Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1905

Page 5 Text:

PRESTO
January 27, 1923.
even violin sales, or even sales of harmonicas and jewsharps! The
dealers are beginning to consider these things. They show a better
understanding today then ever before. Their advertising in the local
newspapers proves this fact. And, after all is said and done, the trade
paper must have in mind, not altogether the songs of angels and the
quality of celestial harps, but the methods by which the instruments
of mundane music may be made, and the means by which business of
the practical men of the earth, here and now, may be enabled to secure
a good living and then to save up some of the substance and emolu-
ments of hard work and honest ambition.
Therefore, you hard-working piano merchants and salesmen, put
your concert-giving energies into the kind of entertainment by which
sales may be stimulated. Let the singing professors run the commu-
nity services, and the millionaires stand sureties for grand opera. It
will all help. But give your personal attention to the reproducing
recitals, and the snug little concerts, by which the piano in the sale of
which lies your source of profit, may be introduced and made a fa-
vorite with your musical friends and fellow citizens.
OUR DAILIES
The power of the daily newspaper has grown so great as to be
properly called irresistible. Fortunately, modern newspapers are
conducted on a much higher plane than characterized the Fourth
Estate a half-century ago. The Wilbur F. Storeys, Brick Pomeroys
and Ambrose Bierces, no longer dominate the printed page, either
locally or generally. The journals of innuendo and scandal, as such
have disappeared. The Saturday smut sheets are no longer hawked
about, to catch the matinee and theater crowds. The sensation mon-
gers of the second class cities have subsided, and decent men no lon-
ger buy the hebdomadals in fear and trembling, lest some covert
threat may have been executed—in bold face type.
Today every city, large and small, may claim representative, high
class journals, in which the news is cleanly put, and where music, and
the other things of the higher spheres of intelligence, find recogni-
tion. Of course there are also the middle-ground newspapers, in
which the spice of sensation is given opportunity to scatter and sting
—sometimes to stink.
It often proves, too, that this kind of newspapers boast the larg-
est circulation—and with veracity. They print more copies, at least,
though how quickly put out of sight, in many homes, is never told or
estimated. The decent newspaper does more than print the most
copies, it has more than one reader in every family, and so it may
really be better, even more largely circulated, than the paper that
prints the greater number of copies.
This trade paper sees a great many newspapers every day—and
reads a few of them. It reads, always, the New York Times, the Cin-
cinnati Tribune, the Boston Transcript, the Philadelphia North
American and the Chicago Post. To all of those fine dailies, and
A. M. McPHAIL PIANO CO.,
SOLD TO LAURENCE BARRY
New Owner of Boston's Old Manufacturing Concern
Is a Retail Man of Prominence.
The A. M. McPhail Piano Co., Boston, was sold
last week to Laurence Barry, who has been promi-
nently associated with the retail trade of the city as
an active member of the sales department of M. Stein-
ert & Sons Co. Mr. Barry has had similar experiences
in other parts of the country. Associated with Mr.
Barry in the future activities of the A. M. McPhail
Co., will be John J. Clark, assistant treasurer of the
company, and charles J. Blinn, its factory superin-
tendent.
For the past thirty-one years Mr. Clark has served
the A. M. McPhail Piano Co. in various capacities,
rising finally to the position of treasurer. Mr. Blinn
will continue as factory superintendent, a position
he has held for the past twenty-six years.
The A. M. McPhail Co., was established in 1837
and incorporated in 1896. The factory is at Washing-
ton and Waltham streets and the executive offices at
120 Boylston street, where it will be continued. -For
a good many years the old industry has been plod-
ding along with little show of the enthusiasm and
enterprise which is absolutely essential in this day
of push and competition.
There are many in the industry and trade who will
regret the going from their immediate association of
the man who has stuck to the McPhail for many
years. George F. Blake and Frank E. Owen con-
ducted the business for many years, as partners. The
others also, Presto extends congratulations. Such newspapers are
indispensable.
And, as a business publication, this trade paper especially con-
gratulates the Chicago Evening Post upon its issue of December 30,
in which was presented the best and most enlivening review of the
past year, and most encouraging forecast of the year just begun, that
has come to notice. It was a great enterprise and more to be de-
sired than the biggest "scoop" within recollection.
