Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1918

April 28, 1923
PRESTO
CHRISTMAN
REPRODUCING GRANDS
are of an exceptional
high quality, making
them a worthy and
p r o f i t a b l e line to
handle.
Christman
Pianos
have a scale that
insures tone qual-
ity of remarkable
purity, sweetness
a n d of g r e a t
volume.
Richard W. Lawrence, president of the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce, has addressed the
following letter to the exhibitors at the Prosperity
Convention to be held at the Drake Hotel in June.
In his letter under date of April 17 Mr. Lawrence
says:
The committee in charge of the coming Prosperity
Convention of our music trades, to be held at the
Hotel Drake, Chicago, June 4 to 7 inclusive, is mak-
ing a special effort to promote the educational and
informative features of the convention sessions. With
this idea, I believe the entire industry must be in
hearty accord.
There are three major features of our conventions
—each important, especially when properly balanced:
The Social, as represented by the excellent entertain-
ment largely musical, which we always have. Busi-
ness Opportunities, as represented by the exhibits.
The Educational, as represented by the convention
sessions themselves.
From a social standpoint our conventions could
hardly be excelled. As an opportunity for buyer and
seller to meet and discuss mutual problems and to
view instruments on exhibition, our conventions also
have a great appeal. In the matter of getting the
utmost in an educational way from our conventions,
however, there is still much to be desired. I think
this is due not so much to any inferiority of our
programs or lack of interest by our people, as to the
heavy counter-attractions of the private business
appeal and the exhibits.
The committee in charge of the convention has not
thought it wise to close the exhibits in the convention
hotel during the time of convention sessions, as they
believe the exhibitors if requested will refrain from
showing exhibits to merchants during the convention
sessions and that merchants will also refrain during
the convention hours from visiting exhibits.
The convention programs are so arranged that
there will be an abundance of time to see the exhibits,
transact private business and yet have the educational
sessions fully attended. The accomplishments and
the forward progress of the several associations, never
so important or as comprehensive, deserve the seri-
ous consideration of every convention visitor.
Both personally and as President of the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce, I am very glad
indeed to join with our Convention Committee in
urging both exhibitors and merchants to so plan
their time, during conventions, that exhibits will not
be permitted to interfere with the Convention session.
NOTED SONG LEADER
ON CONVENTION PROGRAM
Prof. Peter W. Dykema, Famous for His Wartime
Community Activities to Lead Chorus.
Prof. Peter W. Dykema, who ably fills the position
of Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin,
will have a prominent role during the week of the
music trades convention in Chicago from June 4 to 7.
Prof. Dykema will lead the community service sing-
Convention Display of Prominent Old Chicago
Industry to Be Located on Mezzanine.
CHRISTMAN
GRANDS, UPRIGHTS
PLAYERS
and
REPRODUCING PIANOS
9 9
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off.
Christman Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
Features of Annual Trade Convention Pointed
Out by President of Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce.
20th. It is very important that our members arrive
at the Golf Club by Sunday night in order to be ready
for play Monday morning.
The tournament will cover todays, Monday and
Tuesday, with medal play handicap Monday morning,
match play starting Monday afternoon and finishing
Tuesday afternoon. There will also be medal play
handicap Tuesday afternoon.
There will be the
usual number of prizes, the same as in past years,
and the quality will be fully up to our regular
standard.
The annual dinner and election of officers will be
held at the Sea View Golf Club Tuesday evening.
Members have the privilege of remaining over Tues-
day night and can play on the course on Wednesday
if they wish to do so. Be sure to take train for
Absecon, N. J., and not Atlantic City. Also wire
the Club and they will have bus at Absecon station.
Train service from New York and Philadelphia will
be given in a final notice. If the members desire,
they can go direct to Atlantic City Saturday or Sun-
day and come over to Absecon late Sunday afternoon
by automobile.
KIMBALL CO. TO SHOW
NEW MODELS AT DRAKE
Enhance Your Future Prosper-
ity By Investigating the
Irresistible Appeal of
The First Touch Tells
R. W. LAWRENCE ADVISES
CONVENTION EXHIBITIORS
The W. W. KimBall Co., Chicago, have arranged
for a comprehensive display of the new models of
the Kimball instruments on the mezzanine floor of
the Drake Hotel, Chicago, during the national music
trades convention from June 4 to 7.
There will also be a display in the Kimball offices
in the Kimball Building, Jackson Boulevard and
Wabash Avenue. This display will be more com-
plete than the one at the hotel. The Drake exhibit
will contain only the new models which have recently
been announced, and with which many of the dealers
are not thoroughly familiar.
As is the case with most other big piano com-
panies, the W. W. Kimball Company intends to make
the Chicago convention one of the biggest of its kind,
and is doing the utmost to make the four days a
success. A collection of well ordered displays such
as is being planned will do a great deal toward making
this convention a piano pageant of progress, and will
be of instructive as well as business value to all in
the trade.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR GOLF
TOURNAMENT ARE ISSUED
Location of Games Again at Sea View Club, Near
Atlantic City, N. J.
