Presto

PRESTO
December 30, 1922.
of selling h aV e come over into the ranks of the legitimate and digni-
fied advertisers. And they have gained by the change.
In New York City, there has, of late, arisen a distinct feeling of
antagonism to the cheap system of piano selling which had its start in
the Middle-West, and later took root in the East. And in one of the
most illusive of the methods may be seen the influence of a single
house. Originating a half-truth, by which the public was mystified
The American Music Trade Weekly
and made to believe that if "figures can not lie," then playerpianos
could be bought for $260, the house in mind did a large business and
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT 407 SOUTH DEAR-
BORN STREET, OLD COLONY BUILDING, CHICAGO, ILL. has secured a sort of strangle hold in several cities where its branch
stores exist. The innocent symbol of "E. O. B. Factory" has been
Editors
C. A. DAN I ELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT
worked to such a degree that, no doubt, hundreds of people have
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 234. Private Phones to all De-
partments. Cable Address (Commercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
bought cheap instruments because the—whether designedly or not
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the Post Office, Chicago. Illinois,
—misleading prices printed were not really what they seemed. The
under Act of March 3, 1879.
"f. o. b." added enough to equalize the prices possibly for better in-
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1; Foreign, $4. Payable In advance. No extra
charge in United States possessions, Cuba and Mexico.
struments, perhaps. But by the arguments and persuasion familiar to
any salesman, the "prospect," once in the store, became a buyer. The
Address all communications for the editorial or business departments to PRESTO
PUBLISHING CO., 407 So. Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
mild trick worked.
Advertising Rates:—Five dollars per Inch (13 ems pica) for single Insertions.
But that is getting stale. The piano buyers are not to be led into
Complete schedule of rates for standing cards and special displays will be furnished
on request. The Presto does not sell Its editorial space. Payment Is not accepted for
buying what they do not want and don't know it. The rise of the
articles of descriptive character or other matter appearing In the news columns. Busl-
ness notices will be Indicated by the word "advertisement" In accordance with the
sense of piano-quality is a force too powerful to be overcome by any
Act of August 24, 1912.
Photographs of general trade interest are always welcome, and when used. If of
cheap devices of commercialism. It is necessary that commercialism
•pedal concern, a charge will be made to cover cost of the engravings.
exist. That is a part of business. But in the right sense commercial-
Ratej fi.
for . advertising in Presto Tear Book Issue and Export Supplements of
Book and Export issues
Presto will be made ftndwh upon application. Presto Ye
ism has attained to the degree of quality, and in New York, as else-
have the most extensive circulation of any periodicals evoted to the musical ln-
strument trades ana industries In all parts
of the world, and reae
.
reach completely and
where, the fine pianos are in demand, and will be more, than ever in
effectually all the houses handling musical instruments of both the Eastern and west-
ern hemispheres.
demand
from this time forward. And that means that there will be
Presto Buyers' Guide Is the only reliable index to the American Piano* and
Player-Pianos, it analyzes all instruments, classifies them, gives accurate estimates
more
money
for piano dealers who know the fine instruments, and
•f their value and contains a directory of their manufacturers.
Items of news and other matter of general interest to the music trades are in-
can
get
them
to sell again during the year of prosperity which is
vited and when accepted will be paid for. All communications should be addressed to
Presto Publishing Co., 407 So. Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
just about to begin.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1922.
THE HOLIDAY TRADE
PRESTO CORRESPONDENCE
IT IS NOT CUSTOMARY WITH THIS PAPER TO PUBLISH REGU-
LAR CORRESPONDENCE FROM ANY POINTS. WE, HOWEVER,
HAVE RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVES IN NEW YORK, BOSTON,
SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, CINCINNATI, INDIANAPOLIS, MIL-
WAUKEE AND OTHER LEADING MUSIC TRADE CENTERS, WHO
KEEP THIS PAPER INFORMED OF TRADE EVENTS AS THEY HAP-
PEN. AND PRESTO IS ALWAYS GLAD TO RECEIVE REAL NEWS
OF THE TRADE FROM WHATEVER SOURCES ANYWHERE AND
MATTER FROM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS, IF USED, WILL BE
PAID FOR AT SPACE RATES. USUALLY PJANO MERCHANTS OR
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.
A QUALITY DEMAND
Whether because the world is becoming piano-wise, or whether
because the effect of high-class promotion and publicity has been to
force merit to the overthrow of mediocricy, it is certain that quality
is overcoming cheapness in the musical instrument trade. The last
three months have brought to Presto an almost continuous assurance
that fine pianos are having the call.
For the first time in the history of the trade it has been frequently
demonstrated that dealers who had been looking around for the cheap-
est they could buy have been trying to secure better instruments for
their business. In one notable instance a money-making piano dealer,
in a large city, bought the local store of a famous instrument and,
adding other high-grade makes, announced that he was through with
the "commercial" kind. And for the first time, also the phenomenon
of high-grade industries seeking workers, while low grade manufac-
turers were running "light/' was predicted. There was a lull in the
car-load lot kind of pianos and a loud call for the better kind.
We believe that before many months the decalcomania makers
will have little call for new "stencils," and those already in stock will
be filed away. The pianos with names known to the discriminating-
music world will be in demand—are already in demand—in the pop-
ular sense. The cheap-John methods of piano selling, and the semi-
fake systems of advertising, will go into the discard as never before.
The houses that once indulged in the coupon and near-check methods
Perhaps the biggest holiday business in history. That is the esti-
mate of the newspapers everywhere when the buying o f gifts for the
gala season has been discussed. Nor is that all.
Better still, is the statement, equally general, that the demand
was for finer goods, for articles of much better quality than has been
customary in earlier years. The things of tinsel and show, the
cheap things, that tickle the eyes but have no lasting value, were not
sold in such quantities as heretofore. The fact testifies to the growing
intelligence of the buying public and the advanced ideas in the matter
of the appreciation of quality.
It has always been true that in the Christmas giving, where cost
was not carefully considered, the little things of value have had prece-
dence—the things of personal adornment, and the treasures that can
not be divided but belong to the individual. The larger things, in
which the whole family may share, and the articles of community in-
terest, have usually been left for other times and less distinctive cele-
brations. Nevertheless, this dying year has shown that the piano has
at last come into its own as the ideal Christmas gift. And the won-
der would be that it has not always been so, except that the purchase
of so large and important an addition to the home is a matter of fam-
ily investment, in which there could be little of the seriousness with
which even the mature mind likes to surround the doings of Kris
Kringle.
Perhaps it's the traditional thought of the bag swung over the
shoulders of the gray-bearded Santa, into which no pianos could go,
that has kept the piano away from the homes at the time when the
universal joy of Christmas keeps the little ones awake. More likely it
is because buying a piano is something in which all members of the
family are interested and wish to take some part. But this year the
delivery of pianos for Christmas gifts was larger than ever before.
That is the statement of many dealers who have spoken to Presto rep-
resentatives on the subject. And, even better, it is everywhere agreed
that the instruments sold for Christmas delivery were of the higher
quality.
The demand was for fine pianos and fine playerpianos. The sale
of reproducing grands was remarkably good. It is probable that the
piano stores throughout the country are depleted of stock to a greater
degree than ever before at the dawn of a new year. That means that
the demand upon the factories will be heavy when once the affairs of
the old year are closed and the activities of 1923 begin.
It is easy to see why the demand upon the manufacturers has
been steadily growing. The higher grade industries have never
counted largely upon the car-load-lot system of selling. The average
dealer has been in the habit of buying sparingly of the instruments
that cost much money and found buyers principally among the
musically educated and wealthy. The average "prospects"—the ones
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