Mr. Rodman Wanamaker, the new head of the great stores in
New York and Philadelphia which were founded by his father, is de-
scribed as one who "early evinced an interest in art." He is, of course,
a lover of good music and the piano department of his stores is one
of his particular favorites. Fine instruments are secure in the Wana-
maker stores.
* * *
Speaking broadly, the opinions expressed by this paper on the
subject of giving music rolls with playerpianos seem to have met
with approval of the manufacturers. A sample roll is essential, of
course. A supply of rolls is too much. Music rolls are made to sell.
* * *
A widely known, high grade motor car is advertised by the head-
line, "No Rolls-Royce has ever worn out." It recalls the advertising
slogan of the late Calvin Whitney who used to employ big type with
which to say that the A. B. Chase piano "improved with use."
* # *
It is good to know that the Shoninger piano is to be continued.
The name is a power, and there are many dealers who have sold the
New Haven instruments with so much satisfaction that they have
considered its dropping out as a distinct loss.
* * *
A great many in the trade will be sorry to learn that Mr. Lem
Kline has about decided to leave the piano business. He is consid-
ering a large proposition to embark in the autombile line as state rep-
resentative of a fine car.
* * *
There are great possibilities in the McPhail pianos. And, while it
is a loss to the industry to have Mr. Geo. F. Blake pull out, the new
owners are to be congratulated upon the acquisition of the dignified
old Boston industry.
* * *
This year is a great one for Boston as a piano making center.
The Chickering Centenary and the new Vose factory are two very
significant facts in Boston's crown of piano glory.
The demand for good electric pianos—the automatic and small
• theater kind—is large at this time. It seems to be a great year for the
coin-operated instruments.
latter gentleman retired a few years back and Mr.
Blake has been in control ever since. He is one of
the men it is good to know—a good friend and as
"square" as they make '"era". The hope of Mr.
Blake's friends is that he quits because he wants to,
and that his fortune^is in keeping with his sterling
merits, and as secure as the old McPhail industry it-
self has been under his administration.
RIGHTS OF SELLERS AND BUYERS.
Recent court decisions as to the rights of buyers
and sellers are that a seller may sell or refuse to sell
as he sees fit, and that a buyer may purchase or not
as he-chooses. In a recent case, it was decided that
a wholesaler has a legal right to refuse to buy from
a manufacturer because of the fact that the latter
sells to collective buying houses or chain stores or
other classes of trade not approved by the individual
wholesaler. But while there is this individual right
no two or more firms or corporations are legally
permitted to co-operate in so acting or to combine in
any way which "has the effect of restraining the free
flow of merchandise.
W. O. BAKER'S NEW JOB.
W. O. Baker, the retiring manager of the Taylor
music Co., Moberly, Mo., has done his work so well
that he has won and been given a fine reward. Mr.
Baker's new position is proof of his business ability.
He is to be the private secretary and personal repre-
sentative of John N. Taylor in all of his business in-
terests and dealings. This is a man-size job and the
man who tills it will have to be continually at the
helm. Undoubtedly Mr. Baker is capable of filling
the post.
C. KURTZMANN INSTRUMENTS
FOR EASTERN COLLEGE
Schroeder & Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., Fills Fine Or from the Grove City College.
The Schroeder Piano Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., recent-
ly received an order for twenty-one Kurtzmann in-
struments from the Grove City College, Grove City,
Pa. The Schroeder Piano Co., is the active repre-
sentative in Pittsburgh for C. Kurtzmann & Co., Buf-
falo, N. Y., manufacturer of the instruments includ-
ed in the fine order.
The music department of Grove City College has
. been prominent among teaching institutions in the
East for a good many years. The department js
under the management of Dr. Henry Poehlmann who
is an enthusiastic admirer of the C. Kurtzmann
pianos, which have been in use in the college for
many years.
The order placed by Dr. Weir C. Ketler, president
Of the college and Dr. Poehlmann includes the follow-
ing C. Kurtzmann instruments: A concert grand for
the chapel, two large grands, one playerpiano and sev-
enteen uprights for use by the music students.
THEATER PIANOS POPULAR.
The theater pianos manufactured by the Operators
Piano Company, Chicago, are coming to be more and
more in demand, an order for three of them having
been received in a letter, a few days ago. The auto-
matic pianos of all kinds are on the increase in popu-
larity, and the force is kept busy turning out the in-
struments for this demand, says Manager Stadler.
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).
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Page 6 Text:

January 27, 1923
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.
