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The Period Piano
Its Production and Its Sale
Care in Designing the Period Case for the Piano Essen-
tial in Developing the Demand—The Experience of Kran-
ich & Bach in Manufacturing and in Their Dealers' Sales
NE of the interesting trends in recent
development in the piano trade has been
the growing demand on the part of the
public for instruments with period cases. Period
eases are not by any means new, but their pro-
duction on a quantity basis is an accomplish-
ment that should mean much in
increasing the popularity of the
piano, not only as a musical fac-
tor but as a piece of home furni-
ture pleasing to the eye.
During the past few years cer-
tain manufacturers have shown
excellent understanding and good
taste in the production of period
cases, realizing that to be suc-
cessful and worth-while they must
be true to style. Other makers
have been inclined to leave their
designing to those not thoroughly
competent, resulting in a hit-or-
miss case effect, salable, of course,
in some cases, but entitled to
the term "period" only through
courtesy. It is significant that
those who have given the most
careful attention to designing
their period cases have met with
the greatest measure of success
in marketing such instruments.
The experience of Kranich &
Bach is typical of the success
that has met the efforts of those
who have regarded the production
of period cases as a serious
project and not simply a mere
ornamental change in case model.
The officers of the company
realized that the design of period
cases was really the work of
the skilled decoratoi, thoroughly
trained in the decorative arts,
and able to give the touch of
authenticity to his work.
The result has been that the
several
particularly
attractive
period cases in the Kranich & Bach line are
each of them the work of some decorator of
recognized standing in metropolitan circles.
This expert attention is reflected in the ex-
cellence of the case designs and the fact that
in each instance they are thoroughly repre-
sentative of the particular period on which the
design is based.
In a large measure the secret of Kranich &
O
ESTABLISHED 1662
Bach success in period case production is plac-
ing the art work in the hands of the trained
artist, and the carrying out of that work by
competent and experienced piano case builders.
The result has been that last year alone over
30 per cent of the production of the Kranich &
to the general buying public are the William and
Mary and the Queen Anne, but a very sub-
stantial demand is also found for the Louis
XVI, the distinctly attractive and unusual Cor-
dovan model in Spanish design, effective painted
cases in English styles and the Oriental or
Chinese model richly finished in
lacquer. It is an interesting fact
that while piano buyers in New
York and the East favor models
in the Queen Anne and William
and Mary types, the call for the
elaborately painted cases in their
bright colors comes chiefly from
the West. This indicates that
even the demand for period cases
has become more or less sec-
tional.
The appeal of Kranich & Bach
period styles is well illustrated
in the interest that various dealers
take in exploiting those models
most successfully. One well-known
dealer, for instance, had made
the practice of carrying in stock
only two or three period models
and a dozen or so of the plainer
cases. He switched his policy
and stocked eight or nine period
cases and two or three regular
styles, with the result that sales
of period models immediately
showed a surprising increase. It
was simply a bit of psychology
based on the fact that with the
number of plain cases shown
greatly exceeding period models,
the casual buyer assumed that
plain cases were naturally the
more popular. With the propor-
tion of instruments changed, the
preponderance of period cases
naturally influenced the opinion
that they were the last word. For
the dealer who desires to enjoy
A Typical Kranich & Bach Period Piano
the increased unit value of period
Bach factory was represented in period cases, model sales the idea is well worth thinking
the great majority finished in the increasingly over.
The main point in connection with the pro-
popular two-tone mahogany or walnut finish to
the production of which Kranich & Bach have duction of period cases by Kranich & Bach is
given special attention. The work of the that the instruments are designed with authen-
artistic expert is particularly noticeable in the ticity and high artistic standards first in mind,
attractiveness and general balance of these two- with price more or less secondary. Increased
production is made possible by the steadily
tone effects.
The period styles that have the widest appeal growing demand for these cases.
L^UTEH
NEWARK, N. J.
MANUFACTURERS OF PIANOS OF QUALITY
UPRIGHTS
GRANDS
THE LAUTER-HUMANA