Presto

PRESTO
WAREROOM WARBLES
(A New One Every Week.)
By The Presto Poick.
said creditors and court shall authorize and direct the
sale of said land and buildings, that the Trustee will
sell the same through Charles Shongood, United
States official auctioneer on the 14th day of March,
1923, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon at the premises
of the bankrupt estate.. No. 774-782 Fulton street,
Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York, and at such
further time to which the sale may be adjourned or
hereafter advertised.
"Please take further notice that the personal prop-
erty, consisting of pianos, outstanding accounts re-
ceivable, piano leases, etc., will be sold immediately
after the sale of the real estate upon said premises,
and
"Please take further notice that the furniture lo-
cated at No. 56 Pine street, in the Borough of Man-
hattan, City of New York, in the office of Horace W.
Day's, trustee, will be sold on the 14th day of March,
1923, at 2 p. m., in the afternoon of that day.
"Please take further notice that on the 16th day of
March, 1923, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon of that day
a meeting of creditors will be held at the office of the
referee, No. 68 William street, in the Borough of
Manhattan, City of New York, at which time such
bids as shall have been received for the sale of real
estate will be presented to the referee and creditors
for confirmation and approval and for such other
business as may come before said meeting."
PRAISE FOR THE KRAKAUER
FROM FAR-OFF JAPAN
ABBREVIATED APPENDAGES.
Why this dumbbell trick of calling
People by some curtailed name,
Robbing them, in way appalling,
Of what elsewise might bring fame?
When we know a fellow slightly,
Who may own a shining knob,
Why get gay and treat him lightly
By proclaiming Robert "Bob"?
When great Shakespeare said a posy
Is as sweet by any name,
Tell me this—do you suppose he
Doped all cognomens the same?
And, if so, is that the reason
When some wit we try to spill,
With no thought of classic treason,
We refer to him as "Bill"?
Now, suppose you were a leader,
Prancing bravely to the fore,
Or, perhaps, a legal pleader,
Spouting Blackstone's mighty lore;
Or maybe you roll in money,
Proud among your fellow men;
Do you think it would seem funny
To have Henry changed to "Hen"?
No one cares what 'tis they call him
When he's in his bathing suit,
Nothing seems to hurt or stall him,
Dignity's not worth a hoot!
But when clad in rags of gladness
That befit a front box-seat,
Do you blame a shade of sadness
When proud Peter's hailed as "Pete"?
PROPERTY OF F. G. SMITH, INC.,
TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION
Buildings and Contents of Brooklyn Piano Industry
Will Be Disposed of Next Week.
Peter B. Olney, referee in bankruptcy, has issued
the following notices concerning the disposition of
the buildings and other property of F. G. Smith, Inc.,
in Brooklyn and New York City.
"A meeting of creditors of the above named bank-
rupt will be held at the office of the undersigned
Referee in Bankruptcy, No. 68 William street, Bor-
ough of Manhattan, City of New York, Southern Dis-
trict of New York on the 12th day of March, 1923,
at 10:15 o'clock in the forenoon for the purpose of
authorizing the trustee to sell the land and buildings
of the above named bankrupt, located at 774-782 Ful-
ton street, Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York,
and the equipment and machinery thereof and therein,
free and clear of all encumbrances excepting a first
mortgage of twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dollars
and all other property of the bankrupt used in con-
nection with its business and at that time the under-
signed referee will make such order or orders respect-
ing the sale of said property or any part thereof at
public or private sale or in such manner as the under-
signed referee shall deem proper *and for the best in-
terests of the estate, and
"Please take notice that the real estate to be sold is
fully described in the petition of the trustee on file
in his office.
"Please take further notice that in the event that
Buyer of New York Piano in Yokohama writes En-
thusiastically of Condition on Arrival.
Here is a letter about the Krakauer piano which
was shipped to Japan and reached there in time for
Christmas. It shows again that American pianos can
be sent to distant places with safety if they are good
ones and are carefully packed for the long journey:
Yokohama, Japan, January 29, 1923.
Messrs. Krakauer Bros.,
Cypress avenue, New York City.
Dear Sirs: The piano arrived a week before
Christmas in very good condition, and I wish to thank
you for the manner in which it was packed and
shipped. As to the instrument itself, we are delighted
with it. The tone is excellent and the player action
seems to be of a verv high order.
3761 Sagiyama. "
H. MANLEY.
SENTIMENT IN ADVERTISING.
One of the progressive Eastern firms whose ad-
vertising is an outstanding feature in the newspapers
is the Griffith Piano Co., 605 Broad stret, Newark,
N. J. The Griffith advertising is based on the as-
sumption that sentiment plays a leading part in the
purchase of a piano and therefore price appeal, if in-
corporated in the advertisement at all, should be of
secondary importance. When it is understood that
the Griffith Piano Co. does as much business as any
piano house in the northern part of New Jersey, and
more than most, the pulling power of the ads is
evident. The line with which the Griffith Piano Co.
appeals to the prospective buyers is strong and
varied. It includes the Steinway, Sohmer, Bram-
bach, Krakauer, Kurtzmann, Hallet & Davis, Lester,
Lyon & Healy, and Sonora phonographs.
