Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1932 Vol. 91 N. 6

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
16
MUSIC
TRADE
There IS no finer piano than a
KRANICH & BACH
Made under one family's supervision
since 1864
RANICH f BACH
237 EAST 2 3 " STREET
New York
REVIEW,
June-July, 1932
for the purpose of mapping out the program.
A feature of the Portsmouth meeting will
be an exhibition of pianos, band and orches-
tra instruments, radios and various home elec-
trical appliances.
Leading manufacturers
will be invited to make displays during the
convention and they will be open to the gen-
eral public.
In order to increase the membership rolls
of the Association before the convention, the
annual dues were reduced to $5.00. President
Carl E. Summers and Secretary Clark F.
Gross, of the Association, have been devoting
much time and effort to the work of the
organization and are apparently getting re-
sults in holding the interest of the members.
VASSAR COLLEGE MUSEUM
HAS OLD INSTRUMENTS
The Belle Skinner Hall of Music recently
opened at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie,
N. V., already has the beginning of a splen-
did collection of old musical instruments. The
latest acquisition is a small residence pipe
might have been sold in the past four or five organ, built in the early part of the last cen-
tury. It was built by the same firm which
years.
made the original organ for Vassar, in 1865,
This brought up the question of pianos in
Messrs. Labagh & Kemp, and was in use on
storage and not used, and David W. Kimball
Governors Island, New York City, for some
told of his experiments through offers to pay
years, and was also installed at Princeton
cash for old pianos, in finding out how little
University during the time the firm was com-
truth existed in the popular gossip about
pleting an organ for that institution. It has
warehouses being full of pianos unused by
been in the Kemp family home in Jersey City
the owners and waiting sales. The Kimball
for the past fifty years and it is given jointly
Co. offers in the advertising columns of the
by Joseph M. Priaulx, son-in-law of Mr.
Chicago Tribune to pay cash for unwanted
Kemp, in memory of his wife, Isabelle Mor-
pianos brought ridiculously few offers, and
rison Kemp (Prialux), and Louis F. Mohr
for these few the owners, paying storage,
& Co., of New York City, the organ mainte-
wanted prices as high as new instruments at
nance firm, who have always taken care of
retail.
the instrument. The father of the present
Then Local Manager L. C. Wagner, of the
Baldwin Piano Co., told of a survey his or- members of the Mohr firm made the pipes
ganization had recently made of the pianos of the first Vassar College organ, built in
1865 and destroyed by fire in 1918.
in sixty-five Chicago warehouses. Assertions
that there were hundreds proved to be true.
The instrument just given has five stops:
The owners continued to pay storage and only
open diapason, dulciana, stopped diapason,
thirteen were willing to sell their grands, and
principal and fifteenth. The open diapason
of these only three were resalable if the Bald-
and dulciana begin at tenor G, the lower
win Company had made the purchase. They
seventeen pipes of the stopped diapason are
did not. But the experience of the Kimball
used also as the lower notes of the open
and the Baldwin houses effectively disposed
diapason. The stop knobs are placed in a
of the myth about thousands of people want-
horizontal row directly above the keys. There
ing to get rid of their pianos, a useful fact
are no pedal stops, the pedal keys being per-
to know when one considers that the Baldwin
manently coupled to the manual keys. The
survey included sixty-five warehouses in Chi- organ is not enclosed in a swell box. It con-
cago, which is certainly comprehensive.
tains 236 pipes. The organ can be blown by
Then the veteran Adam Schneider wound
a foot pedal or by a bellows handle extend-
up this interesting round-table discussion by
ing forward and placed directly at the right
reminding his hearers that there were 500,000
of the bench. The casework is of mahogany
children in Chicago, graduates of public
and richly hand-carved.
schools, and 385,000 more from the parochial
The organ is installed in the midst of a
schools, each of whose parents were certainly
number of interesting exhibits. On its left
the best of prospects for piano sales.
stands an especially good model of an early
Resolutions of sympathy with the family of
American Melodion made by R. Burnbacker,
the late James Weibley were passed, and the of Washington, N. J., and on its right is a
next meeting is scheduled for September.
Broadwood piano of 1796, originally sold bv
John Jacob Astor to Hon. Edmund Living-
stone of Poughkeepsie.
MAY MEETING OF CHICAGO PIANO AND
ORGAN ASSOCIATION VERY INTERESTING
HE May luncheon meeting of the Chi-
cago Piano and Organ Association was
held May 19 at the Auditorium Hotel,
with President George L. Hall, Vice-presi-
dent Wagner, Secretary David W. Kimball,
Executive Secretary Adam Schneider and a
representative number of members present.
