Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MAKCH 15, 1924
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
First Three Months of Year in Toledo
Ahead of Last Year, According to Dealers
Year Has Been Marked by Elimination of Price Slashing and Sensational Advertising—Goosman
Piano Co. Concentrating on One Instrument in Each of Its Advertisements
'•pULKDO, O., March 11.—As the first quarter
of the year draws to a close music mer-
chants arc checking up to see how near early
expectations jibe with achievements. In prac-
tically all piano stores sales volume has kept
ahead of the corresponding period of last year
by several lengths. Consequently profits, too,
are showing a more normal result. There is.
little or none of the "price slashing and wild
advertising of former days here. There is plenty
of stiff competition to be sure, but business is
done on a conservative hard-work, live-and-let-
live basis, with benefit to each shop and re-
sultant confidence in the merchants by the gen
eral public.
At the J. W. Greene Co. store, which is cele-
brating its fifty-third anniversary, a piano and
player volume has been closed which is in ex-
cess of the same period last year, according to
Preston I'. Brown, sales manager. The house
is cashing in on its fifty-three years of service
to Toledo by means of a Spring player-piano
drive. A complete outfit consisting of the in-
strument, a bench and rolls is made the center
of the campaign, around which other features
are built. Moreover, many Ampicos are finding
new homes every month the past weeks having
seen many placed in beautiful up-river and west
end residences.
The Greene Auditorium has been a busy place
within recent days. Helen Dryer, Georgianna
I'otts, T. A. Hoover, Bessie Werum and Edna
Beach Webb, to mention but a few, have pre-
sented p r o g a m s for public and friends in the
!i;ill. The Woman's Education Club brought
together a large group here for the purpose
of studying music in general and the masters
in particular. Each of these events resulted
in some good to the store. Many persons were
surprised at the excellence of the appointments,
at the la"ge stock of instruments and the large
assortment of well-known pianos. Some asked
to see players. Concerts are held both after-
noons and evenings and artists are permitted
the use of such pianos, Mason & Hamlin, Chick-
ciing, Marshall & Wendell, Vose, Johnson and
others.
At the Whitney-Blaine-Wildermuth Co. the
Slettergren new grand has found a place in the
line of this house. Also the Hazelton repro-
ducing Welte-Mignon (licensee). These new
lines are exploited in a Spring drive to acquaint
persons with their fine qualities. The Spring
drive will extend to the Mehlin & Son, M.
Schulz, Boardman & Gray, Laffargue and Schu-
mann pianos, David Blaine stated.
The Frazelle Piano Co. had the Gulbransen
player on display in one of the large show win-
dows, together with cut-outs of the well-known
trade mark, a child creeping. Many stopped
to watch the child figure, by means of elec-
tricity, push the pedal and in that manner play
the instrument. The Kranich & Bach and the
Jansscn are also popular with patrons.
At Grinnell Bros, the Premier small grand
and the "Aristocrat" are given the title page in
the store publication, Melody, for March. The
house in its twenty-six stores features the Stein-
way and the Duo-Art. Tt has the agency in
seventeen Ohio counties for these fine instru-
ments.
At the Goosman Piano Co. the plan of offer-
ing only one piano in an advertisement and that
one at an attractive figure is more resultful than
exploiting several or mentioning merely the
price and the terms of an instrument, Fred
Goosman stated. Persons like specific informa-
tion and often ask to see a certain piano which
has been shown in an advertisement. The illus-
tration must be exact, too, for if one piano is
pictured and another displayed in the store it
may be embarrassing for a dealer to explain
the reason.
Schools are served here with special care by
the Goosman Co. The principals of many are
known personally and come to the store for
solutions of matters pertaining to music which
is made a part of the school curriculum. Starr,
Milton and Bush & Lane are favorite instru-
ments with schools.
Walter Lane, of the Bush & Lane Piano Co.,
was a recent caller here.
C. Griffin, of Schaff Bros., Huntington, Ind.,
reported trade good on the road when here a
few days ago.
The Cable Piano Co. is closing many fine con-
tracts for players with farmers and customers
in near-by towns, A. F. Maag reported. A re-
cent sales contest in which the salesmen were
pitted against the executives was won by the
Sales force, which was banqueted as a reward.
The entire store organization recently surprised
Manager Maag with a party on the occasion
of his birthday.
Roy Dunn, of the Schumann Piano Co., while
here reported the demand for two-tone players
and grands is keeping the factory busy.
Fred. Martin, representing the Milton Piano
Co., New York, stopped here on his way to
the sunny South. The Spring outlook is fine,
he says.
E. A. Kieselhorst, of St. Louis, stated the
entire tone of business is optimistic and that
the year is sure to be a good one.
Herman Spain, of the American Piano Co.,
believes this is going to be a wonderful piano
year, He bases his belief upon the activity of
merchants wherever he goes.
H. E. Lawrence, of the Kohler Industries,
was a recent Toledo caller.
Heavy Brunswick Drive
Featuring Al Jolson
Approximately 500 Newspapers Used in Adver-
tising Campaign on Latest Addition to Bruns-
wick Artists' List
Following the announcement of the securing
of Al Jolson as a recording artist by the Bruns-
wick-Balke-Collender Co., arrangements have
recently been completed in the New York office
for a national publicity campaign to herald this
fact throughout the country. Insertions an-
nouncing the Jolson contract have been accord-
ingly scheduled to appear in 450 newspapers in
towns and cities of minor size and in fifty large
city newspapers, averaging 1,000 paid lines per
insertion. In addition to this space has been
secured in all the college dailies throughout the
country, and also full-page announcements in
the Saturday Evening Post and the Etude.
Details have also been handled whereby the
dealer may tie up with the national campaign by
means of posters, hangers and mats for inser-
tion in his local newspapers. This is one of the
largest publicity deals for musical announce-
ments in the history of the trade.
With Rudolph Wurlitzer Go.
MIDDLE-TOWN, ()., March 10.—R. A. Thompson,
formerly manager of the Starr Piano Co. here,
has been appointed to a like post for the local
branch of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. His
appointment was brought about through the
promotion of R. H. Wilson, formerly local man
ager for Wurlitzer and now district sales man-
ager of that company. Mr. Wilson will con-
tinue to maintain his headquarters in Middle-
town.
Here are seven features that
make the Lauter-Humana
totally different from any
other player piano:
!.
2.
3.
4.
5.
o.
7.
Duplex Pumping Device.
Suction Pump.
Pressure < iauge.
Hinged Player Action.
Tracker Hole C leaner.
Klcctric Light in Spool Box.
Lauter Hack Holt.
It is a fact that the dealer
who has the Lauter-Humana
sales franchise secures the
most profitable t r a d e in
town, because he has an ex-
clusive p r o d u c t that com-
petitive dealers cannot du-
plicate.
Write at once for details
c o n c e r n i n g the Lauter
Agency. In addition to the
Lauter-Humana, we manu-
facture:
The Lauter Small Grand
The Lauter Piano
Reproducing Pianos
in Grand and Upright Styles
LAUTER CO.
Plan o Manufacturers
591 Broad St., Newark, N.J.