Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1904

Page 5 Text:

5'
PRESTO
January tO, 1928.
which was founded by Jonas Chickering in 1823, has arrived at a place
of wonderful power and dignity, especially when considered that every
one of the hundred years has added to the fame and honor and the
progress of one of the greatest triumphs of the world of music.
As the only trade journal associated with pianos that has on its
staff one who was also, in his early days, associated with Chickering
& Sons, the only man who can claim the unique good fortune of hav-
ing put forth a paper designed to sustain the Chickering interests,
Presto will have a special Chickering Number to commemorate the
one hundredth birthday of the famous Boston piano. It will be the
issue of April 14, the very date of the founding of the house of Chick-
ering & Sons, a hundred years before. It will be an issue of Presto
in which the Chickering industry will have no direct participation,
but in which every Chickering dealer must have an interest in a very
large sense.
It will be a Chickering Number because we have a great deal of
Chickering history to recall—history of almost exclusive nature and of
peculiar trade interest and instructiveness.
When an American piano attains to its centenary majority it
seems to be a duty of the American Music Trade Weekly to make
something more than passing note of so significantly important an
occasion.
PIANOS IN WORK SHOPS
A piano man has advanced an idea which at first seems heretic
but may, after all, be meaty with truth and commonsense. It is that,
in the intense efforts to create a greater love for music, and to force it
upon the public, there is danger of tipping the scales the wrong way
and killing the end in view. While it is impossible to surfeit the
world with music, it may be possible to cause the instruments of
music to become so familiar, in a way, as to dull the desire for them.
"All objects lose by too familiar a view," says Dryden. And an-
other writer has said that "familiarity and satiety are twins." Apply
this thought to the propaganda of pianos in factories and workshops,
and you get the meaning of what the piano man said.
It is commonly repeated that the buyers of pianos are the "work-
ing people." The daughters of the average homes are the best pro-
moters of the piano business. They stimulate the sales. It would
not long be a business if the piano dealers were obliged to wait for
buyers of expensive reproducing pianos for the exercise of their
everyday activities. While today the elegant and really marvelous
instruments that "re-enact" the pianistic wonders of the great artists,
make a considerable share of the business, it is the average piano, and
the upright pianoplayer, that keep the dealers active and alive. To
kill the desire for those instruments would be to put an end to the
piano trade. And the way to kill the desire is to spoil the ambitions
of the average home to own one of them.
And who can think other than that the introduction of the piano
to the factory and workshop will work to the killing of piano desire
on the part of the workers? Make the piano a part of the sordid grind
of the daily toil, and, while it may in some degree stimulate the
workers to toil, harder, it will become, by reason of its association with
the day's sordid work, so familiar as to lose its charm. The familiar-
ity will breed almost distaste. The toiler will not care to bring the
companion of his day's toil into the home, where it will keep up the
EILERS PIANO HOUSE ACCOUNTS
APPEAR TO BE IN BAD SHAPE
Best Asset Is the Portland Branch, But May Take
Time to Figure Conditions.
The report of the auditor to the receiver of the
Oregon Eilers Music House, of Portland, Oregon,
shows that there are about 480 creditors, only three
of whom have secured claims, while thirty-four are
not found listed on the ledger of the concern, and the
balance of the claims, amounting to about 445, are
unsecured. The schedule was filed by the receiver in
the Federal court, and it was stated that the ac-
counts of the firm were in such shape that it was ab-
solutely impossible to compile an accurate schedule.
According to the report of the receiver, the liabili-
ties amount to approximately $128,488.12, while the
assets amount to $102,913.20, but the receiver ad-
mitted that the finding was only tentative.
According to the report, "the books are in very bad
condition, there being no postings since September
30, and the accounts of creditors have been ignored
tuneful record of the day's drudgery, now grown discordant, often,
because of the mental pictures it conjures up.
Music may be a good tonic. It may cause the toiler's lingers to
move nimbly, and it may not do any harm to the interests of the em-
ployer. But it may do harm to the cause of music, and it is almost
certain to hurt the business of the piano dealer. It even may be "too
much piano." Who doubts it ?
