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JANUARY 8, 1921
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
POST-CHRISTMAS BUSINESS EXCELLENT IN ST. LOUIS
Sales Following Holiday Period Reach Good Totals—Kieselhorst Featuring Booklet on the Care
of the Piano—Sales of Used Pianos to Be Inaugurated to Prepare for New Stock
ever, it is best to place the instrument against
an inside wall, if possible.
"Do not subject the piano to extremes of
temperature, and especially avoid sudden
changes. Never less than forty degrees nor
more than one hundred degrees is the best rule.
If the piano is allowed to get down to freezing
temperature and then subjected to warm air it
sweats. Sweat, of course, is moisture, carrying
with it its accompanying ills. Many people
keep a piano in a cold room next to a stove-
heated room. In Winter the piano gets down
to freezing point and when they wish to use it
the door between the two rooms is opened and
the fire in the stove 'whooped up' and the
warm air from the warm room strikes the cold
piano and the instrument sweats, sometimes
causing a great amount of damage."
Manager Russell Elam, of the Scruggs, Van-
dervoort & Barney piano department, plans a
clearance sale of used and shopworn pianos
during January. He thinks the offerings he
will be able to make will stimulate business and
probably lead to some sales of new instru-
ments. There will be no price reductions on
new instruments.
J. F. Ditzell, manager of the Famous & Barr
Co. music salon, spent part of the holidays in
Chicago.
J. E. Reger, who was appointed manager of
The person who buys a piano or player and
the
St. Louis store of the Starck Piano Co.
has it installed in the house and never gives it
any attention has about as much chance of during 1920, has the satisfaction of reporting
getting good service from it as the person who that the company's Christmas business was 25
buys an automobile and never gives it any at- per cent greater than the preceding year. It
tention. That is the preachment of a pamphlet Was largely in players and uprights.
F. L. Augustine, of the Starck Piano Co.,
which has been issued by the Kieselhorst Piano
Co. giving instructions on the operation and spent part of the Chri-stmas holidays with rela-
care of an instrument. Owners are admon- tives at Highland, 111.
ished, for one thing, to keep the piano open.
The careful housewife who closes it as tightly
PRAISES TONK CONSTRUCTION
as possible with the idea that she is protecting
it is all wrong. "Keep the piano open as much Noted Musician i n Amsterdam, Holland, Sends
Interesting Letter to Wm. Tonk & Bro.
as possible," is the Kieselhorst advice, "espe-
cially the keyboard. This will have a tendency
Wm. Tonk & ISro., Thirty-sixth street and
to let the air circulate through the inside of
the instrument, which carries off any moisture Tenth avenue, New York, have at various times
that might be formed, and it helps to prevent received letters of commendation regarding the
discoloration of the keys. All keys in time will Tonk pianos and player-pianos from satisfied
become discolored, but they will discolor less customers, not only in this country, but also all
quickly if allowed to get as much light as over the world. But no opinion has been more
forcefully expressed than that in a letter which
possible."
was recently received from Carel Roest, promi-
This is the advice on placing the piano:
"Do not place a piano near a window that is nent pianist and organist, in Amsterdam, Hol-
habitually opened. Do not place a piano land. The letter came to Wm. Tonk & Bro.,
against an outside wall, or, if it is absolutely written in the native Dutch, and when trans-
necessary to so place it, allow sufficient room, lated was found to be as follows:
"The instrument, which has just arrived, is
about six or eight inches, between the wall and
The tone is
the back of the piano to allow circulation of summa summarum 'excellent.'
magnificent
and
as
a
whole
wonderfully
fine, a
air. In Winter the wall becomes cold, chills
the sounding-board of the instrument and the thing impossible with European makes. My
warm air of the room causes it to sweat. Gen- tuner has made an examination of the interior
erally, keeping the piano six or eight inches and finds it most perfectly constructed with
away from the wall will correct this. How- regard to its standing in tune qualities. This
is proof of the very clever construction (Bravo,
Mr. Tonk!). The pedal construction is excep-
tionally simple, yet efficient."
ST. LOUIS, MO., January 3.—It seems like the
number of people who buy pianos the week
after Christmas is on the increase. Several
St. Louis dealers remarked that the after-
Christmas sales were greater than in former
years and out of proportion to the general con-
ditions before Christmas. Christmas bonuses
probably have a good deal to do with it. Then
there are many who think that they can do
better after Christmas, and a good many peo-
ple are too busy during December to take the
time to buy a piano or player with the de-
liberateness which they think the occasion calls
for. In the case of people who are in business
the purchase of a Christmas piano is put off
until after Christmas to see how their own
Christmas business turned out. The after-
Christmas sales have not been of any one grade
of instruments. The sales have ranged from
used instruments to reproducers. Manager
Elam, of the Scruggs, Vandervoort & Barney
piano department, reports that the sales of
holiday week included two Sohmer players and
an Acoustigrand player. There was little ad-
vertising during the week between Christmas
and New Year's. Two or three houses made
bids for Christmas bonus money by calling
attention to advantageous uses to which it
could be put in purchasing pianos or players.
FOTOPLAYER
for the finest
Motion Picture
Theatres
The AMERICAN PHOTO
PLAYER CO.
San Francisco
New York
Chicago
WOOD CO. CLOSES NEW YORK OFFICE
After January 15 All Orders Will Be Handled
Direct From Boston Headquarters
BOSTON, MASS., January 3.—The B. F. Wood
Music Co., which recently occupied its modern
commodious new building at 88 St. Stephen
street, this city, has announced that its New
York office will be discontinued and that after
January 15 all orders will be filled direct from
Boston. It is felt that the facilities of the new
headquarters will permit of the quick handling
of all orders formerly taken care of in New
York, and music jobbers in various centers will,
of course, have stocks of B. F. Wood Music
Co. publications on hand to meet the require-
ments of the smaller dealers.
"The First Touch Tells"
The fame of our
Christman
Studio Grand
IS KNOWN THROUGH-
OUT the Land.
This distinction it derived
on account of its wonderful
Tone Quality
and
Construction
It stands in a class by itself,
there are no comparisons.
Investigate and convince
yourself.
Christman
Makers of
Grands, Uprights,
Players and
Reproducing Pianos
of Quality
"The First Touch Tells"
Registered U. S. Pat. Off.
Christman Piano Co.
597 E. 137th Street, New York