Music Trade Review

Issue: 1954 Vol. 113 N. 4

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
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Many Thanks-Fellers!!
New York, N. Y.
March 30, 1954
Dearl Carleton,
I have just finished reading your An-
niversary Issue from cover to cover. I
found it most interesting and informa-
tive.
You have given us a brief history of
most of the survivors and to this ex-
tent you have brought the Industry
right up to date.
I can readily understand the amount
of work involved in collating this mate-
rial and I want to congratulate you in
bringing out this most effective issue.
With all good wishes,
Sincerely yours.
Harry J. Sohmer
SOHMER & CO., INC.
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Kansas City. Mo.
March 30, 1954
Dear Mr. Chace:
Just a line to congratulate you on
your anniversary issue. March 1954.
The history and information in this
issue were intensely interesting to me,
and I know how much work was en-
tailed in the article "75 Years or
More."
We will file this article away as a
compilation of some of the most valu-
able data we have ever seen brought
together on the piano industry.
With best wishes, I am
Sincerely yours,
JENKINS MUSIC CO.
C. W. Kanaga
Advertising Manager

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Dear Carl:
Thank you for your letter of March
25 and for the flat copy of the 75th
Anniversary Issue of the Review.
Congratulations upon this issue and
the vitality of your organization on
your 75th Anniversary.
I personally highly value my
friendship for you. I have some very
pleasant recollections of associations
together, including an automobile ride
from York to Philadelphia some years
ago.
With warm personal regards.
Cordially yours,
Walter L. Bond, Pres.
WEAVER PIANO CO.
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Dear Carleton:
My compliments to you on the fine
Anniversary issue, your 75th, which
has just come in the mail.
I will take it home with me so I
can read it thoroughly. In the mean-
time, it is obvious from a quick glance
that this issue of THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW is a memorial in fact.
Thank you for "the good treatment '
you gave our Company.
Thank you very much. Carleton. for
sending me a flat copy for my own
use.
I wouldn't be so unkind as to wish
that you will be around for a second
75th Anniversary of the Review, but I
hope you will carry on at the helm for
another ten years anyway.
Best to you!
Sincerely yours,
lien F. Duvall
Vice Pres. & Cen. Mgr.
W. W. KIMBALLCO.
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April 1, 1954
Dear Carleton;
It is with sentimental appreciation
that I send greetings and congratula-
tions to you and your associates con-
cerning "Anniversary Issue of The
Music Trade Review."
The test of time has been a severe
one for those of us who have stuck, in
good and lean years. As you say in
editorial paragraph:
"Looking Back over the years"
"There is an untold satisfaction out
of something one likes to do."
It would give me much pleasure to
hear from you—better still to see you
personally, should you come this way.
I am still selling pianos at retail for
Miller's Music Store, 149 Essex St..
Salem, Mass.
Cordially,
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Chicago. 111.
March 31, 1954
York. Pa.
March 31. 1954
Alexis A. Mahan
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Kansas City. Mo.
April 2. 1954
Dear Carleton:
I do wish to thank you, and congrat-
ulate you as well, for the most interest-
ing issue of The Music Trade Review
for the month of March. 1954. You
are indeed to be congratulated for the
75th year of The Music Trade Review.
This being our 76th year, I feel it only
right that we send our best wishes to
anyone in our general line of business
that is of the same approximate age.
Your most interesting article headed
"Seventy-five Years or More" which
you modestly refer to as thumbnail
historical sketches are. I feel, very
valuable as well as interesting to have.
It is impossible. I think, for most of
us, certainly for me, to keep all such
historical data in one's mind of the
old and famous names in the piano
manufacturing world. I am very hap-
py to have this particular Music Trade
Review issue, and will always have it
handy in my office to refer to.
Will you please have sent to me
three additional copies of this March
issue and bill me for same. I wish
both of my sons, J. W. Jenkins, IV,
and Paul, Jr., to have a copy of this
issue and study it from time to time.
I wish the third copy for Ken Gil-
lespie. our general manager, for his
files.
Incidentally, that is a mighty fine
likeness of you—a picture taken at
your desk I presume—on page 8. Cer-
tainly it is always interesting too. and
I think worthwhile, for us to have up
to date pictures of the publishers of
those magazines or papers we read
regularly.
Here's wishing you continued suc-
cess, and particularly the best of health,
for many years to come in your ca-
pacity as Editor of The Music Trade
Review, and looking forward to seeing
you this coming summer at the Con-
vention, I remain
j.
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\
r
Cordially yours.
Paul W. Jenkins, Pres.
JENKINS MUSIC CO.
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Chicago, 111.
April 5, 1954
Dear Mr. Chace:
I have just finished reading your sev-
enty-fifth anniverasry issue of the Music
Trade Review and I want to congratu-
late you warmly on a very wonderful
job of historical documentation.
Your brief histories of the various pi-
ano companies are especially interesting
and the entire magazine is of great his-
torical value within itself.
Lastly, I want to congratulate you
and the Review on your years of service
to the music industry and I hope that we
will both be around when you prepare
your centennial issue.
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W ith warm person regards,
Cordially yours,
William R. Gard,
Executive Secretary
N.A.M.M.
Oklahoma City Teachers'
Attend Piano Workshop
More than 100 public and parochial
school teachers in Oklahoma City, Ok-
lahoma attended the piano workshop
at Oklahoma City University the last
week in January. The university co-
operated with city public schools, the
local music dealers and AMC to ar-
range and conduct the successful ses-
sions. Dr. Robert Pace directed the
workshops.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, APRIL, I9£4