The tournament committee of the National Golf
Association of the Piano Trade has again decided on
Sea View Club, near Atlantic City, N. J., as the loca-
tion of the Golf Tournament on Monday and Tues-
day, May 21 and 22, 1923. The following are instruc-
tions issued by the committee:
Reservations: Write direct to Sea View Golf Club,
Absecon, N. J., and reserve your room. We have ar-
ranged that our members can arrive Sunday, May
PROF. PETER W. DYKEMA.
ing for which task he is fitted by reason of his musi-
cal accomplishments and his war service experiences.
His association with music as a great civic and cul-
tural force makes his name attractive on any pro-
gram. In addition to his community singing activi-
ties during the convention Prof. Dykema is scheduled
for several addresses.
L. C. DUNCAN MANAGER.
L. C. Duncan for several years outside man and
in charge of repairs of the Harrisburg, 111., Music
Company has been promoted to the managership of
the company. Mr. Duncan knows the music business
from A to Z, having had experience in every phase
of the business. Beginning as office boy he was
advanced to repairman, then canvasser, outside
salesman, outside manager and now manager.
MOVED FOR REASONS.
Two moves in three years were made necessary by
the growth of the business of Sullivan Brothers,
Binghamton, N. Y. Prior to two years ago, the firm
was located on DeRussey street. Taking over the
store at 122 Chenango street, it has since conducted
an aggressive advertising and selling campaign with
the result that in the recently occupied store at 178
Washington street this is now one of the largest
musical instrument enterprises in southern New York.
In terms of the wholesale prices of 200 represen-
tative commodities the purchasing power of a dollar
last week was 60 cents compared with what it would
have bought in 1913.
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/
PRESTO
TWO PRESTO CARTOONS
ILLUSTRATE AN IDEA
Apt Use for Pictures Found in Emphasizing
One-Price, No Commission Policy of
O. K. Houck Piano Co.
The trade-mark of the O. K. Houck Piano Co.,
Memphis, Term., is a design in which the enblazoned
center is "One Price." It is the declaration of an
unequivocal policy on which the company's selling
methods are founded and the salesmen's actions
based. In the canvassing activities of the representa-
tives of the of the O. K. Houck Piano Co., the "One
Price" policy prevails.
Naturally there is nothing equivocal about the ad-
vertising of the C). K. Houck Piano Co. There is
never anything ambiguous in relation to piano prices.
Plain words and sincere statements always convey
the simple fact that the O. K. Houck Piano Co. "is a
one-price house and that for obvious reasons the
prices quoted are in accordance with careful mer-
chandising and honest trading. The obvious reason
is that the house pays no commissions.
In a recent page advertisement in the Memphis
newspapers the company printed its "Affidavit of
Protection" which is the sworn statement of the late
(). K. Houck, which embodies the policy of the
house. It conveys the fact that the O. K. Houck
Piano Co. does business as a one-price house and that
a definite fixed price on every new, used or second-
hand instrument is maintained absolutely.
To illustrate the point of the advertisement the
company reproduced two cartoons from a series
printed some years ago by Presto. The cartoons
showed up some evils of the trade, some of which un-
fortunately still persist,. One pictured a piano store
. window with a "was and now" setting; the piano that
Was $599 marked down to $187. With the cartoon
the original caption was reprinted:
XVII—Do you remember the dealer whose riotous
cutting of imaginary high prices reverberated in the
marts of the piano trade? You do, even if your mem-
ory is the poorest. With a satirical smile you recall
how, in his generosity, he piffled his profit and
marked his prices with "now" quotations that made
the multitude gape in amazement when the "was"
price was noted. But his method was only a clumsy
camouflaging of deceit, although he was disgracefully
successful handing out the raspberry.
The commission evil which the Memphis house
so steadily combats was illustrated by the second
Presto cartoon which showed a row of piano stores
and entering the one in the foreground was the blithe
commission fiendess with a dotted line showing the
pilgrim's progress in peddling her piano sale tip. For
this the O. K. Houck adman provided a clever cap-
tion:
The days of paying a commission on a piano salt
are not over. Where there is such industry as
above, your name given to various dealers as a pros-
pect and the lady gets her rake-off at your expense,
no matter from whom you purchase, do you think the
nice dealer pays the commission himself? Puzzle:
Who is to be the goat?
The stand of the O, K. Houck Piano Co. is ex-
plained in the convincing text:
When a teacher or friend recommends our goods
you can depend upon the fact that such recommenda-
tion is sincere and genuine and not caused by our
paying 5 or 10 or 15 per cent for her influence.
Where commission is- paid, it is a certainty the
amount is considered in the price the purchaser pays.
Where no fixed prices are adhered to and fictitious
discounts are given as a selling proposition, the com-
mission to be paid certainly affects the reductions
which may be offered you.
