Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MAY 15, 1926
The Music Trade Review
Wisconsin Music Merchants Hold Many
Recitals and Concerts in Music Week
J. B. Bradford Piano Co. Holds Fifty-fourth Anniversary Celebration—Weber Duo-Art Piano for
Bluemound Country Club—Knabe Ampico for Wisconsin Roof Garden
MILWAUKEE, WIS., May 11.—The month
of May is opening up very nicely in the
Milwaukee music trade. Favorable weather has
given a more encouraging tone to general busi-
ness, and music stores are coming in for their
share of the improvement. The demand for
pianos has shown an improvement, especially in
grands and better-grade reproducing instru-
ments. There has also been a marked increase
in the activity of band and string instruments,
according to several reports. Bands and orches-
tras are getting new instruments in preparation
for the Summer season, and there has been some
movement in small string instruments such as
ukuleles and banjo ukes.
Although music dealers, especially those
handling sheet music, received some advance
business as a result of Music Week observances,
there was little attempt to feature the week as
far as the trade was concerned. Some stores
placed cards in their display windows giving the
dates of music week, but few, if any, displays
were devoted entirely to the week, and little
advertising was based on this idea.
Local musical organizations observed Music
Week by means of special concerts, and re-
ports from up through the State indicate that
other cities also participated in similar observ-
ances. As a special Music Week event, the
Milwaukee A Capella chorus of 250 voices, di-
rected by William Boeppler, presented Men-
delssohn's "St. Paul" at the Milwaukee audi-
torium. The Arion Music Club selected Na-
tional Music Week for its grand Spring festival
concert, which was also given at the Auditorium,
and this was one of the outstanding choral
productions of the season.
In Sheboygan, Wis., music merchants tied up
with Music Week by means of special displays
of musical merchandise of all kinds, and ex-
tensive newspaper advertising was used in pro-
moting the idea that no home should be with-
out a musical instrument. Among the stores
showing particular interest in the movement
were August Zohlen, The Brunswick Shop,
Bucheim's and the Traeger Electric Co.
Hill Bros. Dry Goods Co., of Fond du Lac,
Wis., observed Music Week by holding short
gatherings of all employes for community sing-
ing each morning of the week.
Bradford Co. Fifty-four Years Old
"We have been celebrating the fifty-fourth
anniversary of the founding of our store, and
we have had an exceedingly busy week," stated
Hugh W. Randall, president and general man-
ager of the J. B. Bradford Piano Co., repre-
sentative of the Aeolian Co., Sohmer & Co.,
the Cable Company and the Brambach. "Al-
most every department is showing a marked
revival. The piano business is going along
very nicely in every department. Our Duo-
Art business has been lovely, and grands have
also been very big."
Of special interest at Bradford's is the great
development shown by the gift and art furni-
ture department established by the store a year
ago. When the department was first opened it
was considered more or less of a side line, but
the demand for this type of furniture has been
so much larger than was anticipated that it is
now being made one of the major departments
of the store.
The Bradford Piano Co. was the first music
store in the country to open a large department
of this kind, but the idea is finding favor with
other stores, according to Mr. Randall. He has
received letters from some of the largest retail
music stores in the country inquiring about this
department, and several of these stores are now
laying plans for similar departments.
A beautiful Weber Duo-Art reproducing
piano, from Bradford's, has been selected for
the new Bluemound Country Club by the ladies
of the club, according to a decision which has
just been announced. The instrument will be
presented to the club by the ladies' organiza-
tion, and elaborate plans are being made for the
formal presentation. This will take place at a
formal luncheon in the new clubhouse Satur-
day, May 22, when a musical program will be
presented by a prominent artist. The selection
of this instrument for the clubhouse will add
much to the prestige of the instrument in Mil-
waukee because of the prominence of the club
in this vicinity. The piano will be placed in
the lounge room, and will be the only piano
used in the building.
Mr. and Mrs. Randall and son have moved
out to Rock Terrace, their Summer home on
Pine Lake, where they will reside for the next
five months. The Summer home has been re-
built and entirely refurnished as a result of a
fire which caused considerable damage last Oc-
tober.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Fleer were entertained
for the week end as the guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Randall at Rock Terrace. Mr. Fleer is man-
ager of Lyon & Healy of Chicago.
Several members of the trade visited at the
Bradford store during the past week, including
Joe Sayward, of the Aeolian Co., and Oscar
Swanitz, of the Kohler Industries.
The Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co. reports a very
big demand for ukuleles and banjo ukes. Sev-
eral hundred have been sold in one week, ac-
cording to Henry M. Steussy, vice-president
and general manager of the firm. He states
that fancy styles with novelty decorations are
proving very popular. A recent display at this
store was devoted to small instruments with
interest centered around ukuleles of all types.