There is, they say, "a place for everything. The sweat-shop, the
abattoir, the shoe factory—any of the day-grind places of toil, are not
good places for pianos. They do not belong there. They have a
blessed influence in the workers' homes. Don't let the silly senti-
ment of music-mad enthusiasts, who know little or nothing about
shop conditions, "get away" with such rubbish as that pianos in
places of toil are soul-savers or energy creators. It isn't so. Pianos
breed refinement in the homes. In cabarets and work-shops they do
almost anything else. And, if nothing worse, in such surroundings
they may deaden the desire of possession, "dull the edge of percep-
tion" and "breed contempt."
History keeps on doing its stunt of repeating. At the recent
music teachers' convention in New York, Mr. Williams Arms Fisher,
of the Oliver Ditson Co., told of his successful expose of the fake song
publishers' trick in the "poems wanted" fraud. He told of sending a
set of verses to the pretenders, with the customary result. The same
thing was done by Presto more than ten years ago, and the result
was described in this paper. In our own case, however, the "verses"
were so palpably absurd as to make the song fraud publishers so
ridiculous as to clearly show up their nefarious purposes and arrests
followed.
* * *
The intricacies of the Income Tax were illustrated by the true
story of a Chicago music concern which, upon having its 1917 re-
turns gone over by a government expert, was found to have paid
more than twice the amount that Uncle Sam's representative could
find. A rebate was entered in behalf of the honest music concern.
Don't you go and make the same mistake, you honest piano dealers!
* * *
Several piano dealers have written to Presto for the address of
"cheap" pianos ready for prompt delivery. They're iiot easy to find.
Piano manufacturers are about tired of trying to see how cheap they
can sell their products. Perhaps in time we may have a few mil-
lionaire piano makers. Some of them desire the wealth they have
never gathered.
* * *
Have you noticed how completely the fads in piano manufacture
have faded out? We hear no more of the "tunerless" piano, and the
"harp attachments" have ceased to create bewonderment. Even
Platt Gibbs' Circus Grand seems to have become silent.
* * *
There is no sign of a decrease in the demand for small Grands.
The marvelously small prices asked by some of the manufacturers is
the best possible evidence of what perfect facilities of production
may do, even in an art industry.
* * *
And now the joys of filling out the income tax report have come
again. It will keep some piano men busy a week. Others know in
advance just how little they owe.
since August. The papers are in confused masses in
different parts of the offices and a part of the books
have not yet been located."
The report states that the lease contracts were kept
up in the accounts until November. Many entries
were found which had no support of notes or papers
of any kind.
"A balance of $63,908.42 in Spokane is the one large
account," says the auditor, "that may have a definite
value as an asset. It is impossible to make an ap-
proximately correct schedule of the assets."
The unsecured claims against the bankrupt house
range all the way from a few cents to thousands of
dollars.
NEW YORK SCHOOL PIANOS.
Twenty-seven grand and twenty-eight upright
pianos were recently contracted for by the Board of
Education of New York City. The award for the
twenty-seven grands went to Hardman, Peck & Co.,
New York, and Krakauer Bros., New York, received
an award for fourteen uprights, a similar number
being ordered from Vissner & Sons, Inc. It is ex-
pected that deliveries will be made early this coming
spring.
NEW MACHINERY FOR
HENRY G. JOHNSON PIANO CO.
Active Plant in Bellevue, la., Gets New Sanding and
Rubbing Machines.
;-'
The social distractions of the week between Christ-
mas and New Year did not disturb activities in the
factory of the Henry G. Johnson Piano Co., Belle-
vue, la. Not only was there no let-up in the en-
deavors of the various departments of the new model
factory to catch up with orders, but improvements of
an important kind were added to the facilities of the
plant.
During the week between Christmas and New
Years, the company installed three new sanding ma-
chines and one rubbing machine at a cost of $7,000.
Henry G. Johnson, president of the company, says
he expects to turn out at least 5,000 pianos during the
year 1923, which will mean nearly 100 pianos a
month. He expects to increase his force of employei
to 200 by February 1 in order to complete this num-
ber of pianos.
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).
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Page 6 Text:

PRESTO
JUST AMONG US
GOOD PIANO MEN
A Series of Articles Drawn from Practical
Experience in Store and on the Road
Selling the Goods and Noting
How Others Do It.
By MARSHALL BREEDON.
SAND PAPER.
