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MAY
23, 1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Kohler & Chase, San Francisco, to
Erect Large New Building in That City
Land Is Purchased on O'Farrell Street, One Block and One-half From Present Building, and Con-
struction Will Begin Shortly After First of Year—Many Will Attend Convention
CAN FRANCISCO, CAL., May 15.—Plans
arc being drawn for one of the finest music
stores in the country, according to an announce-
ment made to-day by J. F. Hale, with Kohler
& Chase. Mr. Hale, who bears the title of
"Assistant to the President," the President be-
ing George Q. Chase, said that Kohler & Chase
has purchased a lot with a frontage of 50 feet,
on O'Farrell street, immediately east of the
Orpheum. This is about a block and a half
from the Kohler & Chase building, at present
occupied by the firm. The plans call for one
of the finest music stores in the country, Mr.
Hale said. One of the features of the building
now being planned will be the installation of
a big Welte pipe organ, in the balcony, so ar-
ranged that the organ can be played from the
second floor.
Another feature is that the sales force of the
firm is now being reorganized. "We expect to
get the most efficient men obtainable and to
win effective results," Mr. Hale said. He added
that the policy which will prevail is 10 per cent
or more down, on all time payments, and the
total is not less than thirty months, on all in-
struments. The firm is considering substituting
carrying charge, for interest.
The present lease on the newly purchased
property does not expire till the first of the
year. It is expected that building operations
will be commenced soon after that date. No
announcement has been made regarding the
present Kohter & Chase Building. The upper
floors, at present, are occupied by music studios,
though Kohler & Chase occupies a number of
the floors. It is in a part of town where land
is extremely valuable.
Will Attend the Chicago Convention
Frank Anrys, vice-president and general man-
ager of the Wiley B. Allen Co., and James J.
Black, treasurer of that company, are planning
to leave for Chicago on June 2, where they will
attend the National Music Industries' Conven-
tion. They hope to return to California in time
to be present at the June Convention of the
Western Music Trades Association, in Los
Angeles. Speaking of the phonograph busi-
ness, Mr. Black said to-day the straight phono-
graph sales for April were rather dull. Record
business for the month was quite satisfactory
and there was an especial demand for the new
Victor records, three in number, of the Parsifal
suite, recorded by the San Francisco Symphony
orchestra, directed by Alfred Hertz. The visit
of the U. S. Fleet had much to do with stimu-
lating the demand for records. Mr. Black ex-
pects that P. L. Deutsch, vice-president of the
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., will pass his
vacation in southern California.
Well-Earned Vacation Enjoyed by Secretary
F. W. Stephenson, secretary of Sherman,
Clay & Co., is at present in Italy, accompanied
by his daughter, Miss Sarah Stephenson. The
vacation was taken by Mr. Stephenson, follow-
ing the strain and responsibility in connection
with the erection and occupancy of Sherman,
Clay & Co.'s wholesale building. Mrs. F. W.
Stephenson is leaving for a motor trip to New
York, accompanied by her daughter, Miss
Roberta Stephenson. They will visit Los
Angeles and the Grand Canyon, en route. In
New York, they will be joined by Miss Hattie
Stephenson, who is at college in New London,
Conn., and will stay there till joined by the
travelers from Europe, when there will be a
family reunion.
Daniel Miller Will Attend Convention
The annual convention of Conn branch mana-
gers, to be held in Elkhart, Ind., in the first
week of June, will be attended by Daniel Miller,
president of the Conn San Francisco Co. Mr.
Miller plans also to attend the National Music
Industries' Convention, in Chicago. In anticipa-
tion of Music Week, the Conn San Francisco
Co. installed a factory display in the store ad-
joining their Kearny street building.
Annual Golf Match Is Deferred
The annual golf match, between members of
the Sherman, Clay & Co.'s forces and the Wiley
B. Allen Co.'s players has been deferred till May
26. It will take place at the Lakeside links, of
the Olympic Club. That date makes it possible
for the regular players to be present, as it fits
in with their Convention and other engage-
ments.
