Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1922 Vol. 75 N. 6

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
8
CONTINUOUS ADVERTISING
(Continued from page 7)
maud will absorb some of the surplus stock which
is now being manufactured, but unless the piano
manufacturers give approximately as much
thought and attention to their merchandising
plans as they do to their manufacturing plans
they will find that they have not reaped the
greatest possible benefit from the increased op-
portunity which the Fall will bring.
The old adage concerning the stone worn away
by the continuous dropping of water applies
forcefully to the theory of advertising. Hogs-
heads of water can be splashed on a rock and do
no more than wash away the grit, but the same
volume of water, if allowed to fall, drop by drop,
on a given point, will start an erosion that even-
tually will wear away the entire stone. So it is
with advertising. Spasmodic splashes of pub-
licity will produce only a temporary effect, but
continuous, consistent, all-the-year-round adver-
tising, because of its cumulative effect, will pro-
duce a volume of profitable business that will
practically insure the wise advertiser against
hard times, lack of demand, seasonal slumps and
all the other evils which come to the man or the
industry which does not rightly use the greatest
of all modern business-producing forces—con-
sistent advertising.
TO GIVE AWAY A STEGER GRAND
Steger & Sons Mfg. Co. to Exhibit Instrument
at Pageant of Progress—Lucky Visitor to Dis-
play Will Be the Winner of the Instrument
CHICAGO, I I I . , August 1.—The feature of the
Steger & Sons Piano Mfg. Co.'s exhibit at the
Cyrena Van Gordon and Jacquiline Cour
Pageant of Progress will be a small Steger grand.
This artistic instrument will be given away free
at the end of the exposition to a lucky visitor
to the Steger display. To qualify as a possible
winner it is only necessary to register one's name
and address at the Steger booth. All visitors who
register will have an equal opportunity of win-
ning.
A few days ago Miss Cyrena Van Gordon, fa-
mous prima donna of the Chicago Grand Opera
Co., and Miss Jacquiline Cour, six years old, Chi-
cago's youngest accompanist, visited the Steger
warerooms to inspect the grand which is to be
given away. The photographer snapped them
while they were giving a brief concert for the
retail department.
AUGUST 5,
1922
NEW KIMBALL AGENCY
STRIKES AFFECT BUFFALO TRADE
McCormack Music Co. Secures Agency for Kim-
ball Line in Portland, Ore.—H. M. Hulme
Visits Local Dealers—Other News
Music Dealers Find Economic Disturbances
Cause Slump in Demand for Musical Instru-
ments—Schuler Store Being Enlarged
PORTLAND, ORE., July 28.—The McCormack Mu-
sic Co., Inc., has been made the exclusive Port-
land agent for the Kimball piano and also is
the factory distributor for the Kimball in this
section. The company has received a large ship-
ment of instruments, consisting of uprights,
grands and players, which have been placed on
display in the store on upper Washington street.
Mr. McCormack expects to place the Kimballs
in many homes this Fall and says business can-
not but be good with such crops as the North-
west has enjoyed this year. The firm has placed
C. M. Johnson in charge of its piano depart-
ment. Mr. Johnson comes to the Pacific Coast •
from Kansas, where he was connected with the
C. M. Johnson Piano Co. He was later man-
ager of the piano department of the Carstenson-
Anson Co., of Salt Lake City, and just before
coming to Portland was at Boise, Idaho, with
the Sampson Music Co.
The MacDougall Music Co. has added C. D.
Haines to its sales force. For the present Mr.
Haines is not assigned to any particular de-
partment.
Last week the Portland dealers were visited
by H. M. Hulme, the Western representative of
the Packard Piano Co., who has his headquar-
ters in Omaha, Neb. Mr. Hulme conferred with
H. G. Johnson, of the H. G. Johnson Piano Co.,
which firm is the Portland representative of the
Packard, and then he paid his respects to all the
other music dealers. Mr. Hulme was accom-
panied by his wife and sou and motored across
the country, and
thus
combined
business
w i t h
p l e a s u r e . Mr.
Hulme stated that
he found business
conditions on the
upgrade at every
point he visited.
While
at
Salt
Lake City he ar-
ranged the ap-
p o i n t m e n t of
Beesley Music Co.
to represent the
Packard at that
point.
The manager of
the roll depart-
ment of .the Bush
& Lane Piano Co.,
H e n r y Arcand,
says that they
have had a big de-
mand for "The
Sneak'' and "No-
body Lied." He
says that business
in his department
is much more ac-
tive than lie ex-
pected, t h o u g h
many of his regu-
lar customers are
and the Steger Grand
still away.