An important sale just completed by the
Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co. is a Knabe Ampico
to the Wisconsin Roof Garden. This is one of
the largest dance halls of the city, and it has
two orchestras playing continuous music for
dancing throughout the evening. The style B
ebony finish Knabe will be used for orchestra
work.
Band Instruments Selling Well
Business during the first week of May has
been very active, according to A. E. Borge-
son, manager of the Holton Band Instrument
shop, which handles the Holton line in Mil-
waukee. He stated that a good demand for
large instruments developed during his week,
bringing up the volume of business to a very
satisfactory. figure. Several Holtonphones and
bass horns were sold during the week.
The Holton shop is supplying a number of
new instruments for the Milwaukee Police Band,
which is preparing for another busy season.
This band has purchased a Ludwig gold-stippled
bass drum, and Mr. Borgeson states that it
is probably the first band in this part of the
country to use one of the new gold-stippled
finishes. A large Holtonphone with a thirty-
inch bell has also been selected by the police
band, and arrangements are being completed
for several Pryorphones.
Featuring Sheet Music
"Business has been fine," declared Joseph A.
Krainik, manager of the Hamblitzer Music
House, which does a large sheet music
business. "Popular music has been picking up,
and there has been an unusually good demand
for orchestra music. The opening of the band
season is also bringing in a good call for selec-
tions of this type."
The Wm. A. Kaun Music Co., which features
its sheet music department, reported a large
demand for Mothers' Day songs. This store
used its display window to tie up with Mothers'
Day by showing a variety of numbers devoted
to home and mother sentiments.
Kaun's are planning to draw additional busi-
ness through a display at the Wisconsin music
teachers' convention to be held in Sheboygan
this month. A large poster has been made call-
ing attention to the fact that Kaun's mate a
specialty of teaching materials, and a large col-
lection of catalogs will be on hand for use by
the teachers. As the convention will attract
teachers from all parts of the State, Kaun's ex-
pected some favorable results from their display
during the coming year.
A. F. Quinn, manager of the Baldwin Piano
Parlors at Kaun's, announced that H. H.
Schroeder, a salesman well known in the music
trade, has joined the staff of the Baldwin par-
lors and will be in charge of sales.
At the 'first regional meeting of the American
Institute of Electrical Engineers, held at Madi-
son, Wis., last week, special consideration was
given to radio. The behavior of radio receiving
systems to signals and interference was the
specific problem taken up at the gathering of
engineers from seven States.
Charles H. Jackson, formerly well known in
the local manufacturing industry, was a visitor
at Edmund Gram, Inc., last Wednesday, as a
representative of the Estey Piano Co.
E. W. Furbush, wholesale representative of
the Haddorff Piano Co., with offices at Chicago,
and its factory at Rockford, 111., was also a
recent visitor at Gram's.
L. F. Ellison Piano House
Now in New Quarters
Buffalo Concern Takes Long Lease on Com-
modious Three-Story Building in That City—
Formal Opening Held on May 1
BUFFALO, N. Y., May 8.—The L. F. Ellison Piano
House is now located in new and larger quar-
ters at 219-221 East Genesee street, this city,
where the company recently leased a three-story
building large enough to accommodate a sub-
stantial stock of pianos. The formal opening
of the new quarters was held on May 1, at which
time Frank F. Story and George Harry Beverly,
of the Story & Clark Piano Co.; Al. Zeisler, of
the Bjur Bros. Co., and others took occasion
to drop in and express their good wishes.
The company plans to maintain its former
store at 122-124 Grant street as a branch, and
will also continue a branch at 1325 State street,
Erie.
Music Week Tie-up in Akron
AKRON, O., May 11.—Eight of the leading music
houses of Akron pooled their advertising this
week and boosted for National Music Week.
Their combined advertising space took one
whole page of the local papers with an appro-
priate caption.
The piano firms in the tie-up were Smith &
Van Scoyoc, A. B. Smith Piano Co., Fayette
Piano Co., B. F. Harbaugh Co. and the Kratz
Piano Co. Sheet music and small goods were
stressed by Brownell's. Rudicks featured band
and orchestra instruments and small merchan-
dise, while Ed. Freds used his space to mention
Conn instruments. The tie-up was the most
effective attempted here in many years, music
dealers said.
Mathushek in Music Week
During National Music Week the New York
Music Week Association held a music contest
in the various boroughs, and in the Bronx dis-
trict contest the Mathushek piano was used each
evening. The borough was divided into eight
districts and there were contests held at tin-
various public schools throughout the borough.
Each year the Mathushek piano is used at these
contests.