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n i A N O row on 57th Street, New
York, is all a glitter. Such doings
haven't been in many moons. Painters,
decorators, awning makers, rug sham-
pooers, window washers, upholsters,
and such, much ado in salons like the
Aeolian Co., Sohmer & Co. and Hard-
man Peck & Co. Possibly more—but
anyway these salons are now all
polished up. No more than that had
been done then OPA came out with the
price ceiling on new pianos. The scen-
ery is all clean, the stage is set but
they're still waiting for the pianos.
And, not to be outdone, the palatial
warerooms of Wm. Knabe & Co. on
Fifth Ave. are also being brightened
up with fresh delicate tints on the
second and third floors and a thorough
cleansing of the main salon and base-
ment thrown in. On 57th Street light
tints of blue, buff and green are in
evidence. In these times they call it
modernization, but whatever it is, once
customers arrive they will be so im-
pressed they won't want to leave—
and won't without a piano under their
arm if Wood, Wright, Lang, Hochman,
Sanchez, Hagemeyer, Schaeffer or Soh-
mer can help it.
A F T E R spending a year or more as
production manager for the Signal
Corps at Camp Evans, Belmar, N. J.,
Arthur E. Wilson, former manager of
the 57th Street, New York, store of the
Janssen Piano Co., is back in the piano
business. This time he is selling used
pianos and has located at 30 East 20th
Street, New York. He's making a spe-
cialty of finding good grands, uprights
and spinets which is keeping him busy,
but he knows that dealers all over the
country are looking for good instru-
ments and having been in the business
for several years before the war knows
a good piano when he sees it. Says he's
getting a real kick out of supplying
dealers. "When you'i'e doing a real
service for your fellow man," he says,
"then is the time you are beginning to
be happy." Good philosophy in these
hectic piano days.
XA/ORD from W. C. (Billy) Heaton,
sunning himself out in Pasedena,
Cal., says he is kept busy with dealers
calling him up from most any distance
asking about when they may get pi-
anos. Tries to be nice but like every-
one else including manufacturers can't
tell them much about it, wishes he
L J I S last name was Fandel but to could. Most accommodating person.
the Chickering & Sons organization Found out dealers were having calls
in Boston he had been just plain "Ted" for extension pedals and couldn't get
for 47 years. For many years he was them. Billy got on the job and found
an expert stringer. When it became out where they were. Says this sounds
impossible for him to do that work encouraging and shows that the young-
any more, he was delegated, by H. B. er generation is taking earnest interest
Wood when he assumed the manager- in the piano and like it enough to want
ship of that store a few years ago, to to play when very young. Billy is
be the handy man of the organization. champing at the bit like all good piano
Then his eyesight commenced to fail salesmen, hoping he may be able to hit
and one day Mr. Wood said, "Ted, I the trail soon and the sooner the better.
want you to go home and stay there
and as long as you live you'll be paid
as usual." That was three years ago.
Last December "Ted" was taken ill. D U S H I N G across Seventh Ave. in
He went to the hospital, never to re-
New York, REVIEW representative
turn alive. E. J. Newby, now man- caught the profile view of someone he
ager of the store, and his old friends thought looked like someone he knew.
at the warerooms attended "Ted's" Second look proved it. Arm swing
services and when they were all over brought the two face to face. Face of
did even more. They called on his friend unshaved, rather tired look under
widow and Mr. Newby presented her beard. When asked if he was growing
with a check for $1,000 the proceeds a VanDyke he demurred, "No, but I
of an insurance policy which had been have been up since three A.M." "Why
taken out on "Ted's" life by the com- don't you stay in nights?" was asked,
pany and without his knowledge. to which a weak voice replied, "Could-
In these tough times it's worth think- n't, it was a baby boy." Many con-
ing about—isn't it?
gratulations extended, two feet on the
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MARCH, 1945
brass rail in the Brass Rail and two
elbows up. Then to the barber for the
patient father "Bill" Perlman, more
dignifiably known as William Perlman,
president of the National Piano Corp.,
New York, father for the second time,
girl the first, second 8V2-lb. boy, name
unknown as yet. Mother and child do-
ing famously at the Doctors Hospital.
Father improving. Congratulations in
order.
k l O T to be outdone by any Manhat-
tan piano salons, Louis Bromberg,
creator of the MirrApiano and head
of the Wissner piano salon over in
Brooklyn, has been having some decor-
aating of his own done. Large spacious
wareroom gives one a bird's eye view
of grands and spinets when they are
there and with floor now scraped and
finished as smooth as a maiden's thigh
which shines like a nigger's heel with
proper tints on the walls and pure
white MirrApiano makes an all round
picture for comfort and attractiveness
worth the price of admission; either
a MirrApiano license or the purchase
of a MirrApiano—either of which is
acceptable to Louis.
"THE WESER PIANO CO. has been
keeping apace with the demand for
used and reconditioned pianos, par-
ticularly the latter, and has developed
a unique and apparently very quick
method of cutting down old uprights
into spinet type pianos. Still located
at the same old address, 524 W. 43rd
St., New York, where the factory has
been for just how long is hard to say,
while Vice President John A. Weser
is handling government money as a
paymaster somewhere in the army in
Europe, President Samuel Resnick is
engineering the job of turning out as
many reconditioned pianos as possible
and supplying them to dealers through-
out the country. With him is a Ruther-
ford, N. J., citizen, Treasurer Alessi,
who scouts for the pianos so that deal-
ers may not be disappointed and ship-
ments can flow smoothly. Resnick and
Alessi have been teamed up on selling
pianos for so many years they'll be
twins yet. And, neither of them are
older than they should be and don't
look it either.
23