Music Trade Review

Issue: 1932 Vol. 91 N. 9

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
14
MUSIC
TRADE
other musical organizations. He is survived
by a son, Louis Richard Dressier.
OBITUARY
Walter A. Beedle
George W . Morgan
George Washbourne Morgan, one of the
best-known piano salesmen in the metro-
politan district of New York and who had
been connected with the piano department of
the Wanamaker store for over a quarter of
a century, died on October 24 at his home
on Staten Island after a short illness. He
is survived by his sister, Maude Morgan, a
well-known harpist.
Mr. Morgan, who was sixty-six years old,
was the son of George Washbourne Morgan,
a noted organist, and naturally received a
considerable music training in his youth. He
eventually became interested in piano selling
and during his career at Wanamaker's hung
up several records for individual piano sell-
ing over a year period. For several years
he was manager of the piano department of
Gimbel Brothers, in New York, but again
returned to the Wanamaker department,
where he was employed at the time of his
death.
Edward P. Little
Edward P. Little, for thirty-three years
head of the sheet music department of Sher-
man, Clay & Co., San Francisco, and a past-
president of the National Association of
Sheet Music Dealers, died recently in that
city of pneumonia. He was fifty-one years
old.
Mr. Little had a host of friends through-
out the music trade and was a frequent
visitor to the east, where he came to main-
tain trade contacts. Under his direction the
publishing department of Sherman, Clay &
Co. produced a number of outstanding song
hits, among them being the famous "Whisper-
ing." MT. Little is survived by his father,
Thomas Little, a brother, Sherman, and a
son, Carl.
The Boston piano trade was shocked to
learn of the death of Walter A. Beedle,
which occurred November 1 at the Palmer
Memorial Hospital in Boston. He had been
with the Ivers & Pond Piano Co. for up-
wards of thirty years. Mr. Beedle was sixty-
six years old and was born at Troy, O. Soon
after his marriage he went to Cleveland, O.,
where he engaged in the piano business.
Later he and his family came to Boston and
for some time resided in Newton, until tak-
ing up their residence in Brookline. Mr.
Beedle is survived by his wife, a daughter,
two grandchildren and two half-sisters.
REVIEW,
November,
1932
later took charge of the routing of concert
pianos for all of the Steinway artists touring
the United States. She was so careful and exact
in her work that in all of the many years
during which she handled this difficult and
trying department no Steinway piano ever
missed its concert engagement with an artist,
a record of which she was particularly proud,
as was the Steinway house.
Peter McCormick
Peter McCormick, who operated the Mc-
Cormick Music Store on St. Clair street,
Toledo, for over 34 years, died at his home
in that city recently in his 80th year. He
had retired from active business about seven
years ago. He is survived by his widow
and a brother.
Thomas Lewis Powell
Frederick E. Weale
Thomas Lewis Powell, for a number of
years vice-president of the Cable-Nelson
Piano Co., Chicago, and president of that
company from 1921 to 1924, following the
death of Fayette S. Cable, died at his home
in Hinsdale, 111., on November 8, as the
result of an automobile accident.
Mr. Powell was sixty-three years old and
was born in Montgomery, Ala., where he
engaged in the piano business as a youth.
He came to Chicago in 1911 to join the
Cable-Nelson Co. He is survived by his
widow, two brothers and a sister.
Frederick E. Weale, of Weale & Sons,
music dealers of Port Jervis and Middletown,
N. Y., died in the former city late last month.
He was 62 years old and, in addition to his
music business, stood high as a music teacher
and band and orchestra leader.
George S. Cruger
Louis R. Dressier
George S. Cruger, for thirty years con-
nected with the music department of the
Wanamaker store, Philadelphia, died on No-
vember 1 as the result of a stroke. He was
fif'y-five years old. In addition to being
assistant manager of the music department,
Mr. Cruger had also been publicity manager
and announcer for the old Wanamaker sta-
tion WOO. He was a close friend of the
late Rodman Wanamaker and had charge
of the latter's collection of rare violins. He
is survived by his widow.
Louis Raphael Dressier, for over 40 years
associated with Charles H. Ditson & Co., the
prominent music publishers, long as head of
the company's department of religious music
and for a period in charge of the piano de-
partment, died at his home in Jersey City
on October 8 in his 71st year.
Mr. Dressier was well known as an organ-
ist and composer of church music. He was
organist for a number of prominent New
York churches at various times and in his
earlier days played accompaniments for many
prominent artists, among them Maud Powell,
Victor Herbert and Hans Kronold. He was
one of the founders of the American Guild
of Organists and was an active member of
Steinway & Sons have announced the re-
cent death of Miss Henrietta Kammerer, who
was in their employ for a period of thirty-
seven years. Her loss is greatly deplored
by them and her host of friends in their or-
ganization.
Miss Kammerer was a cousin of the late
Robert Kammerer, formerly of George Steck
& Co., and latterly of the Aeolian Co. She
entered the Steinway organization in 1896 at
the behest of the late William Steinway, for
whom sh^ did a great deal of secretarial
WOTL After his death she entered the
stenographic department of the house, and
Miss Henrietta Kammerer
STORY & CLARK PIANO COMPANY
Manufacturers
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, a retired piano builder,
died November 8 at his home in Atlantic,
Mass. He was eighty-seven years of age.
He was born in South Boston, and had lived
in Atlantic for the past fifty years. He had
been a Mason for sixty years and is sur-
vived by two sons.
D. B. Sill
D. B. Sill, widely and affectionately
known as "Ted" throughout the music trade
in the middle west, passed away Sunday,
October 30, at Superior, Neb., after a brief
illness which developed into pneumonia. Mr.
Sill was a brother of James V. Sill, sales
manager for the W. W. Kimball Co.
