Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 1

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JANUARY 2, 1926
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
How the Windsor-Poling Go. Turns
Music Prestige Into Sales
Akron, Ohio, Music House, Which Has Just Added a Piano Department to Its Warerooms Featuring the
Complete Bush & Lane Line, Has Remarkable Record of Musical Achievement in Its Territory, an
Achievement Which Has Been Turned Into a Steadily Increasing Business
H E Windsor-Poling Co., of Akron, O.,
which for several years past has special-
ized in the handling of talking machines
and records in a manner that has attracted at-
tention from all sections of the country, recently
opened a new piano department for the special
purpose of acting as representative in Akron and
vicinity for the Bush & Lane Piano Co.'s line of
pianos, players and reproducing instruments,
being among one of the nineteen dealers in Ohio
alone who have secured the representation for
the Bush & Lane line during the past few
months.
Earle Poling, general manager of the Wind-
sor-Poling Co., is particularly well-known for
his musical activities, for some five years ago
he established the "Famous Artist" course in
Akron, bringing to the city, through his own
initiative, many of the leading figures in the
concert and recital fields. He not only brought
the artists to Akron but promoted the concerts
on a profitable basis, which in itself is an indi-
cation of his ability. Under sucli competent
direction the future of the Bush & Lane line in
Akron would seem assured.
As a rule, the manager who promotes a con-
cert course has very little association with the
artists who are presented. To the general run
of managers, the artists represent little more
than the means by which the manager is to re-
ceive financial returns, and when those details
have been arranged the usual type of managci
has no further interest. In the case of Akron
and Mr. Poling things are entirely different, for
when the first artist appearing on Mr. Poling's
first course arrived in town Mr. Poling met him
at the train and took him to his own home.
Since that time, during the five years which art-
ists have been visiting Akron, Mr. Poling has,
in different ways, managed to get acquainted
with each celebrity in the capacity of real hu-
oiie, for among Mr. Poling's personal belong-
ings he has a portfolio filled with letters of ap-
preciation from the artists whom he has made
"feel at home" during their stay in Akron. The
letters are all delightfully personal and intimate,
and among the correspondence are the names
of Edward Johnson, Sophie Braslau, Cecil Fan-
ning, Werrenrath (who signs himself "Werry"),
and many others.
Aside from the impression made with the
artists during their stay in Akron, Mr. Poling
has been instrumental in bringing the city to
the foreground as a place where really big things
are done from a musical standpoint. Chief of
these was his promotion of the premiere of l)e
Leone's "Alglala," which owed much of its suc-
cess to the whole-hearted manner in which
Mr. Poling went into the project. It was he
who went to New York and secured Edward
Johnson, the noted tenor, for the title role, and
for no other reason than that Mr. Poling was
a personal friend was Johnson induced to give
his co-operation. The production locally of the
opera is a much greater event in musical cir-
cles than many Akron people think, and in re-
gard to Mr. Poling's part in it Pierre V. R.
Key, editor of the Musical Digest, says in a
personal letter, from which the following ex-
tract is taken:
"I must congratulate you for the truly splen-
did achievement which is to your credit for
what you did in making the 'Alglala' premiere
and the two following performances so success-
ful. What you did was a real service to the
cause of American music, and the stimulating of
public interest in it. And I am sure that by
compliments paid you (by people who spoke
of your accomplishments to me) you would
be more than repaid for your devotion to this
project." Mr. Poling's part in the Cleveland
production of "The Miracle" did much to show
Home of Marjorie
man beings, with the result that there is scarce-
ly an artist among the many who have appeared
here who does not look upon him as a personal
friend.
Furthermore, the feeling is not a transitory
Barkley McClure
that city Akron's interest in art, and his handling
of transportation and accommodations at that
time gave the trip to and from the performance
a touch of the "personally conducted" tour.
There's nothing very different in Earle Pol-
T
ing's music store to distinguish it from the av-
erage store you see in any city. Poling is, in
fact, a music dealer extraordinary to the city
of Akron. He sells phonographs by the dozens
and records bv the thousands. "If a record is
Earle Poling
obtainable, we'll get it for you," he advertises,
and frequently he orders special records over
the long distance phone from Cincinnati, To-
ledo, Pittsburgh and New York. He does all
he can for every customer, and knows for a cer-
tainty that his business will grow.
