be of
a sort unique among
New York's business
establishments of any
class. As the visitor
enters the main door-
way he comes almost
face to face with a
handsome full - sized
portrait in oil of Hugo
Sohmer, founder of
the business, imbed-
ded in the wall over
a magnificently carved
mantelpiece. To those
Reception Room on Main Floor of Sohmer Headquarters
familiar with the his-
tory of the House of Sohmer this subtle
and at the same time magnificent tribute
is readily appreciated. Scattered about the main
salon are to be found two or three representa-
tive instruments of the Sohmer line, with a hand-
some grand as the centerpiece. There is also
to be found in the rear an elaborately equipped
With Reproducing Grand Room in the Rear
talking machine department, where Victrolas and
Victor records arc handled exclusively under the
immediate direction of George Kreger. This
is a new department for Sohmer & Co. and with
its great battery of sound-proof booths, finished
in French gray, and the well-stocked record
racks, it is distinctly up to the minute.
On the second, or mezzanine, floor are found
Memorial Mantel to Hugo Sohmer
the general retail sales offices, together with the
desks of the salesmen, and from this vantage
point an unusual view of the main salon is ob-
tained, especially when the special lighting ef-
(Continued on page 10)