You tell me that there are many unpleasant things
troubling you in the piano store in which you work.
If you can answer without betraying a secret, would
you mind telling me if you ever knew of velvet being
used successfully as a substitute for sand paper? The
unpleasant, the hard, the trying, the temper-testing
things, arc the sand-papery aids that smooth you off,
that train you, that fit you to shoulder bigger re-
sponsibilities and to resist more trying troubles
later on. So be thankful for sand paper.
Piano men frequently encounter things that trouble
us in our task of selling pianos at wholesale. Not
the least of these are the whines and complaints of
salesmen who work on the dealer's floor. So many
retail salesmen seem to think that theirs is a dog's
life, beyond all hope of recall. They never even
consider the romance or the high ethical preponder-
ance of selling pianos. What a shame that is, for
there can be no more romantic business in the world
than this same old piano business. It is prosaic only
because we make it so, whereas, as a matter of fact,
it is filled with the spice of life.
These complaining clerks—for that is all they are
—are laboring under the impression that velvet is
better than sand-paper. They like to feel the soft
rub of it against their skin, whereas the sharp, rasp-
ing twinge of sand-paper hurts them and makes
them condemn their jobs.
There are also many piano travelers who prefer
to abide only with the velvet side of life. This kind
calls only upon the bigger and more pleasant dealers,
and do not get out into the harder places. But there
is compensation, because eventually the piano busi-
ness loses both these kinds, because there are piano
men who much prefer the rasp rather than the
smooth.
TRAVELER ETHICS.
Anyone can be a boor. That is very simple. All
one need do it to "but-in" when some other piano
traveler has the attention of the dealer. This is a
condition occasionally encountered on the road, and
wise indeed is the traveler who handles it with gloves.
Not so very long ago a piano traveler called, for
the first time, upon a dealer. This particular dealer
has a reputation among the traveling fraternity of
being a regular, sure enough bear-cat. Travelers are
his meat, arid he takes eagerly to the dish. One day
while this traveler was making the acquaintance of
this "rough and wooly" dealer, another traveler en-
tered the office. He had known this dealer for many
moons, and was more or less the same general type
of man—a sort of amateur bully.
He paid absolutely no attention to the first traveler,
but butted right into the office and actually sat
down, after drawing up a chair which placed him
between the two other men. Once firmly fixed in
his seat he commenced his jolly. It was intended
for a sales talk, but there was scarcely an element
of sales strategy in it. The original interviewer did
nothing; he merely sat there placidly and listened.
. By and by the boor sensed the superiority in the
ethics of the other, and began to flounder in his
step. This was the merchant's dish. He asked the
other if he would vouch that his factory would do
certain impossible things. The poor fellow, now that
his moral of bluff was shaken, could do nothing but
agree with the fighting merchant and promise him
price concessions which were way out of all reason.
Then the original man spoke up, and gently sug-
gested that, in-as-much as he was there first, it
might be best for the other to get out. He did get
out, and so far as we know has never returned to
get the order which, in the depths of his boorish
heart, he knew he could not deliver.
THE GOLFING DEALER.
Piano travelers have rather an abundance of
leisure. If, for instance, we are making Oregon by
train, we usually, after completing our business, have
the greater portion of the day to kill. Here is where
the golfing dealer comes in handy. In Portland there
is one piano retailer who will occasionally run away
from business for a round of golf. In San Diego
there is another one, and in Fresno another. But
why specify more, because nearly every town on
our list has one such dealer, and they are mighty
welcome to a "tired," jaded piano traveler.
Take, for instance, this Portland dealer. The
traveler who cannot play a reasonably good game of
golf is out of luck. This dealer, (and he is a good
dealer) will gladly tend to his business in the morn-
ing of the day of the visit, but he will-not talk buy-
ing of pianos. When two o'clock comes he appears,
with his cap and his sack, and invites the traveler
to go along. If the traveler goes along, he is rea-
sonably sure of an order. If the traveler cannot play
golf, he is very much out of luck.
In Portland it rains once in a while, to say the
least. It is a fact that the weather will- be nice
and sun-shiny on one side of Washington street,
and raining on the other side! Because of this pecu-
liarity of Portland, golf is a sort of water sp6rt.
First you slam the ball in the sun and, by the time
you reach it, you are playing in a rain storm, and
then out again into the sun, and so on for the entire
18 holes.