Such achievements as a business man and as
an impresario would not be impossible for any
man having some money to start with and the
right opportunity, but Poling was a stranger in
Akron, and his store, as any Akronite can tell
you, is not the best location in town; in fact,
it's the one corner where automobiles can't
park and where customers had never been in
the habit of stopping. And as for money, he
came out of the army in 1919 as he had entered
it, eighteen months before, flat broke.
He always had been interested in the sale of
musical instruments. "I was born in a piano
box, so to speak," lie explains; but he adds that
he can't play two notes of music on piano, vio-
lin or even jew's-harp.
Starting out in Cumberland, Md., he enjoyed
the business association of an uncle who ran a
small-town store. But the musical urge got him
again and he spent a year or two in Pittsburgh,
selling phonographs from house to house and
making money at it. Then came an opportunity
to buy out a retail store in Cleveland. He and
his brother sank in the project every dollar they
had, and after an eye-opening experience in re-
tailing and a painful lesson in the matter of
sales contracts they found that the man they
had bought out had double-crossed them. They
went under. And Earle Poling's name was on
several promissory notes for a goodly amount.
He signed up, then, with the Victor Talking
(Continued on page 9)
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
8
San Francisco Music Merchants Report
Spotty Demand for Pianos in Holidays
J. Raymond Smith Music Co. Enlarges Present Warerooms by Taking Extra Floor in Building—
Dealers Do Not Co-operate With Association in Working Out Credit Service
C A N FRANCISCO, CAL., December 24.—
Just prior to Christmas many of the music
dealers do not expect to sell pianos. In this
respect they have not been agreeably disappoint-
ed this year. Many of them say they have not
been selling pianos during the late rush of holi-
day shopping. On the other hand, however,
some of the big piano houses have been busy,
right up to Christmas, with their piano cus-
tomers. This looks as if piano sales, during
December, had been a bit spotted. With the
majority of dealers, however, there is a feeling
that piano selling has been dull.
Sees Demand for Better Goods
Just preparing to take inventory, L. F. Goelz-
BOGART PIANO FACTORY
The Quality
Appeal is Found
in
Uniformly
Good
Always
Reliable
M a n u f a c t u r e d by the
Second and Third Gen-
eration of an old Piano
Family these instruments
represent the highest in
T o n e Q u a l i t y , Work-
manship and Finish.
Bogart Piano Co.
E. B. BOGART, Pres.
135th St. and Willow Ave.
NEW YORK
lin, proprietor of the Pacific Music Co., said he
had enjoyed a pretty good year for 1925 and
looked forward to 1926 as a still better year.
Mr. Goelzlin, who is Pacific Coast representative
for three piano factories, said that prospects
look promising to him because there seems to
be a tendency to buy better merchandise, and
buying better merchandise will stabilize the
piano business more on the Pacific Coast than
has been the case for the past two or three
years. Some time ago anything that looked like
a piano was regarded as salable, but the deal-
ers seem to be finding out that it does not pay
to buy a lot of cheap stuff and try to get rid
of it fast.
Dealers now hesitate more about tying up.
They want credit and terms, the dealers, as well
as the customers, but the dealer is buying better
merchandise and, consequently, in the opinion
of Mr. Goelzlin, business is beginning to show
a more healthy condition. These expressions of
opinion applied to the entire Pacific Coast.
All They Lacked Was the Goods
Dealers are practically a unit in saying they
could have enjoyed a fine business in Ortho-
phonic Victrolas had the goods been available.
In some cases they succeeded in selling a lot of
the older style Victrolas, and other dealers
booked orders for the Orthophonic for future
delivery. Undoubtedly, however, the new Victor
and Brunswick instruments have greatly revived
interest in records. Sales of records have been
excellent recently.
J. Raymond Smith Again Enlarges Store
The J. Raymond Smith Music Co., O'Farrell
and Fillmore streets, has opened another floor
on the O'Farrell street side of the house. The
establishment now has two store fronts and en-
trances, with interior communication, making
quite a large music establishment. Radio has
been selling well as a holiday line, but the Vic-
trolas have been bringing orders rolling in.
The Emerson and Starr pianos, taken over
some months ago by the Smith Music Co., have
both become popular with customers of the
store.
