Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1915

PRESTO
April 7, 1923
sign. But this doesn't alter the accuracy of what Mr. Glynn says and
the two big industries whose letters in this issue refer to Presto's
doubt dispeller are of a kind to convince anyone. They are financially
able to consign, or in any other way to sustain the dealer. And they
are among the noted successes of the industry.
We regard Mr. Glynn's contribution on the consignment plan as
one of the best trade articles that has appeared. It is practical. It
may be helpful, and therefore valuable, to the trade. Dealers who
are settled in their lines know what they want, and will not be influ-
enced by any other plan than the one their favorite manufacturers
already furnish. The best of all plans is the one that makes most
money for the dealer who satisfies his customers. But the fact, as
stated by one of the letters this week, of the impossibility of supply-
ing all demands on the consignment plan, is ample evidence that the
system with limitations is still popular and profitable. The principal
thing is to sell pianos. And in order to do that, the dealer must be
able to get them to sell.
It is hoped that the judges of the prize piano advertisements will
not overlook what is being done by the Griffith Piano Co., of Newark,
N. J. No finer piano publicity has ever appeared. Better still, the
line of pianos advertised could not be improved unless by making it
still longer. The Griffith line is: Steinway, Sohmer, Kurtzmann, Hal-
lett & Davis, McPhail, Brambach and Lester. Almost any expert
would call that a prize list.
*
*
An expert business counsellor says that the best barometer of a
house is the appearance of its correspondence—the letters that come
from headquarters. The only way by which a distant correspondent
BUSH & GERTS ENGAGE
CONVENTION LOCATION
Headquarters to Be Established in Drake Hotel for
Duration of Sessions.
A room in the Drake Hotel. Chicago, has been en-
gaged by the Bush & Gerts Piano Co., of that city,
as headquarters during the conventions of the na-
tional piano trade organizations, on June 4 to 7. The
room will be at the disposal of the Bush & Gerts
Piano Co.'s clientele, and will be fitted with con-
veniences for the guests.
The headquarters for the convention are in the
Drake Hotel, and many of the leading musical con-
cerns are establishing rooms and suites in this hotel
so that they may have a convenient place to enter-
tain friends and show exhibits.
"We will arrange to show visitors the Bush &
Gerts factory if they care to do so," said W. S.
Miller, vice-president of the Bush & Gerts Piano Co.
and general manager of the Chicago office. "We
want our friends and customers to feel perfectly wel-
come to come out to our factory, and especially urge
them to feel at home at our room in the Drake
Hotel."
COINOLA STYLE CO HAS
BIG AND GROWING DEMAND
Appreciation for Practical Instrument Expressed in
Many Orders from Dealers.
The Coinola Style C O, made by the Operators'
Piano Co., Chicago, is one of the most practical
instruments produced by this company. The demand
for this instrument, which is the largest of the
Coinolas made, is greatest from big amusement
houses and road houses. There is a steady market
for this type of instrument, and the Coinola C O is
proving to be just the thing to fill the need.
The instrumentation includes piano, mandolin, bass
and snare drums, tympani, orchestra zylophone bars,
Indian block, triangle, cymbal and tambourine. It
is a real orchestra, and exactly suits the need of a
large place of amusement, or any place where many
people come together. Dealers located in places
where this market exists are discovering the immense
sales possibilities of the big Coinola.
Other Coinola styles the dealers consider highly
desirable in interesting the owners of cafes, ice
cream parlors and other public places where suc-
cess "depends upon measurable attractions are Style
C, Style C-2. Style X and the Tiny Coinola, the small-
est keyless piano made. These are all proven profit
pullers. They are trouble-proof with the best me-
chanically simple action that insures continuous and
unlimited service. Coinola dealers are all identified
can judge of a business concern is by the appearance and force of its
mail matter. A shabby letter is a poor business card.
The man who can sell pianos is about the most independent of
all business men. He not only has his profitable work always ready,
but may even find a fortune to sustain him if he is honest. Is this
problematical? Then read the article by Mr. J. J. Glynn in this
issue.
* * *
We have not had so promising a year in the piano business since
"before the war." Dealers who are receiving supplies promptly are
in luck, and not many of the factories have anything to complain of
unless it is insufficiency of skilled workers.
>|C
3(C
JjC
An easy mathematical problem, which seems hard for some
piano men to learn, is that selling at cost for "spot cash" isn't good
business. Of all lines of trade, that of selling pianos is about the
last that can be done profitably on that basis.