Services were held in Chicago, November 2,
and interment was in Iron Mountain, Mich.
Of late he had been associated with the
Bankers' Commercial Security Co.; prior to
that, for many years with the W. W. Kim-
bal! Co. in various capacities, where he
made many friends in the trade.
WEAVER
Pianos of Quality.
Complete line of attractive and
up-to-date styles.
Liberal live and let-live financ-
ing plans.
Weaver Look & Play Plan for
Creating Prospects and Retail-
ing Pianos.
Quality and Reputation devel-
oped over a period of sixty-two
years.
The line that contributes to the
success and profits of progres-
sive dealers.
Investigate.
INSTRUMENTS OF QUALITY SINCE 1857
Office: Chicago, Illinois
Factory: Grand Haven, Mich.
Weaver Piano Co., Inc.
YORK, PA.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
PIANO FACTORY and
PIANO SERVICING
DR. W M . BRAID WHITE
Technical Editor
Some Technical
Points on Modern
Piano Construction
DR. WM. BRAID WHITE
W
ITHIN the last few weeks I have
been receiving letters from several
parts of the country, asking for
technical information on points of piano con-
struction. I am led to wonder whether
any of my friends are thinking of going
into the business of making pianos on
a small scale. There is something to be said
for the idea at that.
Seeing, however, that a budget of these
questions is before me, I am moved to make
answer to them here, partly because this is
the most convenient medium for the purpose
and partly because by putting questions and
answers alike before a large audience I often
am able to evoke useful discussions.
WIRE
Question 1. Is No. 27 on the music wire
gauge the largest size of piano wire, and if
so, why?
Answer: No. 27 is the largest size of
piano wire made in stock quantities. There
would be no particular difficulty in drawing
wire of larger diameter to piano wire require-
ments, but it has been found that when its
diameter exceeds 0.07" the wire tends to take
on vibrational forms which exclude the
fundamental. That is to say, the wire tends
to break up into small harmonic fractions
immediately, so that, although there is al-
ways a feeble fundamental, it is overloaded
The
Piano-Moth-e X
Method
Quickly—Positively doubles tuners' incomes.
Dealers—Tuners, write
by harmonics which above the ninth are
mainly dissonant. On the whole, it is not
advisable to utilize wire of diameter larger
than 0.07". Of course, in special circum-
stances, as for instance when the length is
very great, different and more favorable
results might be attained, and I should there-
fore not wish to discourage experiment. Wire
larger than No. 27 must be drawn to order,
of course.
Question No. 2. How much tension will a
tuning pin stand without breaking
Answer: I suppose that the question
means: how much pull will a tuning pin en-
dure without giving way at the eye, which
is, of course, its weakest point. I have not
made any definite tests, but I know that the
yield point is well above the highest prac-
ticable tension, and even well above the
breaking strain of any piano wire made.
Piano wire should be used at tensions not
exceeding one-half of the breaking strain.
PLAITED
STRINGS
Question No. 3. Can piano wire be fur-
nished plaited in strands of three wires, with
the qualities and strength of ordinary wire?
Answer: The notion of plaiting together
three wire strands into a single piano wire is
not new. It was the subject of a patent
taken out by Lawrence A. Subers in 1892.
Siegfried Hansing in his admirable work,
The Pianoforte, quotes a description of the
Subers wire which appeared in a trade paper
of the above-named year. The inventor
claimed greater sonority, greater standing in
tune qualities, saving of labor in stringing,
tuning and tone regulating and so on. For
some reason, the invention seems to have died
young, for nothing more was heard of it.
Certainly it was never adopted.
WHY MULTI-STRING UNISONS?
This question brings up another one of
parallel intention which was put to me the
other day. A well-known New England tuner
asked me why it should be necessary to have
three stringed unisons on all pianos. He as-
serted that the unison is the principal cause
of out-of-tuneness, and that if it were pos-
sible to reduce the number of strings per uni-
son from three to one, there would be much
less trouble in keeping pianos in tune. This
is indeed true enough; but there are ob-
THE SCHAIL LABORATORIES
Madison Avenue
liaCrosse, Wis.
THE M U S I C TRADE REVIEW,
November,
1932
vious reasons for the employment of several
wires to each unison. The movements of the
soundboard are controlled and determined by
the mechanical energy imparted to the strings
and the quantity of this energy is proportional
to the number of string per unison. As a
matter of fact, it would be a very interest-
ing experiment to string the treble end of a
piano with four strings per unison for the
purpose of determining to what extent the
present immobility of the soundboard at that
end might be improved. Perhaps the addi-
tion of a fourth string would produce suf-
ficient additional shock to the board to set
it into effective motion. Of course, as we all
know, Sohmer and Mehlin in this country
once tried a fourth string in the upper treble,
set off slightly so as to be out of reach of
the hammer, while still a part of the unison.
The object was to strengthen the sonority by
harmonic reinforcement. The fourth unison,
however, was hard to tune and was abandon-
ed, in this country at least. Bluthner, of
Dresden, uses harmonic scaling, but in an-
other form.
The only practicable way of putting in a
fourth unison would be to have it in line
with the other three strings, to be struck in
the usual way by the hammer. The reader
will not fail to note that this would have the
effect of increasing by one-fourth the ten-
sions upon the tension members of the iron
{Please turn to page 16)
BADGER BRAND
PLATES
arc far more
than
merely
good p l a t e s .
They are built
correctly of the
best material and finish and are spe-
cified by builders of quality pianos.
American Piano Plate Co.
Manufacturers BADGER BRAND Grand
and Upright Piano Plates
Racine, Wisconsin
15

Download Page 14: PDF File | Image

Download Page 15 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.