Robert M. Brown, who has had charge of the
small goods department of the Bush & Lane
Piano Co. for the past eleven months, has re-
signed and gone to Oakland, Cal., where he has
joined the force of the Musical Instrument Co.
Mr. Brown will be greatly missed by the many
friends that he made during his stay in Port-
land. He has been succeeded by E. J. Meyers,
who has been connected with Grinnell Bros.,
Detroit, Mich., for the past twelve years as a
salesman.
The Bush & Lane Portland branch was vis-
ited last week by Charles T. Corbin, the Pacific
Northwest representative of the company, who
has his headquarters at Seattle. He reported
good prospects for the Fall.
BUFFALO, N. Y., August 1.—Strikes continue to
have their effects upon the Buffalo retail trade.
Dealers are finding it especially hard to close
contracts at this time, not only with railroad
workers but with other industrial employes be-
cause of the uncertainty of future employment.
Buffalo has two great groups of industries, one
being transportation and the other iron and
steel. Both are feeling effects of the miners'
and shopmen's strikes.
Except to slow up collections the trolley strike
has not had a very great effect on the music
trades within the past week as shoppers are
becoming accustomed to the jitney service, un-
certain as it is.
When these factors are considered it is not
strange to find reports that July business was
disappointing to the vast majority of dealers
here. Piano and player business has not suf-
fered the decline that is general in most lines.
Talking machine departments and stores have
been the most hard hit by the industrial dis-
orders.
Despite poor business in July dealers are con-
fident that once the strikes are ended there will
be a revival of business on a most substantial
scale. It is toward this period that dealers are
looking. And while they are looking they are
planning intensive campaigns that promise to
make Fall trade the best in many months.
The John G. Schuler Piano Co. is being sub-
stantially enlarged. The firm has just taken
over the store adjoining its present quarters in
Main street, near Utica street. The two rooms
are being thrown together and will be occupied
as a single unit, thus doubling the firm's display
space. New show windows are being installed
and new fixtures are being provided. When the
alterations are completed the firm will have one
of the largest and finest retail establishments
in western New York. To make room for the
carpenters, who are busy making the alterations,'
the company has been conducting an usually
successful expansion sale.
The new store of Goold Bros., at Medina, has
been opened and is doing a good business. The
manager, G. V. Lynch, was formerly a resident
of Medina and is renewing old friendships. The
new store will carry a line of pianos, players
and talking machines. Later other departments
may be added.
Mrs. Bessie Greenwood has been appointed
as representative of C. Kurtzmann & Co., at
Batavia, N. Y. She has opened a new studio
and salesrooms at 36 South Main street, Batavia,
and has purchased a stock of more popular
Kurtzmann models and has also stocked sev-
eral renewed instruments. Mrs. Greenwood's new
studios are being visited by many Batavia shop-
pers. Her store promises to be a valuable ad-
dition to the Kurtzmann chain, which extends
from coast to coast.
Stephen Tilly, of the Niebels Bros, store, at
Dunkirk, is recovering from injuries which he
received when the automobile in which he was
riding dropped 30 feet over a cliff. Mr. Tilly
jumped to safety when the machine became un-
manageable, but received painful cuts and bruises.
Plans are being made for activities of the
music trades group of the Buffalo Chamber of
Commerce. C. N. Andrews, chairman of the
group, is planning resumption of meetings early
in September.
PIANO MARKETJN PALESTINE
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 3.—A mercantile
firm in Palestine is in the market for player-
pianos, according to an inquiry received by the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, this
city. Quotations should be c. i. f. Jaffa. Refer-
ences are offered. For further information com-
municate with the Bureau or any of its district
offices and refer to File No. 3029.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
AUGUST 5, 1922
INCREASING EMPLOYMENT HELPS MILWAUKEE DEALERS
Better Economic Conditions Reflected in Increased Demand for Musical Instruments—Local Music
Merchants to Exhibit at Coming Show—Personals and News of the Week
MILWAUKEE, WIS., August 1.—Increased employ-
ment in practically every line of industry in Wis-
consin, Milwaukee territory especially, is re-
flected in good sales of musical instruments of
every description. The average family now has
a working capital and, with conditions improv-
ing rapidly, a small surplus has been set aside
by the music lover for the purchase of instru-
ments to satisfy the taste for music.