* * *
A correspondent asks how many stops the parlor organ used to
have. It was much like Barnum's elephants, or Birch & Backus' min-
strels. It wasn't easy to "count 'em."
* * *
Just two months from today the music trade convention will be
closing, at the Drake Hotel, Chicago. Tt will be the event of the
year. Are you coming?
* * *
Don't imagine that the present baby grand craze means that the
upright is to be dethroned. Your great grandsons will still be selling
uprights.
with mechanical instruments which provide service
that counts and profits that please. All these styles
have made good. Every style must be a money
maker for the owner or the Operators' Piano Co.
discontinues it.
WATKINS BROS., INC., BUYS
BUSINESS OF C. A. LANE
Purchase in Bristol, Conn., Gives New Owners Fine
Opportunity for Expansion.
The business of C. A. Lane in the City Building
on North Main street, Bristol, Conn., has been pur-
chased by Watkins Bros., Inc., with stores in Hart-
ford, South Manchester and Bristol, all in Connecti-
cut. Besides the stock and fixtures a five-year lease
goes with the purchase.
The Bristol store of Watkins Bros., Inc., was
established about six years ago and on account of the
continuous growth of the business the four stores
successively occupied were all found inadequate in
showroom space. The new store in the City building
is a commodious one and will give the company a
better opportunity to expand.
The stock acquired by purchase from the C. A.
Lane business is now being sold out by special sale
advertised in the vigorous manner of the Watkins
Bros , Inc. The company is representative of the
Steinway piano over a large territory in Connecticut
which includes all of three counties and a portion
of one.
MANY WANT SOLO CONCERTOS.
The heavy demand for the Nita Grand made by the
H. C. Bay Co., Bluffton, Ind., has not diminished the
need for a large number of the Solo Concerto player-
pianos, according to the Chicago sales office. The
grands are built in a separate section of the Bay fac-
tories, so that the production of the Solo Concertos
has not been affected by the announcement of the
little grand. The player styles as well as the H. C.
Bay Reproducing players have been unusually de-
sired. The H. C. Bay policy of "One Style Only"
has brought the instrument a> perfection which insures
dealers wide sales. All three types of pianos offer a
maximum of value for a minimum of expenditure.
PAYS TWENTY-FIRST DIVIDEND.
The Baker Music Company, Albany, N. Y., re-
cently paid the twenty-first consecutive quarterly
dividend of 2 per cent on preferred stock and a dollar
per share on common stock. The recent dividend
was paid to stockholders of record March 1, 1923.
At the meeting recently an excellent report was. sub-
mitted. By the figures the business shows an in-
crease of $44,000 for January and February over the
same months in 1922.
NEW EXCELTONE PLAYER
MODEL WINS THE TRADE
Latest Number in Desirable Line of the Chase-
Hackley Piano Co. Sought by Dealers.
The new Exceltone, Model 31, which was an-
nounced recently, is one of the popular styles made
by the Chase-Hackley Piano Co., Muskegon, Mich.,
and the demand for it is already as strong as the
supply, according to H. H. Bradley, manager of the
Chase-Hackley office which was until March 31
maintained in Chicago. The model which was placed
in the Chicago office a few weeks ago was sold soon
after arriving. The Chicago office of Chase-Hackley
is now being handled direct through Mr. Bradley,
as the branch suite in the Republic Building has been
given up.
Model 31, like the other Exceltone models, gets its
name from the quality of its tone, coupled with a
character of general player excellence and durability
of construction. The player action of the model pre-
sents the most advanced features known in the indus-
try. It has the quick response which makes easy the
performance of all kinds of music. It insures perfec-
tion in the playing of the extreme pianissimo passages
as well as the most powerful forte ones.
The Exceltone models of the Chase-Hackley
Piano Co. are sold by responsible piano merchants
in all parts of the country and in every instance the
merchants rest their reputations upon the results of
every Exceltone sale. Such a thing as a dissatisfied
owner of an Exceltone player piano is unknown.
PIANO TUNERS' ROUND=UP
WILL BE RARE EVENT
Will Include Instructive Talks, a Tempting Feast
and a Reproducing Piano.
The annual banquet and round-up of the Chicago
division of the National Association of Piano Tuners
will be held in the east room of the Hotel La Salle
on Tuesday evening, April 17, at 6:30 p. m.
Each attendant at the banquet will participate in
a reproducing piano surprise. An array of spell-
binders will be on hand to explain the whys and
wherefores of piano tuning.
