Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MARCH 8,
1924
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Scruggs, Vandervoort & Barney, St. Louis,
to Carry the Chickering and Ampico
Haines Bros, and Franklin Also to Be Handled by This House—J. & C. Fischer Goes to the
Conroy Piano Co.—Thiebes Music Co. to Hold Formal Opening—Many Visitors to Trade
CT. LOUIS, MO., March 3.—There are stir-
rings in the St. Louis piano world. There
is some improvement in business for one thing.
It is not very great, but it is definite and seems
to mark a reaction from the lethargy that pre-
vailed, more or less, through January and Feb-
ruary. There is a better "feeling," which is ex-
pected to translate itself into better material
results. And, indeed, after all has been said,
February appears to have been a fair to mid-
dling month, taking it all the way through,
although trade was pretty flat at times.
Another thing that stirred interest last week
was the information that the Chickering and
Chickering with the Ampico, after an absence
of three years, is coming back. It is again to
be at the Scruggs, Vandervoort & Barney store,
from which it was moved to the Famous & Barr
Co., the agency of which was terminated about
three years ago. With it will come the Frank-
lin, which also has been out of the St. Louis
market. The Haines Bros, piano, which has
been handled by the Conroy Piano Co., will be
transferred to the Vandervoort store and in its
place the Conroy store will get the J. & C.
Fischer, which is not sold here now. The nego-
tiations have been under way for some time.
The arrangements were completed last week
by G. C. Kavanagh, president of the Foster-
Armstrong division of the American Piano Co.
With the accessions, Manager Hosier, of the
Vandervoort music department, will have a very
complete line. Besides the Chickering and
Ampico and Franklin and Haines Bros., he will
have the Sohmer, Kurtzmann, Estey, Brambach,
Stieff and Milton. The new lines will be in
about the middle of March. Arrangements are
under way for a suitable reintroduction to the
St. Louis public.
The Union House Furnishing Co., which a
few weeks ago bought out the Field-Lippman
Piano Co., has about completed remodeling and
redecorating and is preparing for a formal open-
ing of the department, under the management
of Harry Mount. During the period of making
over the store business has been greatly inter-
fered with.
A. C. Thiebes, head of the Thiebes Music
Co., expects to have his formal opening about
the middle of March. His organization has
been functioning, but under difficulties, while
alterations and redecorating were in progress,
but the work is now nearing completion. The
establishment will consist of the piano business
and retail phonograph business conducted under
the Thiebes control, the wholesale department
of the Artophone Corp. and the sheet music
department of Murt Murray.
C. E. Jackson, of the Cable Company, Chi-
cago, called on the St. Louis trade last week.
Rolla Burke, of the Story & Clark Piano Co.,
Chicago, spent a day here and departed for
Jackson, Tenn., and other Southern points.
Fred Harlow, of the Vose Piano Co., Boston,
visited President W. P. Chrisler, of the Aeolian
Co. of Missouri, Saturday.
E. A. Kieselhorst, president of the Kicselhorst
Piano Co., left Saturday night on a trip to
Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, to be gone
about a week.
Mr. Foster, of the H. C. Bay Piano Co., Chi-
cago, was here last week.
Victrola No. 300
$250
Electric, $290
Mahogany, oak or walnut
Victor supremacy
is the supremacy
of performance
And with its sphere of
influence c o n s t a n t l y ex-
panding, the Victor offers
ever-increasing opportuni-
ties to every d e a l e r in
Victor products.
Advertising Service for
Edna Beach Webb Now on
Successful Recital Tour
Dealers in Player-Pianos
U. S. Music Co. Sends Out Advertising Service
Exploiting the Player-piano—Ties' Up With
Concern's National Publicity
Well-known Pianist Who Records for Welte-
Mignon (Licensee) Library Wins Favor of
Newspaper Critics in Recital in Ohio
CHICAGO, III., March 1.—The United States
Music Co. has prepared a special advertising
service department for United States dealers
which is equipped and prepared to perform any
part of the labor of getting the music mer-
chants' player-piano advertisements together
without cost.
A large bulletin has been sent out showing a
dozen different illustrations that can be used
in advertising the player-piano and music rolls,
and representing an investment that would be
too large for most individual dealers. Embodied
in this service are ideas developed by the heads
of the United States Music Co.
The cuts, of course, are stimulating the desire
to buy player-pianos by showing various lifelike
reproductions of young folks, dancing to the
strains of the instruments, singing, listening to
some favorite piece, etc. The bulletin also tells
how the copy can be arranged showing how
these cuts can be used from week to week in
local advertising in connection with the dealer's
own copy on player-pianos and on United States
numbers that he may wish to feature. A cut
showing some attractive scene that might hap-
pen in any home with a player-piano is more
likely to create a new player-piano sale than
an advertisement with just a cold piano cut
and a mere price quotation. It is with this
thought in mind that the United States Music
Co. has prepared this advertising service.
Incidentally newspaper advertising by the
local dealers will tie up with United States
roll magazine advertisements appearing every
month in the Saturday Evening Post, Literary
Digest and Red Book Magazine.
Edna Beach Webb, the well-known pianist,
who records for the Welte-Mignon (Licensee)
records, is now on a recital tour through the
Middle West and has recently appeared in
Toledo and Fremont, O. Mrs. Webb made a
distinct impression upon all her audiences, and
the newspaper critics were particularly cordial
in commenting upon her work.
In Toledo one of the newspapers said in part:
"Mrs. Webb opened the program with a group
of piano solos which were marked by ease of
presentation and sureness of touch, as well as
excellence in interpretation.
"Included in Mrs. Webb's group were Coup-
erin's 'Soeur Monique,' Zerowitz's 'Serenade,'
Grunsfeld's 'Romance' and Chopin's 'Taran-
tella.' As an encore she played the hauntingly
lovely 'To the Rising Sun,' by Torgussen.
"Mrs. Webb proved herself not only an ac-
companist of rare ability, but a soloist with a
practical knowledge of technic and a charming
manner of interpretation."
Of her Fremont concert a local critic said.
"Edna Beach Webb, the accompanist of the
singer, displayed rare talent in that line and
when she appeared for her solo numbers had
already impressed musicians with her skill. She
gave four selections with fine effect and excel-
lent execution and interpretation. 'Gigue' by
Graun, 'Soeur Monique' by Couperin, a Sere-
nade by Leschitizki and Schumann's 'Nach-
stucke.' "
Mrs. Webb is one of the number of noted
pianists whose recordings have added to the
prestige enjoyed by the Welte-Mignon (Licen-
see) reproducer.
Victrola No. 410
$300
Electric, $340
Mahogany
Other styles $25 to $1500
" H I S M ASTE R'S V0IC E "
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.