PRESTO
FEATURING U. S. MUSIC ROLLS
June 30, 1923
EXPORTS OF U. S.
PIANOS INCREASE
Low Production Costs and Decline of German
Piano Trade Makes Opportunities for
American Instruments Greater
Than Ever Before.
The accompanying cut shows an attractive window
display of player music rolls of the United States
Music Co., Chicago, recently made in the store of
Branta-Richlicz Furniture Company, Milwaukee,
which conducts a very complete music department
under the management of Walter J. Przybylski. The
Branta-Richlicz Furniture Company is a large and
progressive institution in Milwaukee, occupying quar-
ters in an outlying district, although the building and
display would do credit to the central district of any
large city.
This progressive institution realizes the importance
of giving the piano department prominent main floor
space and the success the company is having with
the sale of playerpianos and music rolls has demon-
strated the wisdom of its judgment.
The achievement of the Branta-Richlicz Furniture
Company, located in an outlying district in Milwau-
kee, a city of approximately 500,000 people, in cre-
ating an establishment of a progressive and high
class character, conclusively proves what enterprise
and hard work will do. It should encourage other
dealers throughout the country in their efforts to cre-
ate something like this, although they may not be lo-
cated in an exceedingly large city or in a downtown
district.
BUSH & GERTS PIANO CO.'S
LINE FOR PHONOGRAPH FIRM
sical merchandise; $50,000; A. L. Maresh, John P.
Kalina, P. J. Mulligan, John J. Babka and William
J. Esch.
Reynolds & Smith, Inc., Cliften Forge, Va.; to sell
music goods; $50,000; Robert Smith and others.
Burgmau-Hemmer Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.; phono-
graphs; $35,000; Frank Hemmer, M. Burgman and
William Wheatley.
Piano Rental Co., New York City; $50,000; L. S.
Roemer and W. A. Nagle.
Rialto Recording Laboratory, New York City;
Benjamin Smith, John L. Gorman and Louis J.
Shrameck.
Noisy Bee Music Stores Corporation, Brooklyn,
N. Y.; $6,000; G. Levinson, J. Brecher and W.*F.
A. Connolly.
O'Loughlin Music Company, Salt Lake City, Ex-
pands and Adds Pianos and Players.
The line of pianos, playerpianos and reproducing
pianos of the Bush & Gerts Piano Co., Chicago,
has been installed by the O'Loughlin Music Co., Salt
Lake City, Utah. The news that the widely known
talking machine house had decided to expand and
include pianos became known a few weeks ago but
the name of the line was withheld. The house is
one of the most active in that section and has acquired
a fine clientele in sheet music and small goods as
well as talking machines.
Now the enterprising Salt Lake City firm proposes
to serve a wider trade with its piano, playerpiano and
reproducing piano offerings. The entire second floor
of the company's store is being allotted to the new
line and main warerooms and special demonstration
rooms are planned.
The pianos and playerpianos of the Bush & Gerts
Piano Co. are already well and favorably known in
that section of the west and the grands of the com-
pany are held in high estimation by the foremost of
Utah's musicians. The instruments will be properly
featured by the O'Loughlin Music House and the
prospective piano buyers will be made more familiar
with the slogan of the Bush & Gerts Piano Co.: "One
Name, One Trade-mark, One Price, One Quality."
NEW INCORPORATIONS
IN MUSIC GOODS TRADE
New and Old Concerns Secure Charters in Various
Places.
Ideal Cabinet Co., St. Louis, Mo., $12,500. To deal
in phonographs and manufacture cabinets; Morris
Laskey, Joseph Laskey and Lewis Nachman.
Corson Music Co., Salem, Ore.; C. J. Corson, F.
B. McCard and E. O. Stadler.
Standard Solophone Mfg. Co., New York; musical
instruments; $10,000; R. Sugarman, G. Mull and L.
I. Marcus.
The A. L. Maresh Piano Co., Cleveland, O.; to
make, buy and sell pianos, talking machines and mu-
R. N. WATKINS APPRECIATIVE.
In thanking Mrs. Wynne, editor of the music de-
partment of the Dallas, Tex., Dispatch, for the grate-
ful manner in which she reported his recent election
to the presidency of the National Association of
Music Merchants, Robert N. Watkin said: "I very
greatly appreciate this compliment, and feel that
recognition of this character is a compliment to the
work done for the cause of music by leading musical
people, by yourself and the co-operation given by
the press."