The banquet tickets have a coupon attachment
which is to be detached on entering the hall. When
the round-up ends some lucky tuner will have oc-
casion to keep his own grand piano in tune. It is
expected that a large gathering of the expert harmo-
nizers will gather at the Hotel La Salle on the )8th.
The others will miss a good deal.
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/
April 7, 1923
PRESTO
on a consignment basis. By this method he can at
all limes get the pianos he needs; sell them on either
a cash or time basis; does not have the burden of
carrying time sales himself; has no notes falling due
which he must meet (or renew if he can); is relieved
of practically all financial worries, and is assuming
only one obligation and that is honesty in his deal-
Strong New York Piano Industry Protests ings with the house that is backing him.
A Silent Partnership.
That the Easy System cf Securing Stock
The relations between a manufacturer and dealer
Without Cash Investment Is Very
handling pianos on consignment are virtually that of
Generally in Vogue.
a silent partnership. The manufacturer furnishes the
goods, the dealer furnishes the store and salesman-
New York City, March 28, 1923.
Editor Presto: We read your "Where Doubts Are ship, and the profits on the retail sales of pianos are
Dispelled,'" issue of Saturday, March 24th, and we practically all the dealer's, only a small percentage of
are particularly interested in your answer to a dealer it going to the manufacturer as his compensation for
in Vermont who inquires about pianos on consign- carrying the consignment account.
ment. We are writing this in hopes that you will
We hope that you will realize that this letter is not
give i* place in your publication, for we believe that written in a spirit of criticism, nor are we making a
the casual reading of your reply to this dealer's in- bid for business, nor for free advertising, for if you
quiry may give a wrong impression of the consign- see lit to publish it we have no desire for you to use
ment proposition, and unwittingly cause an injustice our firm name, unless you wish to do so. The letter
to the manufacturers who are backing such a large is written in hopes that it will correct any wrong im-
percentage of your readers to the extent of furnish- pression that your readers might get concerning con-
ing them all the pianos they need, without demanding signment, as a business proposition, and we trust
the cash or notes in settlement.
that the letter will be received in the spirit it is
written.
You state in your answer that the consignment
system is not much in vogue at the present time. In
Y r ours truly,
our own individual case we do not think this is cor-
"JACOB BROS. CO.
rect. We arc- doing a bigger consignment business
today than we ever did, and are constantly turning
MOUNTAIN TO MAHOMET.
down applications for pianos on consignment from
Commissioner Blair of the Internal revenue bureau,
dealers because we simply cannot supply the demand.
This would hardly indicate that the consignment busi- Washington, D. C, this week announced a new plan
for dealing with the adjustment of back taxes by
ness was decreasing.
taking the bureau to the taxpayer rather than, under
Requires Capital.
the present system, requiring the taxpayer to come
We are pleased to note that you state that reliable to Washington for adjustment of grievances. The
concerns are still doing a consignment business. This plan will get its initial tryout in St. Paul April 20. A
is correct and we would like to point out that it takes special subcommittee of the appeals and review com-
a reliable and financially responsible concern to mittee which has charge of tax adjustment questions
finance a large consignment business. This in itself
will open hearings in St. Paul with a docket of 100
is an assurance to the dealer of the integrity of the important cases. It was explained today by bureau
firm he is dealing with on that basis.
officials that there are thousands of unadjusted cases
There arc admittedly only three basic plans on which involve amounts so small that the expense of
which a dealer may start in business. One is to buy a trip to the capital would exceed the amount the tax-
for cash, thereby limiting his purchases to his own payer would derive from adjustment of his claim if
capital, and his sales to cash sales, and a few time it were determined in his favor.
sales which he is able to finance. Another method
is to buy on notes (which eventually have to be paid),
FIRE IN MANCHESTER, N. H.
and confine his purchases to the amount of credit he
can obtain. This method gives a dealer a little more
A recent tire in the Desautels Music House, 1094
leeway in making time-sales, but at the same time Elm street, Manchester, N. H., did estimated damage
he has worries of notes continually falling due, and of $1,000 to the stock and store. The fire chief and
which are forever hanging over his head like the deputies were not wholly decided upon the cause of
"sword of Damocles."
the blaze last night, but attributed it to a carelessly
The third method, and the one which we believe thrown match or cigarette butt by some smoker in
the most logical for the dealer, is to obtain his pianos the basement.
CONSIGNMENT PLAN
IS STILL POPULAR
ANOTHER F. C. BILLINGS PATENT
WAREROOM WARBLES
(A New One Every Week.)