Excellent vocal music was furnished by a
quintet provided by Frank Bennett, of the
Baldwin Piano Co.'s local branch, and re-
ceived the thanks of the association in a for-
mal vote.
Adam Schneider reported on behalf of the
ways and means committee that it had been
decided not to make a formal protest to Con-
gress as an organization, as there did not
seem to be any probability of a sales tax be-
ing imposed this session on pianos.
He also reported on the situation of music
instruction in the public schools of Chicago,
and it was noted with satisfaction by the
members that out of all the pianos loaned to
the Chicago School Board for class piano in
struction by local dealers and manufacturers
only seven were idle, all the rest being in
daily use, and over seven thousand children
are now taking class piano instruction in the
local public schools.
Vice-President W. E. Guylee, of the Cable
Co., being called on for some remarks on the
trade, made a number of interesting points.
He spoke of the changed public attitude
toward the piano, and said that emphatically
the public no longer bought pianos as a mat-
ter of pride to make their homes complete,
but their enjoyment of the piano and of piano
music was evident from the national use of
the piano over the radio, since the programs,
after all, indicated more or less faithfully
what the public wanted in music.
But there was in Mr. Guvlee's opinion a
great reservoir of piano sales yet unmade, and
this could be profitably worked, in other sales
made, if we employ salesmen who know the
PLANNING PROGRAM FOR
piano and who can sell the piano as a musical
OHIO ASS'N CONVENTION
instrument. When that is done you have an
ever-growing influence for more sales. So if
Plans are now being whipped into shape
dealers and salesmen develop the thought that for the annual convention of the Music Mer-
the piano as a musical instrument, not as a
chants' Association of Ohio which will be
mere piece of furniture, is a bigger selling
held in Portsmouth, O., on September 13 and
force than ever before, our trade can recover
14, following an executive meeting of the
a large part of the million pianos which association officers held recently in Columbus
T
For Moths in Pianos Use
The Schall Laboratories
Piano-Moth-e X
Ten-year (Jiiiwantcr
Dealers - Tuners - Write :
TIIK SCHALL I.A HOKATOK1 KS
Madison Ave.,
l.a<'r«Ks.-, VVis.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE WORLD OF RADIO
GOOD ATTENDANCE AT ANNUAL
RADIO TRADE SHOW IN CHICAGO
A
LTHOl GH regarded somewhat of a
disappointment in certain quarters,
the annual radio Trade Show held
New Officers of the R. M. A.
in Chicago last month proved generally sat-
President, FKKD. 1"). WILLIAMS, Indianapolis.
isfactory. There were fewer exhibits than
in previous years and considerable space was
First
Vicc-Prcsidrnt,
HARRY
A. BKACII,
given to electric refrigerators and electric
Rochester, N. Y.
home equipment outside of radio, but there
Sfcond
I'icf-Prrsidi'nl,
MKADE B R I \ K I ,
Har-
were enough new radio receivers shown to
rison, N. J.
live up to the name of the exposition.
In radio there was a distinct tendency to
Third liic-Prisidrnt,
LESLIE K. MITKR, Chi-
step up the price range and although there
cago.
were midgets to be had at around $20 list
Trrasurrr, K. N. RAUI.AMI, Chicago.
the majority were listed at $49.50 or better
and a very substantial proportion of console
sets were well above the $100 line.
Those operating the show declared them-
that the saturation point was far in the
selves well pleased with the attendance and
future, despite the cry of the pessimists. IK
stated that over 14-.000 individuals had regis-
stated that there were some 16 million radio
tered during the show period. General
sets in operation in homes, but that many
estimates were considerably below these
of them were obsolete and ready for replace-
figures, but nevertheless there was a very
ment. While this replacement business was
substantial turnout of all sections of the
in itself important, it must also be consid-
country. The registrations indicated that the
ered that there are over 13,000,000 homes
attendance was only about 3 3 per cent off
in the country not yet equipped with radios.
from last year.
Mir h of the time during the first two or This means a wide field for sales.
The Wednesday session of the Radio
three days was given over to various asso-
Manufacturers' Association was devoted to
ciation meetings. On Monday morning there
the presentation of reports by the various
was a conference of tube manufacturers to
committees, all of whom showed considerable
discuss the great progress that had been
activity during the year. The question of
made during the year in developing new
more intensive Federal regulation was dis-
types of tubes and what the future seemed
cussed and the members of the trade w e n
to hold for those essential radio factors.
warned to be on their guard against ex-
On Tuesday was held the general open
tremes in that direction. The patent situation
meeting of the Radio Manufacturers' Asso-
is being cleared up gradually and there has
ciation, at which Mayor Cermak of Chicago
been no increase in the problems there.