Dinner Concerts Broadcast Good Music
Three of the Sherman, Clay & Co. dinner con-
certs have been given this week, broadcast over
KGO, under the direction of Arthur Duclos,
manager of Sherman, Clay & Co.'s roll depart-
ment. The programs were all appropriate for
the Christmas season, and the Aeolian pipe or-
gan was used at every concert, while excellent
local artists rendered the program.
Preparing to Advertise Ampico Artists
Two exclusive Ampico and Mason & Hamlin
artists will be advertised early in the year by
the Wiley B. Allen Co. They are E. Robert
Schmitz, who is credited with knowing more
than most pianists regarding the interpretations
of modern composers, and Benno Moiseiwitsch,
called by local critics the Poet of the Piano.
The last named gives his concert here on the
fourteenth of January and Schmitz appears on
the fifth.
Will Sing to Welte-Mignon De Luxe Rolls
A popular tenor here is Kurken Gagos, sales
manager of the H. C. Hanson Music House.
This evening he appears at the annual Christ-
mas entertainment for the employes of the
United States Custom House, singing the old
French "Cantique de Noel" and Gounod's "Jesus
of Nazareth." A piano had already been se-
cured. Mr. Gagos has determined henceforth
that, when he sings locally, he will always have
such a piano as the Charles M. Stieff, which will
permit him to sing to the accompaniment of
De Luxe Welte-Mignon rolls.
Paul Whiteman for Pacific Automobile Show
The directors of the Pacific Automobile Show,
which annually takes place in the Civic Audi-
JANUARY 2,
1926
torium here, will this year bring Paul White-
man and His Band from New York, especially
to give forty performances during the exposi-
tion of the new automobile models. The show
takes place early in the year and is attended by
many thousands of motorists from the entire
Pacific Coast. It was stated at the H. C. Han-
son Music House to-day that they will advertise,
during the Whiteman series of concerts, tying
him and his bandsmen up with Buescher instru-
ments, which are distributed by this house and
sold here locally by them.
Dealers Do Not Name Their Bad Accounts
Whether they have not had time to make out
lists of their "bad accounts" or whether the deal-
ers regard their lists as confidential is not
known, but so far dealers have not complied
with the suggestion of the Music Trades Asso-
ciation of Northern California to do their bit
toward enabling the Association to keep a bad-
account file. A second letter sent out by Shir-
ley Walker, president of the Music Trades Asso-
ciation of Northern California, has brought no
more results than did the first. Unlike the fur-
niture dealers, the clothiers and merchants in
several other lines, the music merchants are not
confiding to their Association their lists of "bad
accounts."
Piano Production Gains
During Month of November
Increased Employment Reported in Factories,
Exceeding Totals of Corresponding Month
Last Year
WASHINGTON, D. C, December 28.—Indications
that the piano manufacturing industry continues
active are given in the monthly report of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that
employment during November was six-tenths
of 1 per cent greater than in the preceding
month, while wage payments were 6.1 per cent
greater.
Reports to the bureau from thirty-six piano
and organ manufacturing establishments show
7,631 persons at work in November, against
7,582 in the preceding month; the aggregate
payroll for one week was $249,185 in November,
as compared with $234,958 in October.
As compared with November, 1924, there were
1.3 per cent more employes and the aggregate
payroll was 2.6 per cent greater. Per capita
earnings of employes in the industry, in Novem-
ber, were 5.4 per cent greater than in the pre-
ceding month and 1.2 per cent above those of
the same month in 1924.
Weaver Piano Co., Inc.,
in Role of Santa Glaus
Piano Manufacturing House Presents Trade
Friends With Attractive Fountain Pens as
Christmas Remembrance
YORK, PA., December 26.—The Weaver Piano
Co., Inc., of this city, manufacturer of Weaver,
York and Livingston pianos, employed Uncle
Sam to play Santa Claus to its many friends
throughout the piano industry. Uncle Sam de-
livered to each one of these fortunate people
a small parcel containing a particularly hand-
some and equally efficient fountain pen in honor
of Yuletide.
In a letter accompanying this gift Christmas
greetings were expressed, together with a wish
that the recipient would be able to use it to
record many transactions that would be profit-
able during 1926. The greeting was signed
by W. S. Bond, president; C. D. Bond, super-
intendent, and Walter L. Bond, treasurer.
Mack Music Go. Remodels
MONROVIA, CAL., December 24.—The sales and
display rooms of the Mack Music Co., at 516
South Myrtle avenue, this city, have been re-
cently remodeled and enlarged.

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