23
PRESTO
June 12, 1920.
ployer, Mr. Powers, gave him a trial, at which he
was successful, soon having under his direction four-
teen wagons, canvassing from farm to farm.
Mr. Hodges then turned his attention to music;
the organ was then the instrument of the home.
He made his first organ sale on Independence Day,
Interesting History of Piano Man of New 1875, working for a time for the firm of Dunlap &
Co., at Pomeroy, Ohio, who were handling the Bald-
Richmond, Ohio, Who Sold His First
win line of pianos, organs and "melodeons." Mr.
Organ July 4, 1875.
Hodges later took the Baldwin line on his own ac-
Sam Hodges boasts that he has sold the Baldwin count.
line of instruments exclusively for 45 years. Mr.
He tells of one day receiving a letter from the
Hodges was born in 1850 near Richmond, Va. This Cincinnati house, telling him how to "make sales and
was in the slave days, and as there were no free close deals;" the letter ended with the injunction—
schools, he spent his early years working on the "Always consider the interest of your customer and
farm of a Southern land owner. At the age of 14 he bear in mind you are not in business for a day or a
entered the Confederate army, and at the close of
year, but for a life-time, and your aim must be to
the war returned to work on the farm.
earn and retain the good will of all with whom you
After about three years he made the start for the deal." The letter contained also a paragraph on the
"far West," walking over three hundred miles to the subject of "increased activity." Mr. Hodges still
Ohio River, and there became "traffic manager" of
has this letter and treasures it highly.
a small trade boat. Shortly after, he secured em-
Selling partly in West Virginia and Kentucky, as
ployment with a sewing machine man at Marietta, well as Ohio, he found his business disrupted by the
Ohio, caring for his horses. He soon got the idea great flood of 1884, and on this account had to give
that he could himself sell machines, and his em- up the business at Pomeroy. He then made a new
start at New Richmond, Ohio.
His career during the time he has done business
in New Richmond and surrounding counties has
been a remarkable one, both in the very large num-
ber of instruments sold in the territory worked and
in the great esteem in which he is held by the people
of these counties.
Mr. Hodges says: "One's success in life depends
partly on one's self, but largely on the line that one
ties to."
SAM HODGES HAS SOLD
BALDWINS 45 YEARS
BRAMBACH BABY GRAND
AT LA GRANGE COLLEGE
Head of Conservatory of Music at Famed In-
Institute of Learning in Missouri, Writes
Enthusiastically of New York Piano.
Septimus E. Barbour, head of the Conservatory of
Music, La Grange College, La Grange, Mo., is an en-
thusiastic booster of the Brambach Baby Grand.
In a letter he writes: "Brambach Baby Grand is
all that can be wished for. Its tonal quality is beau-
tifully soft and clear, action perfect and its volume
of tone surpasses any grand of its size."
This testimonial .coming from Mr. Barbour, who
is a musician of note in his own territory, is worthy
IMPROVING BANGOR STORE.
J. J. Handy, proprietor of the Handy Music Com-
pany, Bangor, Me., who recently bought out the F.
H. Thomas interest in the company, is making thor-
ough improvements in the store and plans to make it
one of the most attractive music stores in that sec-
tion of the state. Mr. Handy has put in three dem-
onstration booths and greatly enlarged his record
stock, carrying three times the amount of Victor
goods, Victrolas and records heretofore carried, also
a large stock of Grafonolas and Columbia records,
as formerly. The store carries a fine line of pianos,
sheet music and small musical instruments.
LIKED THE WEST.
Miss Maud Suman, reception clerk in the retail
piano department of the Lyon & Healy store, Chi-
cago, has just returned from a two months' trip to
.the far West. She visited at San Diego, Los An-
geles and Denver, and saw the beauties and grandeur
of the West for the first time in her life. "None of
the guide books do justice to the West," said Miss
Suman. "I had seen the Alleghenies and the East
before, but the West is ever so much more attrac-
tive."
A NEW HOOSIER SONG.
"We Love You, Indiana," is the title of a new
waltz song, issued for the centennial of Indiana Uni-
versity, which was observed at Bloomington last
week. The words of the song are by Mell Faris;
the music by Helen Bates Faris. The song is dedi-
cated to 52 gold-star heroes of the university who
gave up their lives in the world's war.
The William, A. Waggoner Talking Machine Com-
pany will locate its factory in Montpelier, Ind.
Not An Every Day Proposition
You can liven things up with the enthusiasm of the "Right Goods"
if you sell the high class
Septimus E. barbour at Piano.
A6oy&; 77ie La Grarafe College*
an addition to the vast volume of testimonial letters
in the Brambach Company's archives. Similar let-
ters have been received from college musical direc-
tors, private instructors—in fact, from every class of
persons interested in things musical. All the testi-
monials are unanimous in the statement that the
Brambach Baby Grand tone is remarkable and that
its dignity adds tone and color to its environment.
The photograph illustrates Mr. Barbour seated at
the grand piano while at the top is shown La Grange
College, in which he is head of the music department.
VOSE PIANOS
ESTABLISHED 1851
lOne of the Largest Outputs In the United State*
The Fastest Selling Piano in the Market
Send for Illustrated Catalogue
VOSE & SONS PIANO CO.,
PIANOS AND PLAYER-PIANOS
If your line is already a strong one you can make it still stronger
by adding the £>traub?. LET US HEAR FROM YOU.
STRAUBE PIANO CO.
General Offices and Factory:
HAMMOND, IND.
of
Nearly 75,000 in U M
CO
High Orado
PIANO PLATES
SRRirslOFIELD
-
GORDON & SON
Pianos and Playerpianos
THE! O. S. KELLY
Manufacturers
Boston, Mass.
-
OHIO
THE GORDON PIANO COMPANY
Established 1845
7OO-713 Whitlock Avenue
NEW YORK
For quick returns try Presto Want Ads
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/