NOVEMBER 17, 1923
. THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
7
TOLEDO REPORTS THE BEST PLAYER YEAR IN SOME TIME
Dealers Report Substantial Increases in Business Over Last Year-Better Business Bureau Checks
"Gyp" Dealers-Frazelle Piano Co. Moves Into Enlarged Warerooms
•
TOLEDO, 0., November IO.-The outlook here is
indeed promising.
Merchants are aiming to
close the best player year in some time and
every stor e reports a substantia l increase over
la st year. The lar ge number of con certs an
nounced for the season are giving music a
healthy stimulant. Prac tically every week until
Spring has one or more-mostly mor e-concert
dates. Moreover, quality goods are being em
pha sized . The years of serv ice, craftsman sh ip,
the joy of possess ion and th e happine ss result
ing are the impor tant e lements dwelt upon in
store announcements.
At this seaso n of the year' mongrel piano
dealers are very apt to pitch camp in almo st
any town and set up a howl about the wonder
ful bargains they are offering. This has hap
pened in Toledo in the past, but it will not
occur this year, for th e Better Business Com
mission is ready to make quick wo;k of the
fl y-b y- night dealer.
No self-respecting com
munit y s hould stan d for th e "gyp" dealer. He
hurts the town, tak es go od money for poor
merchandise and is a m'enace to hone st mer
chants.
At Grinnell Bros. th e store is coupling its
efforts to the concert appearance of Ossip
Gabrilowitsch, famed pianist and Duo-Art art ist,
who is app earing at Scott High Auditorium
on the Piano Teac hers ' Course. The house is
('xclusive agent here for the Duo-Art, therefore
it was favored by the artist who gave a sho rt
concert in its music rooms with th e reprodu c
ing piano. The event was properly advertised,
hence he was greeted by a happy crowd.
Steinway sales are above the average, which is
a lso true about most other quality merchandise.
At the J. W . Greene Co. facilities in th e
new store, which include more than a dozen
s mall st udios for the displa y of pianos and play
ers, ar e responsible for increased sales, Preston
P. Brown, sales manager, states. The success
of the plan used here of sett ing a sa les fi g ure
w hich ever y sa lesman is s uppo se d to reach keeps
volume o n up g rade. During the pa s t month
the quota se t was unusuall y high but it was
reached, nevertheless. The one hundredth yea r
of Brambach quality is brought out in the illus
trated Brambach news paper announceme nt s,
which are running in celebration of the Franz
Brambach anniversary. "Th e spir it of the mas
ter build e r li ves after a hundr e d years" is th e
caption of a colonial day's picture of a piano
work s hop presided over by the master crafts
man. W . R usse ll Hu g hes, formerly with the
Whitney-Blaine-Wildermuth Co., ha s joined
for ces with the hou se.
The Frazelle Piano Co. has just moved in to
the enlar ge d addition to th e store. Frank H.
Frazelle says there are still many edges to b e
polished and it will be ne ar ly th e first of next
year before things are runnin g smoothly. Mrs.
Ca rrie McKillip is in charge of the ground floor
store. Sh e welcomes vi si tor s and endeavors to
break down resistance and put the prospect into
a receptive mood. Milo Barrett is a new mem
ber of th e sa les force here.
Ben H. Janssen, manufacturer of the J ansse n
piano, was a Toledo vi sitor the past week. He
says that wherever he g oes he find s busines s
upon a sound bas is. Not eve ryo ne is optimistic
or waiting t o place large orders, but merch a nts
are supplying their need s and are bu ying in a
co nsistent manner. Trade in the Middle W est
industrial sec tion is holding up very well, he
says.
The Ca ble Piano Co. is di sp layin g the sil ver
cup award ed the company in Chicago for the
cleanes t and best retail advertisin g. Moreover,
on election day, the store took advantage of
. the occasion and displayed a lar ge sign which
read: "E lec t ed, pianos, player-pianos, Victrolas
and Brunswicks. Come in to -morrow and se lect
yo ur Xmas pia no or machine." The st unt was
effective because of the locati o n directly across
from a la;' ge new spape r, whic h di sp la yed la nt ern
slides of el ect ion returns, A. F. Maag r('ports.
Co llection s are maint ain in g a ~a ti sfacto ry reo
spo nse t o s tatements.