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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
The JS usic
Established 1879
Vol. 113-No. 4
PIONEER
2,889th Issue
REVIEW
75th Year
THE
April, 1954
PUBLICATION
75th Year
O F T H E MUSIC
I N D U S T R Y
The Working Salesman Will Find
Piano Business Good During 1954
By CURTIS P. KIMBALL
Wholesale Division W. W. Kim ball Co., Chicago, III.
F
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IRST and foremost the 1954 most
positive selling factor of our indus-
try and any other is the general eco-
nomic outlook for the year.
We have all been reading many eco-
nomic forecasts of what we business
men can expect in 1954. These fore-
casts range from ivory tower ideal-
ists with no practical knowledge of
business to those made by top drawer
executive talent who every day face
the realities of business life.
One of the finest experience I had
recently was hearing speeches made
by Mr. Livingston, President of the
First National Bank in Chicago, Mr.
McCaffrey, President of International
Harvester Corporation, and Mr. Kes-
tenbaum. President Hart-Schaffner &
Marx. These men spoke together at
a luncheon and covered their opinion
of the outlook for business in 1954.
Among other things their consesus
of opinion was:
Executive Opinions
1. Business will be good for those
who put out more effort in 1954
than they did in 1953—in our busi-
ness this means that all of us who
are salesmen will have to call on
more prospects, which means us-
ing more shoe leather, and spend
less time sitting in our respective
stores waiting for prospects.
2. Store owners will have to run
their store operations more care-
fully and efficiently in 1954 than
in previous years and will have to
show their employees the road
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, APRIL. 1954
they want them to travel by set-
ting good examples of harder work
and longer hours.
3. These three top executives were
also of the consensus of opinion
that it will be too bad for those
of us who either do not have
the foresight based on past experi-
ence or neglect to use this quality
of foresight to attack the problems
of the day right now. It is no
longer possible to put off until
tomorrow what should be done to-
day.
4. Who can be pessimistic in view
of the very rapid increase in pop-
lation which started with the tre-
mendous so-called baby boom in
World War II that hasn't stopped
yet. This means more and more
potential customers every year for
all business men and the starting
of more and more families each
year who will specifically be in
the market for our product in
years to come.
Ample Savings Available
• The Americans have two hundred
billion dollars in savings right now.
six billion more than at the end of
1952. which indicates there is more
than enough money available for
purchasing pianos and that it is up
to us in the piano industry to make
the American public want our prod-
uct badly enough to part with some
of these savings.
Again, how can we be pessimistic
in the face of what we hear about
the extent of business outlays for
new plants and equipment. This dol-
lar figure for new plants and equip-
ment is forecasted to be in 1954 at
an annual rate of 28 billion dollars
which would be 800 million dollars
above the pace set in the first three
months of 1953.
General Motors Example
A specific example of a business
outlay for 1954 was the announce-
ment we all head made by President
Curtice of General Motors in which
he said his company was planning
a one billion dollars expansion in
1954. This announcement was greet-
ed very enthusiastically by the ei tire
business world since it indicated the
very positive approach of business
in trying to keep our economy run-
ning at a high pace in peacetime
without having to call on the Fed-
eral Government for help.
Maybe I am just showing what is
considered the typical trait of sales-
man, that is optimism, but in view
of these things and others we all are
aware of, I can't help but believe
1954 will be a good year for the
piano business. Also, I know we all
feel very optimistic that our particu-
lar industry will prosper in the years
to come because of the substantial
increase in our population each year.
The Working Salesman Will Win
To narrow down this thought to our
industry I think we will all agree that
the most positive factor in piano selling

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