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THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
ham exhibited in London a player action
which could be packed in a suitcase and car-
ried as hand baggage. When unfolded and
opened up it was laid upon the key blocks
of a piano over the keyboard. The bellows,
valves and pneumatics were very small and
the former were operated by hand instead
of by foot. The feet were left to operate the
damper, sostenuto and key-frame shifting
pedals of the piano. According to the trade-
paper accounts the instrument gave highly
artistic effects. Unfortunately, it never took
root. I inquired vigorously in London, but
could obtain no information about it and now
for two years have had no word of its fate.
There might have been one way of building
a new player industry.
TUNERS' EARNINGS
Price Kiker, of Fort Worth, Texas, has
sent to me an analytical statement which il-
lustrates the ups and downs of the tuning
business as he has experienced them during
the last twenty years. It is decidedly in-
teresting from every point of view. It fur-
nishes a view of the tuning situation both
as a pre- and as a post-war phenomenon,
and suggests comparisons which may lead to
some plausible deductions as to the future.
It appears that in 1913 Mr. Kiker's earnings
were pretty well up to the general level of
salaries paid to good tuners by good music
houses. During 1916, at the beginning of
the war-time prosperity, he earned more
than two thousand dollars. From that point
onwards his earnings increased without a
break and at a very rapid rate until 1920,
the figures for which year were nearly three
times the figures for 1915. From that point
there was a sharp drop, amounting to nearly
30 per cent in the early part of 1921. Dur-
ing the rest of that year there was a small
recovery, but nearly all of this was lost later
on, leaving the figures at the beginning of
1923 almost as low as they had been two
years earlier. During 1923 there was an-
other recovery, to about four-fifths of the
1920 maximum. From this point onwards to
1927 there was another sharp and continuous
drop, so that the earnings for the latter year
were only a little higher than for the year
1918. 1928 and 1929 showed increases, and
the last-named gave figures about the same
as those for 1919, ten years earlier. Thence
there has been, of course, a steady and steep
drop, so that the year 1932 shows earnings
only a little better than those of 1916.
PLAYERS, NOT TUNING
January, 1933
phonographs, which was terminated only by
the emergence of radio broadcasting as a
nation-wide public utility. The falling off
between 1920 and 1924, shown by Mr. Kiker's
figures, corresponds with this state of affairs.
On the other hand, as every one knows, there
was a very rapid and powerful, although
temporary, activity in sales of expensive re-
producing pianos between 1924 and 1929,
which had the effect of producing a great
deal of repair and adjustment work for skill-
ed player mechanics, nearly all of whom
were also good tuners. Here again we have
an explanation of the upward curve of earn-
ings between 1927 and 1929, although the
downturn in reproducing piano sales bad be-
gun before the stock market boom broke in
October, 1929.
To my mind, the interesting feature of all
this is to be found in the light it throws upon
tuning, pure and simple, as against player and
reproducer maintenance work. It is evident,
to any one who studies the facts presented
here, that Mr. Kiker's Texas community kept
him steadily busy between 1913 and 1920
mainly because they were buying player-
pianos. There is nothing, either in these
or in an other figures of tuner's income that
I have ever seen, to suggest that the amount
of piano tuning, pure and simple, was much
greater at the height of music trade prosperity
than it was during the first decade of the
century. The problem of the piano tuner
is today very much what it was in 1905.
Then the question was of finding pianos to
tune. Today the same question is to the
front. Nor are the proffered solutions much
more plausible.
OFFERS SPECIAL SERVICE
IN PIANO KEY REPAIRING
Piano dealers as well as manufacturers
and repair or service men will be interested
in the announcement that Victor E. Nelson
has opened a piano key repairing shop at
904 South Sixth avenue, St. Charles, 111.
Mr. Nelson is a well-known piano mechanic
and has had 20 years' practical experience
as a key maker. For a number of years he
was with the Cable Co. at their St. Charles
factory, and there he realized the need for a
specialist to whom piano dealers could for-
ward sets of pianos or organ keys for re-
pairing, refinishing, new tops or polishing.
