OCTOBER 20, 1923
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA SEASON PROVES A BIG SUCCESS
Dealers Find Event Already Reflected in Business-Lauter-Humana for Antipodes-Alex Mc
Donald Visiting Local Trade-Mark P. Campbell Expected-Clark Wise & Co . Anniversary
SA N FRAN CISCO, CAL., Octo ber 12.- N ot only
artistically, but financially, the fir st season of
the San Fra nci s co Opera Association, whi ch
clo sed this week, was a succ ess. Th e sea so n
la s ted less th a n two weeks and toward the end
scats w e re almost at a premium. The chorus,
composed of local singers, had been rehear s ing
for months. The condu ctors and most of th e
,olo ist s were well-known p e rform ers, mo s t of
tl1 em coming W est for the season; the reper
toir e was a judicious combination of tried and
true favorites and of works that wer e prac
tically noyelti es to San Francisco audi ences .
Much civic prid e has b ee n aroused by the suc
cess of wh a t wa s virtually a community opera
sea son, and the de alers, who rea son fronl C1U SC
to effect, arc wis hin g mor e qren g lh, y ea r by
yea r, to th e infant San Franr:i sco Op e ra \ 55 0
cia tion.
Lauter-Humana for the Antipodes
The Hauschildt Mu sic Co.'s San Fran cisco
Slore is shipping a Lautcr-Hulll a n
to-day to th e A ntip o des, becaus e its ton e l-!a ve
m o re pl easure to a we ll-kno wn Ncw Zealander
than any other playe r h e co uld find, A. Do(ho n,
member of a firm o f \vool export e rs of \Vc ll ing
ton, N. Z., was in San Francis co on bu sine ss
re ce ntly and re solved to selec t a pla y er for his
hom e. He visited a number of establishm ents
and finally select ed th e Laut er-Humana, a
Hauschildt lin e, becau se its pla y in g app ealed
most strongl y to him . Mr. Dodson's choice
was made only after hearing many pla y ers,
McDonald Comes Purely on Business
Alex McDona ld has wir ed from N ew Orle ans
to She rm an, Cla y & Co . that he will b e in Sa n
Franci sco within a few days. .\ccording to
kichard Ahlf, of Sh e rman, Clay & Co., :Mr. Id c
Donald' s visit is in th e inte rests of So hm e r &
Co., o ne of the Sherman, Clay & Co. lin es. T h,
last time Mr. McDonald visileu the cit y he h;cd
te mporarily pU,t his Soh Ill er acti v ities in to tite
ba ckground to do As soc iation Illusi cal lll i" io n
ary work.
• Smiles, for He Gets His Share
Gibson McConnell, propri etor of the M cC Oll
nell Musie Co. , Sutter str eet, n ea r Grant av enu e,
finds that the dem a nd is for ,good instrument s,
in which there is a sh or tage. " \'\ ' e ha ve to tak e
th em as we can ge t th em ," sai d :1'1'1'. } [cConn ell ,
and he added cheerfully: " I'm ge tting my share,
so I can 't co mplain ." !\ rece nt visitor to th e
M c Connell Mu s ic Co. was Mr. POller, repre
sent a ti ve of the R egal Piano & Player Co., Inc.,
one of the McConnell lin es. ::--lr. Potter also
rep resent s Ri cca & Son. Mr. Potter has now
continued hi s journe y, wrlich includ es th e J'a
r ifi c Northwest.
Mark P. Campbell Expected
Beeman P . Sib ley is visiting th e Sacralllcnto
Ya lley on a two-da y trip , which h e co uld cur
tail on bri ef, noti ce. Th e Pa cific Co as t re pre ·
sentative of the Kohler Indus tries is expec tin g
Ma rk P. Campbell, president of the Bramhach
Piano Co., and h e wants to b e on hand to w el
come him to San Franci sco. Not that ::--1r.
Campbe ll is any stranger to Califo rnia, but his
annual vi sit is a lways an ev ent looked forward
to by his many friends and associate. in th e
trade. At Sherman, Clay & Co .'s th ey hav e
b ee n trying for over a we ek to fi gure out th e
exact day on which Mr. Campbell m a y be ex
pected. Th ey think it will be nex t M o nday,
President of Schumann Visits City
'
mann Piano Co., of Rockford, Ill., has b ee n
v isiting San Franci sco in the cour se of a Pacifi c
Coas t trip. The Hauschildt Piano Co., Schu
mann deal ers, has just rec eived several car
loads of th e new two-tone Schumann grands
" nd H e nry Hau schildt stat es th at there is such
a good demand for them that they are going
rapidly.
Clark Wise & Co. are ob serving th e thirty
fifth anniversary of the founding of their store
by holding special sales of both pianos and
phonographs.
Veteran Owes His Life to Music
This week's police records show that Roder
ick Gillan, twenty-nine, a World War veteran,
!l. assed overseas, sti ll liv es because of music.
For da ys he ha d sought in vain for the work
that is hard to get for an y but the physically
fit. The streets he- tramped were gay with
bunting to welcome the American Legion Con
vention. It reminded him of the time when
he had starte d out for "over there," but now
he was forgotten. Finally, in his room at 2516
L.ombard street, h e took out a 38-caliber shell,
c he rished as a souvenir of ser vic e days. His
pist o l lon g since pawned, he held the bullet
O\'e r his hea rt with a pair of pliers. Just as
he began to squeeze upon the percussion cap
a neighbor's phonograph started to play "The
lvIars eillaisc." Gillan's hand faltered , the bull et
exp loded, hut only graz ed hi s s hould er and
burned his h a nd. The ma rti al mu sic had
a "oused a fightin g ~ pirit that ma de him resol ve
to 1 i \' c.