During the past month 12,340 placements were
made by employment offices in Wisconsin, the
report of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission
states. Little unemployment is now seen among
the skilled workers and as for common labor
every factory in the city with few exceptions has
Help Wanted signs posted. All this makes for
a steadying undertone in the music houses and in-
struments that six months ago were stagnant
are now moving at a brisk pace.
The same can be said of the country trade.
The average small-town dealer had little to do
in the Spring of the year and, naturally, he ex-
pected, as is customary, a regular Summer slack-
ening period to arrest what feeble motion his
stocks had. To his surprise, with the returns
from harvest coming in showing a bumper yield
in the offing, rural trade began to improve and
is now on a par with that of the city music house
owner.
Getting Ready for Exposition
All Milwaukee music house merchants are
pointing their sales and displays to the Fourth
Annual Food and Household Exposition, to be
held in the Municipal Auditorium, October 23 to
29, inclusive. The musical instrument depart-
ment will be the biggest ever held in Milwaukee.
The displayer will get his product demonstrated
to nearly 100,000 people in a week's time. The
exposition will be a wonderful means of not
only getting good publicity, but of securing direct
sales as well. Spaces are going fast as dealers
hurry to get their exhibitions placed.
Brunswick Line for the Bradford Co.
The J. B. Bradford Piano Co., Milwaukee, has
just been appointed representative of the Bruns-
wick talking machines and records. The com-
pany announces this as "an added feature to the
institution's music service—another step for-
ward emphasizing Bradford's position as Milwau-
kee's foremost distributor of phonographs and
records."
The announcement features the
Georgian, a Brunswick period model de luxe.
The famous Isham Jones dance records, "Don't
Bring Me Posies," "Pilgrim Blues," "Samson and
Delilah," "On the Alamo" and "Just a Little
Love Story," are featured. New art display
rooms will be opened for the display of period
types of the machines, it was announced by Hugh
W. Randall, president of the company.
Featuring Q R S Foreign Word Rolls
Edmund Gram, Inc., is sending out additions
to music roll libraries in the form of Q R S
foreign word rolls. They are selected from the
favorites of German, Jewish, Spanish and Ital-
THE LEADING LINE
WEAVERPIANOS
Grands, Uprights
and Players
YORK PIANOS
Uprights and Players
LIVINGSTON PIANOS
Uprights and Player-Pianos
If your competitor does not already have this
line, go after it at once.
Weaver Piano Co., Inc.
FACTORY
YORK, PA.
EttablUhed 1870
ian libraries. German features are: "Bunimel
Petrus", Intermezzo; "Schnitzel-Bank," Humor-
istisches Lied; "Kuessen ist Keine Suend,"
Walzerlied.
Kesselman-O'Driscoll Remodeling
Kesselman - O'Driscoll, one of Milwaukee's
largest music houses, is refurnishing its display
and demonstration rooms. Separate rooms have
been arranged for the various modeled phono-
graphs; a red room, deep red velvet draperies,
carries out the color scheme of mahogany con-
sole model phonographs; a blue room, with blue
draperies, upholstering and oil paintings that
carry out the general effect of blue, exhibits the
upright model phonographs; the same schemes
are used in the upright piano demonstration room
for the different models, a different room for each
make; the feature of the displays is the large,
tastefully furnished Ampico room, the largest and
most costly of all the company's displays. An-
other make that has separate rooms is the Mar-
shall-Wendell. The Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co.
has during the fiscal year just closed sold 105
Knabes with the Ampico. Three of the highest-
priced instruments were sold during the past
week.
Featuring Brunswick Records
Charles J. Orth, Inc., find the following the
favorites in their record department: "Kitten on
the Keys," "Stumbling," "Lovable Eyes," "Lone-
some Mamma" and "Swanee River Moon." The
Orth house recently introduced a novel exhibit
at the appearance of the famous Isham Jones
Orchestra in Milwaukee. A Brunswick phono-
graph, featuring Brunswick records that the
Isham Jones Orchestra played at performances,
was exhibited in the lobby of the Palace Theatre,
where the famous musicians were booked. Over
sixty calls for Isham Jones' records were re-
ceived the following morning, centering around
"Stumbling," the then popular record of the day.
. Organize Orchestra for Broadcasting
The largest and most completely equipped radio
department and radio broadcasting station in the
Northwestern music houses is the claim of the
TRADE NEWS FROM THE TWIN CITIES
Agricultural Outlook Is Excellent, Giving Music
Merchants Genuine Reason for Optimism—
Dyer Employes Hold Enjoyable Outing
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, MINN., August 1.—
News about pianos is not plentiful in these lati-
tudes, but as a sort "of compensation there is an
abundance of crop news. It seems that the mer-
chants are just about as much interested in wheat
and corn and potatoes as they are in grands,
players and uprights, as the latter really never
were much as hot-weather subjects anyway. As
far as the crops are concerned, we may only re-
iterate what has been said in previous letters.
