Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
SEPTEMBER 25, 1926
11
The Music Trade Review
Marked Revival of All Departments of
the Music Business in the Quaker City
Piano Dealers Well Pleased With General Outlook—Wanamaker Featuring the Settergren Grand
Pianos—Florence Heppe Returns to His Desk—Brinkerhoff Pianos for Noted Violinist
PHILADELPHIA, PA, September 20.—With
the return to the city of the vacation trav-
elers after the various holidays the piano and
musical instrument dealers began to experience
a revival of interest in the industry.
Piano dealers particularly have been pleased
with the resumption of business after an un-
usually dull Summer. While the smaller sizes
in the grand pianos and miniature uprights have
been the favored instruments among the piano
stocks at this time, there has been some interest
shown in the reproducers of the better grades
by frequent inquiries for future purchases.
Wholesale dealers in the local trade now
are concentrating on the Fall shipments and
find that the city trade has been satisfactory
with numerous orders for popular priced grands
topping the list for Autumn stocking.
Tuning and repair departments have been
rushed with orders for the early Fall and this,
too, is construed as favorable for the coming
piano business, indicating a revival of interest
on the part of the music-loving public.
Musical instruments and talking machines
have likewise been in demand in fairly larger
quantities, both in the wholesale headquarters
and among the retailers. With the brighter
prospects, all are confident that the Fall of 1926
will be most profitable for those dealers pre-
pared to meet the needs of their customers and
that this year there will be considerably more
activity for all branches of the industries as
compared with the same period of 1925.
With a view to catering to the popular priced
trade, the Wanamaker store in fiis city will
feature extensively this season m its piano de-
partment, under Manager W. P. Hampton, and
his assistant, Edward C. Heydorn, the Setter-
gren grand piano, manufactured by the R. K.
Settergren Co., of Bluffton, Ind. While the Set-
tergren has been listed among the Wanamaker
instruments for some time, it never before has
been exploited as extensively as it will this
Fall. The Wanamaker piano department will
make this popular-priced grand a leader, stock-
ing in larger quantities and pushing its sales
through broad advertising. The Moorish and
Greek Halls of the piano section are now un-
dergoing remodeling and redecoration for the
use of the visiting musical organizations hold-
ing conventions in this city throughout the
Sesqui-Centennial Exposition. In the past week
the Greek Hall was the headquarters of the
National Organists Association throughout its
convention.
With the revival of interest in the industry
the N. Snellenburg Co. musical instrument de-
partments have become so active that Manager
Edward Eisenhardt has found it necessary to
add to his forces to keep pace with the increas-
ing business in the piano and talking machine
branches. Two new men have been added to
the piano and three to the talking machine de-
partment. The piano section has been aug-
mented by a very attractive assortment of the
Behning pianos, which recently were added to
the makes of the Snellenburg store and will be
displayed in full range of styles manufac-
tured by the Behning Piano Co., of New York,
throughout the Fall and Winter months for the
purpose of introducing them to the Quaker City
public. Among the visitors to the Snellenburg
store in the past week were William Bowles, of
the Autopiano Co., featured by the department
store, and Representative Rogers, of the Bram-
bach Piano Co.
When Manager Albert E. Wilcox was ap-
pointed buyer of the Gimbel Bros, department
store last Winter after a long association with
C. J. Heppe & Son, in this city, in similar ca-
pacity, he opened up a special repair and tuning
service for the first time in the department.
With the growth of the year the repair and
tuning service has become so extensive that it
has been found necessary to add materially to
the space and personnel of the staff. Under
Manager R. Langdon Stewart, who came to the
Gimbel Bros, repair department from Lancas-
ter, Pa., a field of excellent profits for the de-
partment store has been developed. There now
are ten tuners, rebuilders and repairmen at-
tached to the service and still more workers
are needed to adequately take care of the fast-
growing department. Manager Stewart, of the
repair and tuning department, is also official
announcer of station WIP, the Gimbel Bros,
broadcasting station.
Following a Summer sojourn at Poland
Springs, Me., President Florence J. Heppe, of
the C. J. Heppe & Son, 1117 Chestnut street, is
back at his desk, having returned shortly after
Labor Day.
A tribute to the excellent tones of the Brink-
erhoff piano has been paid through the purchase
of a five-foot grand of that make by Henry
Elkan, noted violinist with the Philadelphia
Orchestra. The instrument was purchased from
the Quaker City representatives of the Brinker-
hoff Piano Co., the firm of G. Herzberg & Son,
2042 Chestnut street. Harry Hertzberg, head
of the company, will this week journey to New
York to select his Fall models of the Kranich
& Bach pianos also retailed by the Herzberg Co.
Buys Angeles Music House
PORT AXCJELES, WASH., September 17.—L. L.
Pitts, of Los Angeles, has recently purchased
the business of the Angeles Pioneer Music
House, which was established here about
tw r enty-one years ago. Prof. William Lange,
founder of the concern, was in charge of the
store up to the time of his death a few months
ago. Mr. Pitts has had a wide experience in
the music field, and was formerly head sales-
man in the Los Angeles branch of Sherman,
Clav & Co.
Widener Made Manager
Announcement was made by the Aeolian Co.,
New York, this week, of the appointment of
James Widener as manager of the phonograph
and radio departments of Aeolian Hall and
local branches. This position was formerly held
by R. M. Kempton, who has been transferred
to another department of the company. Mr.
Widener is well known to the talking machine
trade in the East, having for many years con-
trolled a chain of music stores bearing his name
and featuring the Columbia line.
Tonk Chicago
Get Ready
for Fall
Summer is slipping away. . . . The busy Fall
and Winter season is just around the corner and
Wise Merchants, who believe in preparedness,
are laying their plans now to create bigger busi'
ness and take care .of what they create—
SATISFACTORILY.
We are ready—Right Now—to help them and
YOU with:—
—an improved line of TONKBENCHES
of that same High Standard of Excellence
which has always characterized everything
we have ever made
—a new line of UPHOLSTERED TONK-
BENCHES, which we have demonstrated
offer remarkable possibilities fo/ Repeat
Business as well as New Business
—a Cumulative Discount—Quota Plan which
makes possible Lower Prices and Greater
Profits for those who take full advantage
of it.
Write us Today! Put your Piano Bench Prob'
lems up to this fiftyyear'old organization for
solution.
Ask us to send you Tonk Topics
—our little messenger of infor-
mation and inspiration which
thousands read regularly and tell
us they find helpful.
We'll send it Free—if you'll
request it on your business letter*
head.
Wurlitzer Opens Branch
INGLEWOOD, CAL., September 12.—A branch of the
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. has been opened here at
116 North Market street, handling a full line of
musical instruments. Bert Russell, an old resi-
dent of Inglewood and an experienced music
merchant, has been made manager. Simul-
taneously with the opening of this store an-
other Wurlitzer branch has been opened at 226
South Pacific avenue, Redondo Beach, with J.
W. Velzy temporarily in charge.
Lazar Shoppe Chartered
Papers of incorporation have been filed re-
cently by the Lazar Music Shoppe, New York,
which will conduct a local music business. E.
Lazar, H. A. Jacobs and H. Parnes are the
proprietors of the company, which has a capital
stock of $10,000.
Man
Co
1912 Lewis St.
CHICAGO