Music Trade Review

Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 2

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
VOL. LXXXII. No. 2
REVIEW
Pmblished Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Jan. 9,1926
81ni
j£. < £ o C i°~r #
How the Fitzgerald Music Go. Puts
Brains Into Window Display
Two Striking Presentations of the Grand Piano In the Show Window Recently Used by This Weil-Known
Los Angeles Music House—Presenting the Period Model Grand In a Background That
Harmonizes With the Style—Cashing In on the Sale of a Piano to a Celebrity
H E background of a window display can
do one of two things—either accentuate
the attractiveness of the product which it
is desired to feature in the display, or to detract
attention from that feature. More than one
window display arrangement upon which much
T
the instrument or not depends ujkm the artistic
sense of the window designer, but it is of the
utmost importance that the completed window
be studied carefully to see that there is nothing
therein to draw more interest.
This proper window setting is becoming in-
Display of
Taber Piano
Chinese Finish
by Fitzgerald
Music Co.
time and effort has been spent has failed in its
purpose, not because it was unattractive but
because the factors designed to be secondary
developed a prominence that outshone the cen-
tral figure.
The time is past when a piano placed in a
window bare of other furnishings or fitments
is considered of sufficient interest to attract
prospective customers. This idea, of course,
is still carried out, but not by those who realize
the investment made in show window space and
its value as an advertising medium when prop-
erly utilized. We find an increasing number of
window displays in piano stores that compare
in quality with those offered by merchants in
many other lines where the opportunities for
tasteful displays are more numerous, and the
fact that these piano merchants continue to
arrange such displays, often at a considerable
cost, indicates the fact that they have a value.
A thought that must be borne in mind in any
window display of pianos is that the aim is to
impress the onlooker with the attractiveness of
the instrument itself. A piano case that would
prove uninteresting in an empty window be-
comes distinctly attractive when placed in a liv-
ing-room setting with easy chairs, small tables,
a lamp or two, and suitable draperies properly
placed. Whether the setting is in harmony with
creasingly important as increasing numbers of
pianos in period or highly decorated cases are
offered for public approval. A piano of one of
the Louis periods should be presented only in a
ct those who have a sufficient smattering of
period decoration to realize what the piano de-
signer has developed. The same holds good of the
elaborately decorated case in rich colorings, for
there, too, the setting should be such as to
emphasize the decorative characteristics of the
instrument itself and remain subdued to the
principal feature rather than clash with or sub-
merge it.
The same idea of harmony holds good even
in those window arrangements designed to hook
up with some particularly interesting sale or
event. The show window has been found to
be a particularly valuable channel for acquaint-
ing the public with sales of importance to local
or national celebrities, for, as the object is to
attract attention and interest, it pays to give
thought to a setting that will emphasize the
•attractiveness of the instrument itself.
Two particularly fine examples of harmonious
and effective window displays are reproduced
herewith and represent recent window arrange-
ments featured by the Fitzgerald Music Co., of
Los Angeles. The first is a most impressive
presentation of a particularly fine case design
in Chinese effect, a Taber piano made by the
Behr Bros. Co. Left alone in the window
that particular piano would have perhaps ap-
peared garish, but placed in a rich setting of
Chinese furniture, draperies and rugs, it pro-
^llllllllllllllllll!lllll!l[||||||inilllllll!l!!ll!llllllllllllllllll^
Fitzgerald
;
Display *of
b
Knabe Ampico |
Sold to
|
Mary Pickford §
setting suggestive in some measure at least of
that period. Nondescript furniture and hangings
or those of a distinctly different period will kill
the entire effect of the case work in the minds
duced a harmonious effect that so strongly im-
pressed many of the passersby that they took
occasion to compliment the company upon the
(Continued on page 4)
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
The New Plant of Steinway & Sons in
Hamburg, Germany, Nearing Completion
Factory Will Eventually Replace Present Steinway Plant in That City and Will Take Care of
Demand From Continental Europe and Also Large Part of Firm's Export Trade
A MAMMOTH new piano manufacturing plant
for Steinway & Sons is now rapidly taking
shape in Hamburg, Germany, designed to take
care of the rapid growth of the Steinway busi-
In addition to providing instruments to meet
European demands, the Hamburg factory takes
care of all export orders of Steinway pianos, a
phase of the business that is constantly assum-
Completed
Wing of the