A PROUD BOAST.
Whatever else may he said of Us Piano Men,
when we have slipped away on the long trail it
shall not be said that we refused to succumb to color-
ful temptations. Think what a dreary history a man
must have who is compelled to say:
Pomegranates, grapes invited,
And beckoned me, delighted.
I gathered them? Not I!
The breaker came and tempted,
It went from me unemptied,—
I let the chance go by.
No this is not intended exactly as it is written.
That is Us Piano Men do not care to be known as
"'soaks," but in the last line is the norm of the whole
matter.
So many of us let chances go by! There is, for
instance, a dealer in Idaho—on our trip we should
stop and see him. His town is, perhaps, a hundred
miles off the main line. We pass him up, saying to
ourselves that he would not buy any pianos anyway.
That is the sort of chance we all let go by. Tt is
likewise true that we do not often let the easy-to-
reach dealer go by without a visit, nor do we let
the occasional outbursts of nightly merriment pass.
Us Piano Men are like most all other men—envious
of the man who makes more "jack" than we do.
But we are not always ready to pay for our "jack."
ANTICIPATION.
The boss came back, and said in answer to our re-
quest for an order—"nothing doing!" Not exactly
what we had anticipated.
There is, however, another angle to anticipation. It
is that of planning the approach, or argument. An-
ticipate just about what you want to say to the dealer
and then, when the opportunity is ripe, say it. That
preparation is the sort of anticipation a successful
piano traveler learns to use for his profit.
I once knew a young man who, when he was just
starting out in the piano business, made it a nightly
custom to write a sales talk. He did this in the form
of a letter addressed to the prospect he intended to
see the next day. This young man now has several
dozen such letters, and in addition he has one of the
very best wholesale piano businesses on the Coast.
That's the sort of anticipation that will "bring home
the bacon" for the piano traveler.
PUBLIC AND BUYER SENTIMENT.
The piano man, either wholesale or retail, who
knows how to fit his sales-talk to the changing
moods of the times is the man of genuine ability. A
successful salesman on the road, or on the floor, must
study the public, not only materially, but psychologic-
ally as well. He must study the public, because
through public sentiment is created the desire on the
part of the buyer to buy pianos for stock. A wise
traveler will change his line of argument, according
to the locality in which the buyer maintains his store.
He must realize that truth needs to be presented
in a new dress, frequently, as everything else re-
quires occasional new adornment to make it attrac-
tive.
Just as surely as a big new real estate subdivision
appears in a city, and the houses therein, are finished
in ivory, the furniture buyers will be displaying
ivory bed room suites.
The things that the eye has frequently seen, very
often the brain ceases to notice. Therefore ingenuity
must be used constantly to attract the attention of the
buyer, over and over, to the same thing. Do not first
ask the buyer to replenish his stock of the usual
styles. Introduce rather a different part of your line
—a part the buyer has never handled. And then,
It has been aptly said that anticipation is frequently from that, work toward the portion of your line with
better than realization. This is also very true in the which the buyer is already familiar, such as cheaper
wholesale piano business. A piano traveler will instruments.
sometimes anticipate a very large order, and then
Take pianos. If there has recently been a concert
the realization proves something quite the reverse.
pianist in a small town, approach the music merchant
Once, in Texas, we were told by the assistant man- with an argument for Grand Pianos. He will him-
ager of a music store that the boss wanted to buy self lead you around to the cheaper uprights soon
some of our pianos. He was out of town for a day enough.
or so and we had better linger around. In our an-
Next Week:—"Candy to His Wife"; "I Wonder
ticipation we hung around that town for three days. Why," and "Vagabond Salesmen."
CHALIAPIN PLAYS THE BALDWIN
PLAN ACTIVITIES
OF JUNE MEETINGS
Arrangements for National Conventions of
Music Organizations Made at Meetings of
Executive Cummittees This Week.
Plans for the big conventions of the national or-
ganizations of the piano industry, to be held in Chi-
cago on June 4, 5 and 6 were made by the executive
committees of these organizations in midwinter meet-
ings held in Chicago this week. The results of the
meetings indicate a lively time at the annual June
conventions, and an abundance of enthusiasm from
the Chicago entertainers to put the conventions over.