The Whitney-Blaine-\<"ilderllluth Co., accor d·
in g to Henry Wild e rmuth, is e njo yi ng a Fa ll
volu m e of good proportions. Na ti o nally adver
tised pian o are easiest to sel l, it is reported , and
seld olll do prospect s expe ct exorb it a nt a ll ow ·
ances for old pianos on a new known in str u
me nt and its es tablished price. C. E. Evering
ham , formerly connected with th e Cable P iano
Co., is a new member of thi s organization.
The Goosman Piano Co., in addi tion to main
taining a branch store at Bryan, 0 ., finds it
profitable to co nsi gn players and roll s to s tores
removed from the downtown section, Fred. N.
Goosman s tate s. Th e ag ent is under little or
n6 ad dition a l exp ense and freq uentl y is a ble to
s ecure live prospects which are later clo sed by
t he do w ntown headquarte rs at a profi t to him
se lf.
CHICKERING IN ROOSEVELT HOUSE
Firm Presents Instrument to Association of
Type Contemporary With Roosevelt's Youth
The birthplace of Theodo r e Roosevelt, 28
East Twentieth stree t , New Yor k, the restora
tion of which, by the Woman's Roosevelt
Memorial Asso ciation, has ju st been completed,
is ent ir e ly furnished in the style of furniture
which wa s in favor w hen Theodore Roosevelt
was a boy. The o ld Roosevelt home contained
a Chicker ing piano and the co mmittee in c har ge
of the furnishing of th e house, wishing every
detail to be as comp let e as poss ible, requi
sition ed a suitable piano from Ch icker in g &
Sons. From th e ir records th ey \\cr e ab le to
d eter min e the ty pe of in str ume nt a nd rc ce ntl y,
through their exchanges, such an instrument
was obtai ned an d presented by th em to the
Roosevelt As soci atio n.
The foll owing letter of apprecia tion an d
thanks has been rec e ived by C hi ckerin g & Sons,
s igne d by .Vlrs. C harl es .'\" Bryan, secreta r y:
"At a meet in g of the Board of Dire cto rs of
the Woman's Roos eve lt M e lllorial .\ssociation
he ld Octobe r 19 a 1Il 0tio n was u nan illl ous ly ca r
ri e d that yo u should be thanked for your gen
er osity in g iv ing the Chickeri ng piano in the
~ty l e of ca se used at the tillle when Co lo nel
Ho ose velt was a boy.
"We appreciate yo ur kindnes s not on ly for
its pra cti cabil ity but be ca use it s how s you
are giving us the support and co-operation we
must depend upOn if we ,Ir e to make Roosevelt
House a cente r from which we can offset th e
radi ca li s m undermining our in s titutions In
America."
Victrola No. 330
$350
Electric, $390
Mahogan y
Victor supremacy
is the supremacy
ofperformance
Actual accomplishments
are better t han promises
and expectations. What the
Victor has done in the past
and continues to do today is
the safe index of what the
future holds in store for the
musical instrument dealer.
Victrola No. 400
$250
Electric, $290
Mahogany
Other styles $25 to $1500
PLATT CO. TO HAVE NEW BUILDING
Los . \NG£l.f.S, CAL ., No\'eml>er 10.- Plan s for an
eight-story Class .\ stor e and s tudio buildin :;
for the Platt Music Co., at Holl yw ood boule
vard and Cherokee stree t, have just been COlll
pleted and t he Milwauke e Buildin g Co., a local
construction firm, will soon start t he e rec tion
of the structure. The stru ct ure will cost ap
proximately $400,000. The first floor of th e
new building w ill be oc cupie d b y the mu s ic co n
cern an d the upper floors will be designed and
leased for st ud io purposes.
- NEW STORE IN HOOD RIVER, ORE.
HOOD RIVER, ORE., N ove mber 1O.- -A gene ral line
of music goods w ill be handled by . Corson, th,'
Music Man, who has opened a new s to rf' in the
J\nderson Building recently; . C. O. Vermillion
will act as man age r of the loc'a1 sto re . The firm
ha s adopted a slogan, "Everything in Music,"
a nd intends to li ve up to it.
"HIS Mbos;r~~:~. VOICE"
Victrola
REG . u.s. PAT OFF.
look. under the lid and on the labels·
for these Victor trade -marks
Victor Talking
Machine Co.
Camden, N. J.