delivered his message of greeting. Owing
Fred D. Williams, president of P. R. Mal-
to the absence of Harry A. Shaw, president
lory & Co., Inc., of Indianapolis, Ind., was
of the National Association of Broadcasters,
elected president of the Radio Manufacturers'
his paper on ''Some Broadcast Problems" was
Association.
read by Paul W. Morency, vice-president
Other officers were elected as follows:
of the association. Mr. Shaw urged that
First vice-president, Harry A. Beach of
there be closer cooperation and teamwork on
the Stromberg-Carlson Tel. Manufacturing
the part of both radio manufacturers and
Company, Rochester, N. Y.; second vice-
broadcasters to the end of developing better
president, Meade Brunet of the RCA Radio-
programs for the purpose of holding public
tron Co., Inc., Harrison, N. J.; third vice-
interest. T h e principal -speaker was Merle
president, Leslie F. Muter of the Muter Co.,
Thorpe, editor of ''The Nation's Business,"
Chicago; and treasurer, F.. N. Rauland of
who devoted his time chiefly to urging that
the Rauland Corporation, Chicago.
business men insist upon economy in gov-
Four new members of the board of direc-
ernmental operation
and declared
that
tors to serve for three years were elected
Congress must be made to see that the
as follows:
budget could only be balanced by reducing
W. S. Symington, president of the Colonial
the overhead instead of placing additional
Radio Co., Buffalo; S. W. Muldowny, chair-
taxes on business that had already been so
man of the board of the National Union
badly hit.
Radio Corporation, New York City; C. B.
Harold A. Lafount of the Federal Radio
Smith, president of the Stewart-Warner
Commission delivered an interesting talk on
Corp., Chicago; and Franklin Hutchinson,
the present development in television at the
president of Kolster Radio, Inc., Newark,
same session.
N. J.
In his opening address President J. Clark
Four resignations from the board and an
Coir of the association declared that 1he
radio men were evidencing their faith in the equal number of replacements were an-
nounced. Resignations were accepted from
future by investing millions of dollars in new
A. L. Walsh of Newark, N. J . ; R. W . Jack-
radio equipment and products. He stated
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
June-July,
1932
son, New York City; K. K. Kauer, Provi-
dence, R. I.; and E. V. Hughes, Peru, Ind.
They were replaced by J. M. Spangler of
the National Carbon Co., New York; J.
Clarke Coit, president of the U. S. Radio &
Television Corp., Marion, Ind., and past
president of the R M A ; R. A. O'Connor,
president of Magnavox, Ltd., and Roy Bur-
lew, president of the Kenrad Corporation ot
Owensboro, Ky.
GERMAN MUSIC INSTRUMENT
EXPORTS SHOW DECLINE
According to a report submitted by U. S.
Vice-Consul Bernard F. Heller, of Dresden,
the exports of musical instruments by Ger-
many showed a falling off of 45 per cent
during the year of 1931 as compared with
1930 with the United States remaining the
most important market. The report reads in
part:
Germany's exports of musical instruments,
accessories and supplies decreased by about
45 per cent during the year 1931, as com-
pared with 1930, and were about 40 per cent
of those for 1929, the values of musical in-
strument exports being $11,428,760, $20,581,-
526 and $27,835,766 in the respective years.
All export items show decreases, but those for
phonographs and records, pianos and "other
instruments" were particularly noticeable.
Despite a considerable decrease in exports
during 1931, the United States remained the
most important market for musical instru-
ments and supplies of German origin, with
a value of $1,437,282. Decreases were notice-
able in exports of all instruments and acces-
sories except cellos and string basses. Con-
siderable decrease was recorded in the value
of mouth organ and accordion exports.
Norway and Sweden, classified together,
comprised the second best market during 1931,
but also showed a decline.
Great Britain
still maintains third place, with a value of
$913,206—a decrease, caused mainly by fewer
purchases of pianos and phonographs. Switzer-
land, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia
follow, in the order named. Argentina, which
ranked fourth in 1930, fell to seventh place
for 1931, exports to this country being nearly
60 per cent less, and valued at $517,888, as
compared with $1,219,988.
Denmark was
the only country which showed an increase in
the value of exports from Germany.
German piano and grand piano exports,
including parts, show a large value decrease
for 1931—to $3,013,794 from $6,097,560 in
1930, a decrease of more than 50 per cent.
Sweden is now Germany's best customer for
pianos and grands, but is closely followed
by the United Kingdom and Italy. Argen-
tina, first in 1930, now ranks fourth. Exports
of pianos and grands to other South Amer-
ican and Central American countries show a
decrease in value, although the quantity re-
mains the same. Shipments to British South
Africa show a large decline in both quantity
and value.
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