HANDLES CABLE PIANOS.
The Daly Music Co., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., con-
tinues to make that section of the Badger State more
familiar with the merits of the pianos and players of
The Cable Co., Chicago. About these pianos the
Daly Music Company says in an ad this week: "Cable
pianos, the pianos of world-wide fame, in all models,
with inner-players and without. These master in-
struments are a specialty with our company, and our
display is most complete."
ANNEX FOR READING STORE.
The Hangen Music House, Reading, Pa., is doing a
rushing business in its tine store since the roomy an-
nex was occupied recently. Greater facilities for ex-
panding the business are provided in the three spa-
cious showrooms comprised in the new addition. The
new rooms are suitable decorated and provide suit-
able surroundings for the fine line of pianos and
clavers.
RE-ENTERS PIANO BUSINESS.
Frank R. Davis, Alton, 111., for many years in the
piano business, recently re-entered it and opened a
piano store at 414 East Broadway, and will soon'
enter his own building, which he is constructing at
412 East Broadway.
March 10, 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.
COMPETITION.
Retail piano dealers frequently complain of an
overdose of rivals for business. They say their com-
petitors advertise prices too low and terms too long,
and all the other appendages of downright corruption.
Us Piano Travelers also have rivals. My word, yes!
In a city of, say, the size of Los Angeles, there
are perhaps ten or a dozen real, honest-to-goodness
piano stores. Therefore, broadly speaking, each of
these stores has about eleven competitors. This in
the scramble for business from a population of close
to 1,000,000. (Note: This is not paid for by the L.
A. Chamber of Commerce.)
In this same city there are no less than eighteen
wholesale men making their headquarters. And,
further, from all over the country, others come al-
most daily. In a store the other day we met exactly
eight competing travelers in the course of the
morning.
Wholesale competition is harder to combat than
is retail. The obvious reason for this is that the
wholesaler knows exactly where to go for business;
and he knows also the average price, terms and
grade of his rival makes. Also wholesale competition
lends itself to distortion easily. A traveler can tell
a merchant things about his line, or things (fancied)
about some other line, and usually get away with
the stories. It is then up to the other wholesaler
to counteract these things by telling things in favor
of his line and not always in favor of the other.
Oh, a merry life Us Piano Travelers lead! But
at that we are not always down-hearted, and do
occasionally find time to play a bit of golf, write
a novel or attend a prize fight, just as our fancy
tells us to do.
* * *
THE WHOLESALE CUSTOMER.
A piano traveler encounters divers and sundry
kinds of dealers. As he grows more accustomed to
the piano game, and his own business sagacity de-
velops under the pressure of his work, he gets much
amusement out of some of these dealers. And by
the same process he reaps much learning and real
benefit.
There is, for instance, a small dealer in Pasadena,
Cal., who is always trying to get the piano traveler
to put his pianos in on consignment, and this at the
regular cash price. Another in El Paso permits
the pianos to be delivered and then insists upon a
consignment plan of settlement. Another in San
Francisco often cancels the order just as the pianos
arrive in his city, and then the factory is requested
to make a better price before he will take the goods.
In Ogden a dealer has the habit of never sending
in his settlements until the matter goes to an attor-
ney. And so there are a few dealers who do not
play the game according to Hoyle. Of course, these
dealers never get in the big business class, and they
are never able to carry a line year after year as a
dealer should.
But as counterdistinguished from these are the
vast majority. The regular dealer, the one the piano
traveler likes to sell, and always favors when there
are any favors to be given away, is the one who
pays promptly, buys what he needs, and accepts
shipment when it comes.
Recently, in San Francisco, this funny dealer tried
to work the old game. He chose, however, the wrong
traveler and the wrong time for his exploit. He
needed the pianos badly and only thought to get a
5% rake off by stalling around. Instead, the traveler
showed up and proceeded to sell the entire car lot
to this dealer's nearest competitor.
Now, we understand, this dealer is promising to
be good in the future.
GULBRANSEN IN FLORIDA.
The Hamilton Piano Co., Tampa, Florida, recently
secured the agency in that section for the Gulbran-
sen playerpianos. Kenneth Hamilton is associated
with his father, J. P. Hamilton, in the piano business.
They look forward to big business, if the early season
orders can be judged as any criterion.
DEALER FROM ELGIN.
GOOD SIOUX CITY TRADE.
Among the dealers who made calls in Chicago
along Piano Row this week was George H. Fleer.
Mr. Fleer runs a piano business under his own name,
in Elgin, 111.
Good tidings from Sioux City, la., are brought
by A. S. Street, manager of the Davis & Bros. Co.,
of that city. There is a lively trade in pianos in
Sioux City, Mr. Street reported.
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