MARKETING PIANOS IN CUBA.
It is estimated that about 75 per cent of the pianos
sold in Cuba at the present time, are paid for on a
monthly-installment plan, according to Commercial
Attache Paul L. Edwards, Havana.. In some cases
the installment payments are made over a period as
great as 36 months. This necessarily involves a con-
siderable capital outlay on the part of the piano mer-
chants, as they are unable to. obtain corresponding
credit terms from their foreign suppliers.
WAREROOM WARBLES
(A New One Every Week.)
By The Presto Poick.
WHAT'S THE USE?
And now get your paper and pencil, and write
The words of crude wisdom that I will indite,
And when it is written, be sure that 'tis hid
Up there in your hat, o'er the dome of your lid!
For what I will say seems to fit every day,
Perhaps it may help your courage alway;
It's simply to warn you to kick yourself loose
From cowardly snivel like, "Oh, what's the use?"
n
You'll never arrive at the place you aspire—
Not even keep out of the murk and the mire
That clogs your ambition and shuts off your steam,
Destroying the triumphs of which you may dream,
Unless you can rise with the will in your eyes
To drive off depression and doubts that arise,
To tempt you to grumble at fortune's abuse
That leads you to question with "Oh, what's the use?"
If thoughts are the things that we think they are,
'Tis well to remember they may have a share
In making or breaking the progress you'd win,
And driving success from the work you are in;
There's nothing in twisting the tail of your luck
And nutting the brakes on the wheels of your pluck,
Tt's all in your courage to push like the deuce,
Forgetting such folly as "Oh, what's the use!"
BALDWIN IN RECITAL.
The Baldwin piano was used by Frank Watson in
OPENS IN BEND, ORE.
his recital at Jordan Hall, Boston, last week. It
Orlow and Ocla White, Bend, Ore., have signed a was one of the notable occasions recently on which
lease on one of the store rooms in the Mutzig build- the fine grand of the Baldwin Piano Co. was played
ing, which is to be erected there. They will fit the before a discriminative Boston audience. The piano
room out as a music store. While waiting for the was supplied by the A. M. Hume Music Co., Boston,
new quarters they are temporarily located at 824 Wall able representative of the Baldwin line at the Hub.
street. The firm is known as the White Bros. Music
Store. Orlow White was manager for the E. M.
NEW LAWRENCE BRANCH.
Thompson Music Co., and has also been a traveling
The Lawrence, Mass., branch of the Lord Piano
man for the Bush & Lane Piano Co.
Co.. of Boston, Mass., is now located in its new
quarters at 44 Essex street, where the first floor is
W. Hausler, superintendent of the Christman Piano devoted exclusively to pianos. A balcony is occupied
Co., was elected president of the Superintendents' by phonograph and playerpiano booths. Included in
Club of the New York Piano Manufacturers' Asso- the line of pianos handled by the Lord Co. are the
ciation at a recent meeting.
Story & Clark, McPhail and Cable-Nelson.
SWAN PIANOS
SWAN ORGANS
are of the highest grade
t h a t c a n be obtained
through over 50 years of
p r a c t i c a l experience in
piano and organ building.
Illustrations a n d c a t a -
logues of various styles
will be furnished p i a n c
merchants on application.
The tremendous superi-
ority of the SWAN Reed
Organs over all others lies
in the absolute mechanism
and scientific perfection i©
the bellows action andstoo
action, making it the best
value in modern o r g a n
building,
FREEPORT, ILL
S. N. SWAN & SONS,
April 28, 1923
KROEGER
(Established 1952)
fhe name alone is enough to suggest to dealers the Best
Artistic and Commercial Values.
The New Styl« Players Are Finest Yet. If you can
get the Agency you ought to / ive it.
KROEGER PIANO CO-
tORti, N. V.
and
STAMFORD, CONK.
BRINKERHOFF
Player-Pianos and Pianos
The Line That Sell* Easily and Satisfies Always
Quick Sales and
Satisfied Customers
B8INKERH0FF PIANO CO. ""StSSKy 1 1 *- CHICAGO
That's what you want and that's what you gel when you self Straube-
made players and pianos.
The constant and growing demand for Straube-made instruments is
Jue to their high quality which is indicated by the kind of people
who buy them. You can see that they are being selected by those
who choose most carefully.
As a dealer you know the advantage of selling a line of instruments
For QUALITY, SATISFACTION and PROFIT
with a standing of this sort.
dealer proposition.
Let us tell you about our interesting
STRAUBE PIANO CO., Hammond, Ind.
NEWMAN BROTHERS PIANOS
NEWMAN BROS. CO.
Established 1870
Factories, 816 DIX ST., Chicago, I]
. Leins Piano Company
Makers of Pianos That Are Leaders
in Any Reliable Store
Kindler & Collins
Pianos
NEW FACTORY. 304 W. 42nd St.. NEW YORK
520-524 W. 48th S
NEW YORK
Try a Presto Want Ad and Get It
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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