New Steinway
Factory in
Hamburg
1926
cannot be expected to judge for himself the
effect that a particular color will have when
set in his own. home, for color of harmony is
given to few. When that particular instrument,
however, is displayed in surroundings that really
harmonize, the prospect gains a new viewpoint
and is able to visualize just how that particular
case would fit into surroundings such as already
exist in his home or as can be arranged.
Not long ago Hardman, Peck & Co., New
York, displayed a piano in brilliant Chinese red
lacquer finish suitably decorated. The curtains
were of Chinese design, a Chinese screen in
lacquer with golden dragons and a teakwood
tabourette or two served to provide the har-
mony, while a talking machine in the same red
lacquer completed the picture. The general
effect attracted wide attention.
The second Fitzgerald window illustrated
with this article emphasizes possibilities for pre-
senting a tie-up with an important sale in a
manner that emphasizes with equal strength the
sale itself and the instrument represented there-
in. In this case a Knabe with the Ampico was
sold to Mary Pickford, and it was natural that
attractive figures of that noted screen star be
placed about the window. The strength of the
tie-up, however, was materially increased by
presenting Miss Pickford in her latest screen
character, "Little Annie Rooney." This picture
was in the public mind, and, being featured in
the window display, gave the whole affair a
touch of timeliness that was most effective.
In arranging window displays it is not simply
a matter of filling show window space. An
attractive window is really the introduction to
the store.
A Christmas Window That
Represented Originality
Foundation
Work for
Dry Kilns in
Steinway Plant
in Hamburg
Sherman, Clay & Co.'s Store in Portland, Ore.,
Offered Unusual Window Treatment for Con-
sideration of the Holiday Shoppers
iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiin;
ness in Continental Europe and of the export
trade in Steinway pianos which is handled from
that center. Eventually the new plant when
completed will replace the present Steinway fac-
tory in Hamburg, which, though commodious,
is located in a residential section which has been
built up thickly since the plant was established
and where there is no ground available for
expansion.
One of the views reproduced herewith is of
one wing of the new plant, which, when com-
pleted, will include three similar wings, all of
the most modern construction and provided with
the latest equipment. The new plant is located
just outside the city limits of Hamburg in a
newly developed manufacturing section con-
venient to transportation but so situated that
expansion will be possible whenever it becomes
necessary.
The second view shows the foundation for the
new drying kilns and power house, both of gen-
erous capacity in keeping with the large capacity
of the new plant when completed. The location
is adjacent to the immense new lumber sheds
and saw mill recently erected and occupied by
Steinway & Sons and which have already been
described and illustrated in The Review. Both
lumber yards and saw mill are provided with
the latest labor-saving equipment designed to
facilitate the handling of materials and the speed-
ing up of production.
The completed wing of the new factory is now
occupied and in operation, and is providing
much-desired relief by supplementing the facil-
ities of the old Steinway factory which is now
operating at full capacity and maintaining a
production close to the record set just prior to
the war when maximum production was reached.
JANUARY 9,
ing fresh importance as the demand from all
sections of the world increases.
How Fitzgerald Puts
Brains in Window Display
(Continued from page 3)
instrument and the manner in which it is pre-
sented.
This display of the piano in Chinese design
Many members of the piano trade did them-
selves proud with their holiday displays in show
windows and warerooms, but few displayed the
originality of idea represented in the Christmas
window arrangement of the Sherman, Clay &
Co. store in Portland, Ore. The idea was sim-
plicity itself, being based upon the journey of
the wise men to Bethlehem, but its presenta-
tion was so effective tnat it attracted wide atten-
tion and comment.
An attractive grand with a bench to match
was the only musical instrument shown as the
feature of the display, a circular rug and appro-
priate draperies lending softness to the treat-
ment.
The window represented a most original way
of tying up with the holiday spirit in a manner
iiiiii!:iniiiiii;iin iiiiiiiiiihu ii n ii
An Attractive
Window Display
by Sherman,
Clay & Co.,
Portland, Ore.
indicates what may be accomplished in the
proper presentation of instruments in other rich
casings, particularly those where bright colors
have been used. Every prospective purchaser
that was direct and which represented but a
slight cost. It drew a good deal of attention
from the passers-by and accomplished all its
designer expected.

Download Page 3: PDF File | Image

Download Page 4 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.