It is best for the traveler to bust the dealer for
an order during the sun-shine periods of the game,
for he seems to feel a little bewildered during that
illumination. He has lived in Portland for so many
years he is a genuine web-foot, and feels more at
home in the rain.
Next Week: "Public and Buyer," "Anticipation"
and "A Proud Boast."
LEM KLINE FACTORY CLOSES.
With the end of this month the factory of the Lem
Kline Piano Mfg. Co., which failed last fall, will be
closed permanently. The factory building on Lar-
rabee street, Chicago,' is owned by a bank and the
process of completing the unfinished instruments is
about over. J. Swanson, who has been superintend-
ing the work of cleaning up at the factory, is about
through and has made a good job of it. All of the
instruments have been, delivered as fast as completed.
The machinery in the factory will be sold, but there
is not much of it. It is expected that by February
first the Lem Kline Piano Co. will become wholly
extinct.
WAREROOM WARBLES
(A New One Every Week.)!
By The Presto Poick.
ON COMMISSION.
He works on commission and holds his position
By saying not awfully much,
But when he's not talking he's sure to be stalking
The prospects he knows he can touch;
He knows what he's saying, and never starts playing
Till sure that he knows the appeal,
And then he can razzle the keys to a frazzle,
And pull out the price with his spiel.
NOVEL GREETING CARD.
He never will meddle with Wagner, nor peddle
The "classics" when selling a boob,
Nor yet will he hammer some jazzy wind-jammer
When selling some know-it-all rube;
He picks out his buyers, knows ground-hogs from
flyers,
And never lets go till it's sold,
Believing it's better to be a sure-getter
Than one of the near-getter mold.
It is not yet too late to mention some of the most
attractive features in Christmas and New Year's
grerting cards. The very handsome Christmas card
of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Story, from their home in
Pasadena, Calif., carries the photograph of the six
grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Story, with an in-
scription of greeting- from Mr. and Mrs. Story as well
as from the children. Mr. Story is president of the
Story & Clark Piano Co.
That's why his condition of one big commission
Is better than working for wage,
For what is the gaining if hand-fed, remaining
Shut in like a bird in a cage?
He's still his own master, and profits the faster
By stepping right up to the fore,
Untagged or encumbered, his prospects unnumbered,
It's better than owning the store.
AMPICO BROADCASTING SERIES
The Ampico Series of Distinguished Artist Con-
certs was inaugurated recently at WJZ, the Newark,
N. J., radio broadcasting station of the Westing-
house Electric and Manufacturing Company. These
concerts are given by courtesy of William Knabe &
Company, in a weekly rotation of well-known vocal-
ists and instrumentalists. The accompanying photo-
graphs show the artists of the first concert, Erwin
Nyiregyhazi, the young genius of the piano, and
Clara Deeks, the noted soprano, performing for the
hundreds of thousands of WJZ hearers. The news-
papers, not only of New York City, but all over the
country, have given extended publicity to this new
Ampico Series and its famous interpreters.
The second concert was given December 28th.
The artist was Miss Daisy Jean, the young Belgian,
who, beside playing 'cello to the accompaniment of
Miss Jean Wiswell at the piano and to accompani-
ment on the Ampico, sang with her own beautiful
playing on the harp. Miss Jean has been declared
the greatest woman 'cellist of her time. The other
artist of the evening was Dr. Sigmund Spaeth, the
noted lecturer and musical authority, who spoke
on "Old Tunes for New," who drew a distinction be-
tween "popular" music and "classical music," show-
ing that the real strength of the classical music lies
in its ability to live.
The third radio concert was given January 4 by
Hans Barth, the American pianist, who has won a
prominent position among the greatest pianists of
today. Mr. Barth has attained a lasting name for
himself in his many appearances in New York and
throughout the East. At the same concert 1 were
Roderick White, the eminent violinist and, John
Tasker Howard, the well-known lecturer and com-
poser, whose songs and piano pieces are rapidly be-
coming widely known. Mr. Howard gave a talk en-
titled, "A Plea for Musical Chestnuts." in which he
praised the beauties of some of the lovely old songs,
those which are easily understood and appreciated
by the great mass of music-loving public.
'.
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/

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