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NOVEMBES 18, 1922
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
NEWS FROM TTO TWIN CITIES
BETTER BUSINESS IN ST. LOUIS
Unfavorable Weather Conditions Act as a
Handicap to Retail Music Trade—Dealers
Anticipate Better Conditions Shortly
Steady Improvement Shown in Demand for
Musical Instruments Augurs Well for Holi-
day Trade—Several Visitors in Town
14.—Business con-
14.—Damp and dark weather has reacted as a tinues on the upgrade and if it takes hard pull-
depressant on barter and trade in the North- ing to keep it there that is no more than
west for a fortnight past. October proved to natural. The going is not so stiff but that the
be a nice month, but November has been dis- right kind of pulling will maintain the pace.
appointing in its yield. Possibly the distrac There are some who say the old thing is about
tions attending the elections also contributed at a standstill, but it may be that these are they
to the lack of interest in commerce. Generally who do less than their share of the pulling.
speaking, piano sales have been considerably As instances of what can be done by the right
greater than they were a year ago in these kind of work take the Aeolian Co. and the
times and merchants hope for a favorable sea- piano department of the Scruggs, Vandervoort
& Barney Co. The Aeolian Co. sells, mostly,
son until after the holidays.
It must be recognized that the farmers high-priced instruments, and W. P. Chrisler,
throughout the Northwest are none too pros- head of the new company which has taken over
perous. With grain and potatoes the staple the local Aeolian establishment, says the No-
crops in large sections of the Northwest, and vember business so far is the best that the
with the bottom gone from under in both lines store has had in all the years that it has been
of produce, the farmers have little purchasing in St. Louis. On the other hand the appeal of
power and much less purchasing mood. Yet the Scruggs department, for the time being, is
the Northwestern merchants will have a fairly to people who do not want to spend much.
Manager Russell Elam has been featuring a
profitable holiday trade.
special
bargain player and has not only been
J. L. Pofahl, long manager of the music de-
partment of the Golden Rule store, has ac- selling scads of them, but has found it com-
quired an interest in the Peyer Music Co. and paratively easy to sell higher-priced instruments
will put on additional steam, as he will now be to more than half of the customers who have
largely working for himself. Charles Haven called for the cheap ones. On the special prop-
will have charge of the piano department of the osition trade-ins were excluded and even on
Golden Rule and Gregory Zoller of the Victrola sales of higher-priced instruments the trade-in
department. Mr. Pofahl left Saturday evening valuations were very low. More than that, pur-
chasers have shown a willingness to buy the
for Chicago and Buffalo on a buying trip.
cheap player at better terms than were offered.
Minneapolis is doing nice things by the piano These were $25 down and $10 a month, but
merchants, according to President S. W. Manager Elam says practically all buyers have
Raudenbush, of Raudenbush & Sons. If their voluntarily paid more down, ranging usually
Minneapolis branch is a barometer of business, from $100 to $200, and have voluntarily as-
the other piano houses are doing very well. sumed larger monthly payments. An increased
He remarks, however, that the "good old times" interest in players at $650 and $700 has been
have not yet arrived and that they possibly noted. There is some buying already for
have been delayed until the Fall of 1923.
Christmas delivery. Good quality grands pre-
Steinway pianos continue to sell well, both dominate in purchases of this character. Two
at the Metropolitan Music Co. and W. J. Dyer holidays, Election Day and Armistice Day, cut
& Bro., according to W. J. Dyer. The grand into business somewhat during the week.
models are doing better than the uprights, pro-
A Victor Salesmanship Class yesterday began
portionally, and the fine grades of all lines show
better results than the medium grades. In this a four-day coarse at the Claridge Hotel, con-
respect there has been no change for several ducted by F. A. Delano and T. L. Husselton
years. Four smaller types of pipe organs were of the Victor factory and supported by the Tri-
State Victor Dealers' Association, as well as
sold last week by W. J. Dyer & Bro.
local Victor wholesalers. Close to one hundred
dealers and salesmen registered for the course,
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOREIGN TRADE
which has proven so successful in other cities.
National Foreign Trade Council Announces A feature of convention week was the appear-
Completion of Valuable Work of Interest to ance of the Eight Victor Artists at the Odeon
Theatre last night. •
Firms Doing Business in Foreign Lands
Ernest Urchs, of Steinway & Sons, New
The completion of a Selected Bibliography of York, was here during the past week.
P. E. Conroy, president of the Conroy Piano
Foreign Trade, 1922, in which are listed the
leading authorities on various aspects of inter- Co., made a business trip to Chicago last week.
national commerce, is announced by the Na- Gordon Laughead, of the Apollo Piano Co.,
tional Foreign Trade Council, of India House, Dekalb, 111., was in St. Louis last week.
Theodore Maetten, of the Kieselhorst Piano
Hanover Square, New York, from whom copies
can be obtained. This five-foot book-shelf of Co., celebrated the opening of the duck season
foreign trade contains fifty titles dealing with by spending the week-end at Winfield, on the
training for foreign trade, the history and geog- Mississippi, shooting a few.
Earl Holland, of the Q R S Music Co.,
raphy of foreign trade, the practical administra-
tion of an export business and with all phases Chicago, was here part of last week.
J. H. Cropp, formerly with the Hammann-
of ocean transportation.
Levin Piano Co., Baltimore, Md., has joined the
sales organization of the Kieselhorst Piano Co.
Stanley G. Smith, formerly with the Lehman
Piano Co. here, but latterly in Dallas Tex., has
been appointed sales manager of the Conroy
Piano Co.
Gustav Behning, of the Behning Piano Co.,
New York, was here last week.
"Perfected"
"Crown"
J. F. Ditzell, manager of the Famous & Barr
Highest acoustic excellence dating back to the
Co. piano department, has returned from a busi-
days of Jonas Chickering. Took prize over whole
ness trip to Chicago and New York.
world at Paris, 1900. For generations the
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, MINN., November
9
REVIEW
ST. LOUIS, MO., November
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ACOUSTIC DEPARTMENT
306 3. LA SALLE ST.. CHICAGO
REJOINS STARR CO. STAFF
THOMAS A. EDISON, Inc.
J. F. Hussey, associated with the Starr Piano
Co., in Dayton, O., a number of years ago, has
returned to that concern after an absence of
several years.
ORANGE, NEW JERSEY