The crops will be big. There will be some rust
damage to wheat, but other grain crops appear
to have suffered little damage and there is no
danger now of any general devastation. The in-
dustrial conditions are not satisfactory, by any
means, but there is very little worry just now,
as the general impression is that even though the
strikes are not settled the railroads are gaining
right along and if not molested will be enabled
to organize full shop crews within a short time.
There is a feeling also that the Federal and State
governments soon will have the fuel situation
well in hand.
W. J. Dyer & Bro. took an outing last Satur-
day. To the number of about 200 they boarded
the big steamer "Red Wing" and bore off for
Grey Cloud Island, about twenty miles down
the Mississippi River, where they spent the after-
noon and evening in dancing, sack racing and
other standard sports. The piano business needs
very little attention these days, according to
Vice-president Johnston, as there is not enough
of it.
Manager J. L. Pofahl, of the music depart-
9
Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co., which has another
lead to make for supremacy in musical circles in
the form of the "Kesselman-O'Driscoll Melody
Boys," who have become popular overnight, as
it were, through the company's broadcasting sta-
tion. The melody boys arc now prime favorites
and are listened to with State-wide approval when
their appearance is noted on the company's radio
program. D. A. Bock is the director of the
Melody Boys, a five-piece orchestra—piano, vio-
lin, banjo, saxophone, drums and xylophone. The
various makes advertised through this medium
are: Buescher, Knabe, Vega and Deagan.
Displaying the Kurtzmann
A Kurtzmann grand piano forms the center-
piece of the Summer display of the Flanner-
Hafsoos Music House this week. Around the
large Kurtzmann are grouped several of the
smaller "cottage pianos" for Summer homes.
Vega banjos, ukuleles and other stringed instru-
ments, popular sellers in warm weather, are ex-
hibited.
Wurlitzer Branch to Move
Wurlitzer's Milwaukee branch, 525 Grand
avenue, announces that on September 1 the new
home of the company will be located at 421
Broadway street, Milwaukee. Increased business
and the need for large display space have been
given as the reason for the removal to larger
quarters. The Martin line of instruments has
been added to the Milwaukee branch lines and
will be displayed in the company's new quar-
ters on Broadway street.
A Display of "Stumbling" Records
_ The Winter Piano Co. has an attractive and
attention-compelling display of phonograph rec-
ords that would pay other music house dealers
to copy. One hundred Columbia records of
the new dance hit, "Stumbling," are displayed
in the company's Grand avenue window. The
records with a royal blue center arc displayed on
separate mounds of a rich blue velvet drape that
slopes up gradually from the horizon of the
passing street traffic to the center of the window.
Three horizontal cards, bearing the name
"Stumbling" in blue letters, are attached to the
window. The display is neat, well balanced and
artistic and has not the usual fault of record
exhibits, that of giving an overcrowded appear-
ance.
ments of the Golden Rule store, came to town
from his Northern retreat to look over the sales
report. He found an increase in both the piano
and the Victrola departments. Sales of Kurtz-
mann grand pianos had placed the piano de-
partment ahead of the 1921 record.
"You may tell the readers of The Review that
Foster & Waldo Co. are entirely satisfied with
their Summer's efforts. It is away ahead of the
totals for last year and the outlook is the finest
we have seen for many, many years," said
an officer of the company this week. "No doubt
there has been some temporary and local inter-
ference on account of the strikes, but, on the
whole, the Northwest appears to be decidedly
on the upgrade."
Inquiries at the stores of the Stone Piano
Co., Cable Piano Co., Hurley-Moren-Frank Co.,
M. L. McGinnis & Co. and P. A. Starck Piano
Co. all indicated that business has been uni-
formly satisfactory and that everybody is happy.
American
Piano Wire
"Perfected"
"Crown"
Highest acoustic excellence dating back to the
days of Jonas Chickering. Took prize over whole
world at Paris, 1900. For generations the
standard, and used on the greatest number of
pianos in the world.
Services of our Acoustic Engineer always available — free
Illustrated books—free
American Steel & Wire
ACOUSTIC DEPARTMENT
aOO 3. LA SALLE ST., CHICAGO
Company

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