MIESSNER AN ESSAY PRIZE,
One of the most exciting and interesting events in
the Music Week recently held in Berkeley, Cal., was
the essay contest in which the prize was a Miessner
piano, "The Little Piano With the Big Tone," made
by the Miessner Piano Co., Milwaukee, Wis. The
essay on a music topic which won the prize was by
Curtis Ball, a student of the Willard Junior High
School. Last week the winner was presented with
the Miessner piano by Kohler & Chase, San Fran-
cisco.
GULBRANSEN MEN IN CHICAGO.
Two travelers of the Gulbransen-Dickenson Com-
pany of Chicago, H. C. Dinmore, Gulbransen repre-
sentative in New York and the New England states,
and C. W. Ruby, representative in the southeast, vis-
ited Gulbransen headquarters at Chicago avenue and
Kedzie avenue. They stayed in Chicago for a few
days only, and returned to their respective territories
again this week.
Exports of American-made pianos and phonographs
to the foreign trade, especially to South America and
Australia, are increasing steadily, according to reports
from United States Consuls and Trade Commission-
ers stationed in various foreign countries.
In Australia, and in the Republic of Argentina
American playerpianos and phonographs already lead
the field, and in all the South and Central American
countries the United States is one of the biggest
sources of musical instrument supplies.
The exportation of music in sheet and book form
is also growing rapidly. In the nine months ending
March 31, reports from the Department of Commerce
show, the United States exported $254,847 worth of
music, compared to $231,644 worth of music exports
for the nine corresponding months of last year.
Production Cost Low.
The causes for the growth of the American musi-
cal exports are many. Perhaps the greatest is the
comparatively low cost of production in the United
States. American piano manufacturers are able to
build instruments at such a cost that they are able
to ship them to a foreign country, pay transportation
and import expenses, and yet compete with the piahos
built in that foreign country.
This is especially true in Australia. For example,
Trade Commissioner Sanger stationed at Melbourne
reports that the owner of one of the leading player-
piano stores of Melbourne, stated that he can sell low-
priced American playerpianos for $500, and that Aus-
tralian made players of the same grade cost him from
$700 to $800. This in spite of the fact that the Ameri-
can instrument must pay not only transportation
costs, but also a 45 per cent import duty.
The same thing is true in the small goods line.
E. F. Hurt, of Wilson Bros. Mfg. Co., Chicago, told
a representative of Presto that the Australian firm
handling Wilson drums can pay all the importing
costs and still sell the Wilson drums at a substantially
lower figure than Australian drums of the same
quality.
German Trade Declining.
Another cause for the rising prestige of American
instruments abroad is the decline of the German piano
trade. Since December, 1922, the German export
business in the piano industry has shown a marked
downward tendency, says U. S. Consul Stewart, lo-
cated at Bremen, Germany, in his report to the De-
partment of Commerce.
The falling off of the German piano trade is due to
the inability of the German industries to compete with
the prices of other piano manufacturing countries,
especially America.
The depreciation of the mark and lack of capital
invested has made it difficult and almost prohibitively
expensive to import the necessary raw materials, and
so the supply of veneers and lumber has not always
been sufficient. In fact, some of the German piano
makers have been unable to procure any supplies from
abroad whatsoever.
Poor transportation facilities in Germany also
handicap the German piano makers. Delays of three
or four weeks in the shipment of goods are not un-
usual.
American Prize Winners.
The result is that the foreign dealers are looking
more and more to America for their pianos, players
and phonographs, although Germany and Austria still
produce a great part of the band and string instru-
ments bought by the South American countries.
The awarding of the grand prize at the Brazilian
World's Exposition to American pianos will do much
to augment the prestige of the American piano in the
South American markets. The exhibit of the Ameri-
can Piano Co. scored the brilliant record of having
awards conferred upon all the instruments which it
exhibited at the Exposition.
In South America, in Australia, in South Africa, in
Japan, and even in Ireland (yes, there are music
stores in Iceland) the opportunity for American-
made instruments is greater than ever before. Some
piano and small goods manufacturers are taking ad-
vantage of this opportunity, and it would well repay
the other concerns also to investigate the possibilities
of the foreign markets.
A voluntary petition in bankruptcy was recently
filed by Blue Music House, Montgomery, Ala., of
which W. M. and M. J. Blue were partners. The
total liabilities of the firm were given as $18,266.97
and the assets as $16,115. The amount of the stock
was given at $1,530.39.
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