PRESTO
December 9, 1922.
papers. And it suggests that a very high order of literary ability,
and a very enthusiastic kind of verbal facility, have been enlisted
in the difficult work of piano advertising.
There are very few things more difficult to advertise fairly,
intelligently and forcefully, than pianos. After all the years, it is still
true that the average "prospect" has little understanding of pianos.
Not many who enter the piano stores know what they want, beyond
The American Music Trade Weekly
the vague conviction that they want pianos! They do not often call
for any particular piano. "We called to look at a piano," is the
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT 407 SOUTH DEAR-
BORN STREET, OLD COLONY BUILDING, CHICAGO, ILL. customary opening statement. There are exceptional pianos and
exceptional people, of course. But, as a whole, people only know
Editors
C. A. DANIELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT
they want pianos—any pianos the dealer most warmly represents and
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 234. Private Phones to all D».
tments. Cable Address (Commercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
partments
can sell at "the right price."
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the Post Office, Chicago. Illinois.
Some of the new advertising is calculated to afford piano educa-
under Act of March 3, 1879.
tion.
It is literature in a fine sense. Who makes it is seldom known.
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1; Foreign, $4. Payable In advance. No extra
charge in United States possessions, Cuba and Mexico.
We see it in the newspapers, and we find it in some of the handsome
Address all communications for the editorial or business departments to PRESTO
page "displays" in the trade papers. It has, of late, been notable in
PUBLISHING CO., 407 So. Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
the "Ampico" publicity—the advertising of the instrument that "re-
Advertising Rates:—Five dollars per Inch (13 ems pica) for single insertions.
enacts." It is seen in much of the Steinway advertising. It has made
Complete schedule of rates for standing' cards
and special displays win
will be
furnished
laras ana
oe lurnwnea
on request. The Presto does not sell Its editorlaf
iitorlal space. Payment Is not accepted for
the
Steger piano a marked instrument in higher circles. It keeps the
articles of descriptive character or other matter
latter appearing In the news columns, BusJ-
ness notices will be Indicated by the word "advertlsement" In accordance with the
artistic
Knabe and the Chickering in leading places. It has helped
Act of August 24, 1912.
Photographs of general trade interest are always welcome, and when used, if of
to make the Duo-Art. And it has done marvelous work in bringing
special concern, a charge will be made to cover cost of the engravings.
the Mason & Hamlin to the place that instrument occupies among- the
Rates for advertising in Presto Year Book Issue and Export Supplements of
Presto will be maqe known upon application. Presto Year Book and Export issues
interpreters of pianistic genius.
have the most extensive circulation of any periodicals devoted to the musical in-
strument trades and industries in all parts of the world, and reach completely and
As a matter of fact, this discussion of a new order of piano
effectually all the houses handling musical instruments of both the Eastern and west-
ern hemispheres.
literature
might not have been suggested but for a Mason & Hamlin
Presto Buyers' Guide Is the only reliable index to the American Pianos and
Player-Pianos, it anafyzes all Instruments, classifies them, gives accurate estimates
advertisement
which appeared last Sunday. No better illustration of
of their value and contains a directory of their manufacturers.
Items of news and other matter of general interest to the music trades are in-
what
has
here
been said were possible than the advertisement re-
vited and when accepted will be paid for. All communications should be addressed to
Presto Publishing Co., 407 So. Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
ferred to. And so it follows, nearly in full, and it is from a Cable
Company display:
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1922.
You should know the surpassingly lovely tone qualities of the
Mason
& Hamlin. Words are far less eloquent than the instrument
PRESTO CORRESPONDENCE
itself. To say that the Piano is made as well as possible and priced
afterward does not tell the story. No description of the Tension
IT IS NOT CUSTOMARY WITH THIS PAPER TO PUBLISH REGU-
Resonator can adequately explain its importance in terms of tonal
LAR CORRESPONDENCE FROM ANY POINTS. WE, HOWEVER,
results. Even the marshalled names of artists who have chosen the
HAVE RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVES IN NEW YORK, BOSTON,
Mason & Hamlin Piano for their public and private use, can only in-
SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, CINCINNATI, INDIANAPOLIS, MIL-
WAUKEE AND OTHER LEADING MUSIC TRADE CENTERS, WHO
directly prove its excellence.