By The Presto Poick.
DO IT YOUR OWN WAY.
The wise ones like to tell us how
To do things that they do.
And oftentimes we like to bow
Down to their w T isdom, too;
Experience is worth a lot,
But change comes every day,
And my advice—take it or not—
Is '"Do ft Your Own Way."
Of course we can't all go to school
That "keeps in" all our life,
We've got to learn some golden rule
That holds through calm and strife;
And I have watched the course of men
Who fought, but lost the fray,
Because they knew not how nor when
To "Do It Their Own Way."
The world is never quite agreed
That any way is best,
And nothing fills the long-felt need
At any man's behest;
Tis every man out for himself—•
Disprove it as we may—
And if you capture fame or pelf
You'll "Win It Your Own Wav."
POET TAKES PIANO CLUB
FAR AFIELD THIS WEEK
Wallace Bruce Amsbary Introduces Members to Jean
Baptiste and His Brethren.
For many weeks members of the Piano Club of
Chicago have listened to business talks at the Mon-
day luncheons. They were very interesting talks,
but talks that kept thoughts on the good old grind.
But last Monday they were temperamentally enter-
tained. Wallace Bruce Amsbary, the poet, turned on
the romantic control and did things to their feelings.
Mr. Wallace Amsbary is lecturer in general litera-
ture of the Armour Institute of Technology and
author of the ''Ballads of Bourbonnais." His writ-
ings have ce-ntered largely around the people of
French Canada. He gave a humorous talk about the
doings of "Jean Baptiste and His Brethren." It is
a story of the people, the rivers and forests of the
French-Canadian country, told in French-Canadian
dialect, of which the teller is a master. It was one
of the greatest pleasures of the season to the piano
men.
An especially good musical number was also on the
program.
Frank Crumit, one of the stars of the
"Tangerine" company, which opens up at the Gar-
rick this week, put on a musical act that is one of
the cleverest of the season.
HASSMER BROS.' SECOND
STORE OPENED SATURDAY
Successful Chicago Retailers Enterta Inauguration Night at 3224 Lawrence Ave.
A special program of music marked the opening
of Hassmer Bros.' second store, at 3224 Lawrence
avenue, Chicago, Saturday evening, March 31. Ben-
son's Orchestra played, and Wendell Hall, composer
of the new waltz number, "Mellow Moon," sang.
Victor records of that number were autographed by
Air. Hall as they were sold.
Hassmer Bros, entertained thousands of visitors in
the afternoon and evening, and in a few hours handed
out 2,500 flowers.
This substantial retail institution, which has been
in business since 1895, with a successful store at
Clark and Belmont streets, has a beautiful and invit-
ing djsplay of Gulbransen playerpianos, Acousti-
grande upright and grand pianos, and Victor phono-
graphs and records.
? r ack out of 'W*^
the e d ^
Fred C. Billings, Milwaukee, Wis., has another in-
vention relative to playerpianos to his credit. The
latest invention in the piano field for which Mr.
Billings has received a patent is the "Billings Spring
Brass Roll Band and Spool Holder," a device which
adds to the efficacy of a music roll. "One Rolled,
Always Rolled" is a slogan that suggests the opera-
tions of the device.
The Billings Spring Brass Roll Band and Spool
Holder does away with rewinding by hand, "a proc-
ess which soils the paper, causes the roll to track out
of line, tears and frays the edges of the paper and
causes traction devices to fail to function. The dust
collecting disadvantages of the older forms of roll
holder are not possible with the new clamp," said
Mr. Billings this week.
Mr. Billings intends to have a big display of the
new device and a demonstration of its purposes at
the trade convention in June at the Drake Hotel,
Chicago. Already many manufacturers and dealers
who have examined the new Billings' patent have
booked orders for supplies of it in advance. The
Scovill Mfg. Co., Waterbury, Conn., which made the
first of the Billings brass flanges, is at work on a
first order of half a million of the Billings Spring
Brass Roll Band and Spool Holder.
COMPARISON IN OFFERS.
The man who offers nothing but price and terms
to his prospects usually has nothing but price and
terms to offer. He is continually bothered with
complaints, past due and repossessions," says the
Baldwin Keynote. The man who offers Music to his
prospects offers an investment of immeasurable value
—happiness, home entertainment and education.
And when in addition he represents the products of
Baldwin he offers quality and character—quality in
factory workmanship and character in business
dealings."
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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