The organizations represented at the midwinter
meetings in Chicago were the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Music Merchants, the National Piano Manufacturers'
Association, and the Musical Supply Association of
America. The first of the meetings was that of the
National Association of Music Merchants, at the
Drake Hotel, Thursday morning at 10 o'clock. The
other meeting that morning was the Supply Associa-
tion. All of the committees held their meetings at
the Drake.
The National Piano Manufacturers' Association held
its committee meeting Thursday afternoon, January
25, it being the last of the divisional organizations.
Final plans were then referred to the executive com-
mittee and directors of the Music Industries Cham-
ber of Commerce, which held its meeting Friday
morning, January 26. At this meeting all the matters
were thrashed out and final discussions held.
A large majority of the members of the committee
were present. The members of the various commit-
tees of the organizations are:
Chamber directors—James T. Bristol, J. Edwi||
Butler, C. C. Chickering, M. V. DeForeest, Percy A.
Deutsch, Charles Deutschmann, C. D. Greenleaf, C.
A. Grinnell, E. Paul Hamilton, William C. Hamilton,
Hermann Irion, E. R. Jacobson, Paul B. Klugh, Rich-
ard W. Lawrence, Thomas M. Pletcher and James
T. Rose.
National Piano Manufacturers' Association of
America—C. C. Chickering, E. R. Jacobson, James T.
Bristol, Charles Jacob, Max J. de Rochemont, George
J. Dowling, Webster E. Janssen, R. W. Lawrence,
C. H. Smith, A, G. Gulbransen and C. G. Steger.
Musical Supply Association of America—William
C. Hess, A. W. Johnston and James T. Rose.
National Association of Music Merchants—J. Ed-
win Butler, president; Wm. C. Hamilton, first vice-
president; Robert N, Watkin, second vice-president;
Matt J. Kennedy, secretary; Carl A. Droop, treasurer;
and members of the advisory board.
On Thursday night, January 25, the visiting com-
mitteemen and directors were the guests of the Chi-
cago Piano & Organ Association at the annual ban-
quet at the Palmer House. The attendance was very
heavy, and the program such as to justify the good
turnout. The speakers were R. W. Lawrence, of
New York, president of the Music Industries Cham-
ber of Commerce; C. C. Chickering, of Chicago, pres-
ident of the National Piano Manufacturers' Associa-
tion, and J. Edwin Butler, of Marion, Ind., president
of the National x\ssociation of Music Merchants.
There were also several impromptu talks and good
entertainment features.
SMITH ORGANIZATIONS
HOLD ANNUAL ELECTIONS
The accompanying cut was made from a very fine
photograph of Feodor Chaliapin, the great Russian
singer, which shows him seated at the Baldwin Grand
Piano which he selected at the Cincinnati factories
of the Baldwin Piano Co. for use in his home in
London, England. Chaliapin is using the Baldwin
piano exclusively for accompaniments during all of
his concert appearances in this country. He admires
the Baldwin piano so much that he purchased one for
use in his own home.
Appearing in the picture with Chaliapin are Lucien
Wulsin, treasurer of the Baldwin Piano Company;
Miss Wright, secretary to Chaliapin, and Max
Rabinowitch, who plays the accompaniments at the
Chaliapin concerts.
Chicago Factory and Affiliated Retail Companies
Elect New Officers and Directors.
The Smith, Barnes & Strohber Company, of Chi-
cago, and the two retail corporations which are allied
with it, have selected the officers to head each in-
dividual concern for the coming year. The annual
meetings were held in the Chicago office of Smith,
Barnes & Strohber Co.
The officers of Smith, Barnes & Strohber Co. are:
C. H. Smith, president; J. R. Wolfenden, first vice-
president and secretary; H. W. Egeland, treasurer;
E. M. Eastman, second vice-president; George P.
Elbert, third vice-president. The old board of direc-
tors Was elected again.
The election of the Smith Piano Co. of Illinois re-
sulted as follows: C. H. Smith, president; J. R.
Wolfenden, vice-president; George P. Elbert, secre-
tary; H. W. Egeland, treasurer. These four and
H. S. Elbert constitute the board of directors.
The new executives of the Smith Piano Co., of Wis-
consin, are C. H. Smith, president; J. R. Wolfenden,
vice-president; John J. Stenger, secretary; and H. W.
Egeland, treasurer. These four, with George P. El-
bert, make up the board of directors.
William Ackerman has taken over the music busi-
ness of Goetz & Co., Rockaway Beach, N. Y.
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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