His factory is well equipped, his knowledge
complete and he guarantees all repair work
done by himself or his assistants. Since he
started his own business he has done much
work for dealers who sent in their sets by
parcel post and got them back the same
quick way.
It is evident that public interest in pianos
throughout Mr. Kiker's Texas territory began
to increase after 1915 in line with the then
steadily increasing sales of player-pianos.
These sales reached their maximum shortly GIVE CHRISTMAS CONCERT
after the War and before the post-war de-
flation, which began to show itself durjng AT STEINWAY FACTORIES
the Fall of the year 1920. Readers will per-
On December 23rd officials of Steinway &
haps remember, too, that between 1918 and Son followed a long standard custom in ar-
1924 there was a very heavy demand for ranging a special concert at the factory in
Long Island City for the entertainment of
employes and their families, over 500 of
TO PIANO MAKERS, DEALERS AND TUNERS
A. f<"w sample prices on my specialty a.s a keymaker
whom attended.
of 20 years' experience. AU work guaranteed, dis-
count on large Quantities.
The concert was given by the Steinway &
Recovering tops with grained Ivorine
$5.00 set
Sons' Musical Society, made up of employes
Rebush entire set
3.00 *et
Scraping and polishing
2.00 set
of the factories, under the direction of
Broken keys carefully repaired.
Michael Foran and was interspersed with
VICTOR E. NELSON
904 So. 6th Avenue
St. Charles, III.
vocal selections by Lillian Herzog and the
Phone: St. Charles 374-R
Harmonie Quartet.
13
TO KEEP MATHUSHEK PIANO
OFF BARGAIN COUNTER
In discussing plans for 1933 John H. Get-
tell, secretary of the Mathushek Piano Mfg.
Co., stated to THE REVIEW.
"We wish to assure the trade that the high
standards which have been employed in the
manufacturing of Mathushek pianos in the
past will be steadfastly maintained during the
year of 1933 in addition to the years which
are to follow.
"As far as the Mathushek Co. itself is
concerned we intend to carry on and develop
our business on sound principles. Mathushek
pianos will not be found on the bargain
counter, but, on the other hand, where real
value is expected for every dollar invested.
"We
extend
to THE REVIEW
our
best
wishes for its continued success."
NEW JERSEY PIANO TUNERS
PROTEST LOWER PRICES
The New Jersey Piano Tuners' Association,
Inc., at its January meeting, took occasion to
draft and send to the Lauter Piano Co., of
Newark, N. J., a strong letter of protest
against the reported decision of that com-
pany to reduce the price of piano tuning.
The association made the point that after
many years of effort the tuners had built up
the prestige of their profession and had man-
aged to establish prices for their work that
insure a decent living for the artisan. Gen-
eral conditions have, almost automatically,
cut the incomes of the members even at pre-
vailing prices and it is felt that any adver-
tised price reduction will not only fail to
cause any substantial increase in the demand
for tunings, but will serve to undo much that
has already been accomplished in elevating
the status of the tuning profession.
PAUL S. FELDER HEADS
PHILIP WERLEIN, Ltd.
Paul S. Felder, formerly secretary-treas-
urer of the Philip Werlin, Ltd., the promi-
nent music house of New Orleans, was re-|
cently elected president of that company
succeed Parham Werlein, the former presj
dent, who died some weeks ago. Mr. Felc
has been with the company since 1917
has been very active in the management^
its affairs.
The Miller Music Co., Gainesville,
has taken the agency for the Starr
Co., line of pianos in that city.
THE REVIEW'S
WANT DIRECTORY
WHOLESALE PIANO SALESMEN WANTED.
Men who also have retail selling ability. Who
can sell on child appeal showing parents the
value of musical training for their children, and
can s>ell the Piano as an incident to that musical
training. WEAVER PIANO CO., INC., Manu-
facturers, YORK, PA.
PIANO TUNER, married, with ten years' fac-
tory and fifteen years' store experience, wishes to
affiliate with store on permanent basis. Can do
refinishing. Best of references. Ralph E. Blowers,
Athens, Mich.