Sees the Dawn in the South
Just back from visiting southern California,
A. L. Quinn, coast manager for the Q R S
Music Co., said that, from a business stand-
point in the South, there is quite a little hopeful
trend. It has not yet crystallized into dollars
and cents, but Mr. Quinn compared it to the
first gleaming of dawn. He found that, in San
Diego, people were very well satisfied with
business conditions, as additions to the city are
being opened up and things, in the building
way, are progressing rapidly.
Rain Cheers Farmers in the North
Business was found to be satisfactory in
Eureka, Humboldt County, by Beeman P. Sib-
ley, president of the Western Piano Corp. He
has just returned from visiting some of the
northern counties of the State, where bountiful
and late rains have greatly aided the farmers.
Mr. Sibley found lumber very quiet in Eureka,
but wool and dairying are making business sat-
isfactory in Mendocino and Humboldt counties.
Will Feature the Ampico and Fisher
Kahn Bros., one of the large department
stores in Oakland, has prided itself on having
a complete music store in a department store.
The big store has now changed hands, having
become a link in a chain of department stores.
The new owners of the music department will,
it is understood, feature certain lines of the
American Piano Co.
Crowds Attend School Band Contests
Several thousand visitOTS attended the high
school band contests, held last week in Colusa.
This is the third Northern Sacramento Valley
High School contest of the kind, and the con-
test has become an annual event which draws
pilgrims from far and wide. The decision of the
judges resulted in a tie between the Princeton
High School band and the Marysville High
School band. The Princeton band retains the
cup. It has challenged the Marysville band
to play off the tie.
The San Francisco and the Sacramento stores
of Sherman, Clay & Co. jointly installed a band
instrument exhibit at Colusa during the con-
tests. It was in charge of E. J. Delano, mana-
ger of the retail small goods department of
Sherman, Clay & Co., San Francisco. The dis-
play attracted a good deal of attention and re-
sulted in several nice sales of King instruments.
Many Notable Artists to
Use Ghickering Next Season
Leo Sowerby and Richard Buhlig Among Those
Who Will Use the Chickering Piano Exclu-
sively in Their Public Appearances Next
Season
Several new artists of prominence have been
added to the list of those notable musicians
who are using the Chickering piano exclusively
in concert and recital work. Among them is in-
cluded Leo Sowerby, the distinguished Ameri-
can composer and pianist who was the first
American to receive a Fellowship in Music at
Rome and whose compositions last year were
played by many of the leading orchestras of the
country. Sowerby was the first American corri- s
poser to score his works for Paul Whiteman,
who this season played his "Synconata" over
seventy times on his recent concert tour. Sow-
erby is at present in Chicago.
Another artist who has selected the Chicker-
ing is Paul Roes, noted Dutch pianist, who
will give his first American recital in New York
next October. Roes is a pupil of Busoni and
has achieved a brilliant success in Europe.
Richard Buhlig, who will resume his concert
tours in America next season, after a successful
season in Europe, will also use the Chickering,
as will Miss Nanette Guilford, the brilliant
young soprano of the Metropolitan Opera
House, and James Wolfe, the popular baritone
with the same organization.
The Trade-in's Effect
on Dealers' Net Profit
(Continued from page 5)
the work. The trouble with too many salesmen
and dealers, too, is that they permit themselves
to be frightened in the face of a bigger offer
for a used instrument, and see only one remedy
for this condition.
The business utility of the policy of meeting
competitive offers on used pianos is shown in
the following table, based on reports made to
The Review by retail piano merchants who fol-
low this policy on occasions:
Profitable to increase valuations
Unprofitable to increase valuations
36%
64%
Of course the number of retail piano mer-
chants who do not increase valuations under
any conditions must be added to those who find
the policy unprofitable.
Pratt Read
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