KEEP THIS PAPER INFORMED OF TRADE EVENTS AS THEY HAP-
And yet, that which is difficult to put into words, is a very real
PEN. AND PRESTO IS ALWAYS GLAD TO RECEIVE REAL NEWS
thing. If you should play the Mason & Hamlin Piano you would
OF THE TRADE FROM WHATEVER SOURCES ANYWHERE AND
know. Listening to it would tell more than a thousand words, just as
MATTER FROM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS, IF USED, WILL BE
a glance at the "Woman Weighing Pearls" tells more of Vermeer-
PAID FOR AT SPACE RATES. USUALLY PIANO MERCHANTS OR
artistry than page after page of description.
SALESMEN IN THE SMALLER CITIES, ARE THE BEST OCCA-
SIONAL CORRESPONDENTS, AND THEIR ASSISTANCE IS INVITED.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
Forms close promptly at noon every Thursday. News matter for
publication should be in not later than eleven o'clock on the same
day. Advertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, five p. m.,
to insure preferred position. Full page display copy should be in
hand by Monday noon preceding publication day. Want advs. for cur-
rent week, to insure classification, must be at office of publication not
later than Wednesday noon.
PIANO LITERATURE
We are not going to write about books. There are plenty of them
in the piano world. From the ancient Pepy's Diary to Polko's Musical
Sketches, and on to Dannreuther's "Wagner" and Jim Hunaker's
vivid word-pictures, the literature of music is rich and colorful. But
there has come of late a new piano literature, and it is surprisingly
good.
At first you will think that the piano catalogues are in mind. Or
perhaps the.succinct treatises on the playerpiano, such as the Kohler
Industries, the M. Schulz Co., the Gulbransen, Dickinson Co., the Bald-
win Co., and some others, have put forth for the mutual assistance of
dealers and public. But it isn't any of that. It's something even more
difficult and more remarkable. It's the literature of piano advertising.
From almost the dawn of piano manufacture to recent times
piano advertising has run in narrow grooves. It has depended upon
a set of stereotyped phrases, of which "the best in the world" has
seemed to be the keynote. It has presented little that is either novel
or, to the uninformed mind, anything that is convincing. The use of
superlatives has been profuse and the. real character of the piano ad-
vertised has had little to do with the incisive meaning of the adjec-
tives employed. To this condition has been due much of the stigma
which some think has attached to the piano trade in some localities.
But of late a new kind of piano advertising has come. And it is
often of a kind to deserve the name of literature. We see it, now
and then in the newspapers, and it is reflected in the trade papers. Or
it as often starts in the trade papers and is reproduced in the news-
Do you recall anything better—anything more fitting its pur-
pose ? The appeal to the musical susceptibilities of the higher musical
intelligencies is unmistakable. In the newspaper there were the
added effects of "display" and illustration—good commercial art by
which to increase the power of good piano literature.
MUSIC ROLL SLAUGHTER
In times past it was customary with many piano merchants to
give things away with every instrument sold, to such a degree that
often it seemed that the treasures "thrown in" outweighed the article
actually sold. It began with the piano scarf, then followed the stool
and, finally, the term of lessons. It didn't take long for some clever
piano dealer to establish his own special music school, at which all
piano buyers could secure the coveted instruction, or something that
seemed like it. And then came other things "free" with the piano.
From the throwing in of the stool and scarf it was an easy step
to the handing out of gold watches. Even that was not enough.
Near-bank-checks came along, and railroad fares were donated to
buyers from distant places. At last it became a stock joke that before
long a house and lot would be presented with every first piano in-
stallment.
Perhaps the coming of the playerpiano brought an end to the
term of music lessons. At any event, the throwing-in of the house
and lot did not develop, and a good deal of the treasure-trove-for-
nothing has been dispensed with in the piano trade.
But there is still too much of it. And the custom of throwing in
player rolls is a sore spot in the business. It has a tendency to
cheapen a very important branch of the industry. It served to largely
kill the sale of music rolls. Isn't this so? If not, what is the reason
that, with all of the energy and enterprise of the music roll industry,
sales of the essentials to playerpiano performance are not at all com-
parable to the sales of either sheet music or phonograph records? We
are now speaking of numbers, not the amount of sales values.
It has been estimated that, of late years, omitting 1921, the pro-
duction of playerpianos has exceeded that of straight pianos. But
there has been no decimation of the number of sheet music publishers,
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