DE FOREST SELLS WARREN, 0., STORE
Stewart-Edison Co. Take Over Business of De
Forest Music Co. in That City
\
lllade of the sa le of the De Forest Music Co.
i O the St ewart-Edi,on Co. of this ci ty, the new
o wne rs taking po ssession October 20. The sale
includ l's the fixture s and th e Vi ctor agenc y. Mr.
De Forest opened a sale this week to dispose
of his stoc k of pianos. The store here has been
a rea l musical center and in making the an
nouncement Mr. D e Forest expre ssed hi s regret
in leavin g the cit y. He is h eavil y interested in
Itu -i ncs s in Creen villc and Sharon, Pa ., and his
il1l <;"(';,[5 t i, e re have become so extensive that
It ~ d ecided to clo,e the lo ca l store.
The Stew
"rI- Fdis o n ('0. has be en in busin ess her e for
-cvera l ye ars , opcrating an Edison sh op on
North l'ark ave llu e. Robert :-Iarkley, who ha ~
bce n m a nager of th e De Forest store since it
\\'a, opened, will soon open it for the exclusive
-aie o f Brunswick machines and record s.
DEATH OF CHARLES A. LEE
Popular Traveler for Q R S Music Co. Dies in
Plainfield, N. ]., on October 11
Charles A. Le e, for the past five years COll
I'ccted with the New York headquarters of th e
Q R S Music Co., as trav eling representative,
a 'i we ll as mana ge r of the compa ny' s Pittsbur g h
b, an ch, di ed on October II at a ho spital in
Plainfi e ld, ~. J., to whic h he had been removed
from hi s home in that city following a sudden
recurrenc e of trouble due to an operation.
Funera l services were held on last Saturday
af ternoon at the home of his parents, 50
Gro ve street, Plainfield, and were attended by
Illan y friends and business associates. In addi
tio n to his parents, Mr. Lee is survived by a
young widow and six youn ge r brothers and
s ist ers.
WILLIAM TONK ON VACATION
William Tonk, president of William Tonk
& Bro., New York, accompanied by Mrs. Tonk,
is is at present enjoying a wel1-earned va ca tion
ill Stamford, N. Y., a popular resort with piano
men, where he declares he is en joying a rest
a nd a change- of thought.
George A, Cassedy, proprietor of a music
concern in Schenectady, N. Y., has just pur
chased a t wo-s tory frame dwelling at 24 Jay
street, which will be remodeled as a business
place.
9
Player-Piano
NOTES
FROM THE LAUTER-HUMANA
FACTORY, NEWARK, N. J.
LAUTER-HUMANA IS
STRONGLY CONSTRUCTED
Back Bolt Is One of Its Features
Exclusive Patented Device Has Displaced Ordi
nary Lag Screw
Among oth e r thin g<, th e Lauter-Huillanct
play er-piano is noted for its dur abilit y. Thi s
is uu e to thr extrl'mc care that is exe r ci,cd in
its manufacture. \V ere yo u to visit the lll c ucrn
pl a nt in which this pl ay er-pi a no is mad2, yo u
would see on ly th e vcry best materials and a n
organizatio n of th e most sk ill ed wo rkme n.
One of the featur es th at always impre ss es
an y dealer who in spect s the Lauter line is the
Lauter Pat e nted Back Bo lt. This Ba ck Ilolt ,
as the illustration s ho ws, is a vast improvement
o ve r th e o rdin a ry la g sc rnv suc h as is ll sed in
oth e1' in s trument s.
The pulling apart of th e
plate from th e wres t plan k and ,back has always
(A) i'J"A1't:; (8) WREST PLANK ; ( C), BACK.
ABOVE JS TJU:
LAUTER'nACK BOLT, AND RffiLOW TH8 ORDINARY LA G SCREW
been a source of troubl e, but not so with the
Laute r-Humana. The Back Bolt prevent s thi s.
An indi cation of th e solid constru ction of th e
J.aut er-Hullla na is found in , this n:cerp t from
a re ce nt lett e r from New P ort Ri chey, F loriua:
" 1 bou ght m y Lau tcr in 191 3 a nd it is wond e rful.
\Vhen an 'instrument can stand th e damp cli
mate su ch as the rain y seasons in Florida and
s till pe rform perfect ly, I think that is evide nce
of rare durability."
Lauter dealers are aware of the strong sa les
talk that can be built up aro und the Back Bolt
and many of them have reported closin g deals
by em phasiz in g thIS point.
Deale rs everywhere a ppr ec ia te th e wisd om of
bein g read y with sufficient stock to meet this
year' s holida y bu sin ess. Last wee k Wholesale
Ma na ger ,\. E. Schm a lzigan received a long dis
tan ce ph o nr ca ll frolll Mr. John Meik e lj o hn,
prominent piano dealer of Rhode I s la nd, re
ga rdin g his order. Mr. M eikeljohn con s is tentl y
feat ures the L a uter-Humana in hi s three stor es .
Mr. Char'l es E . Sh a nk, of H age rstown, rdt! .
wr ites that he prom inently di splayed the L au ter
Hu ma na in his boo t.h at the Gr eat H age rs tov" n
Fair and adds that it attracted much favorable
com ment .