Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1923 1939

Presto Buyers' Guide
Analyzes and Classifies
All American Pianos
and in Detail Tells of
Their Makers.
PRESTO
& M M W /ww
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
Presto Trade Lists
Three Uniform Book-
lets, the Only Complete
Directories of the Muaic
Industries.
/• ctnt.# tx*» • r—
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1923
NEW BUILDING FOR STEINWAY & SONS
Fifteen=Story Fireproof Structure, With Frontage on Fifty=Seventh and Fifty=Eighth Streets, New York, Will
Be Conspicuous by Its Unusual Architectural Merits.
Floors Retained for Uses of Company to Excel in Elegance of Design and Furnishing Anything Ever Planned
for a Similar Institution.
made their American debut in Steinway Hall would
fill columns, and it is "fair to say that a very large
majority of them have made the famous white marble
building in Fourteenth street their American head-
quarters and address.
A Forward Move.
While the removal of the Steinway center of musi-
cal interest, from its old place on Fourteenth street
to the magnificent new establishment on 57th street,
will mark another great step forward in pianistic and
musical interest, there are many whose steps will, for
a long time, continue to wander along the old way
toward Fourteenth street and Fourth avenue when
visiting New York City.
It would require volumes to go back over the
career of Steinway & Sons.
And such a review
would, of necessity, include the names of a large
proportion of the great pianists of the world, from
the beginning to the discovery of Paderewski by the
late William' Steinway, and on to the present day.
As at present organized the house of Steinway &
Sons is: Frederick T. Steinway, president; Henry
Zeigler, vice-president; F. Rcidemeister, treasurer;
and N. Stetson, secretary. The directorate of Stein-
way & Sons is composed of the officers just named
with Theodore Cassebeer added. Mr. Cassebeer is a
member of the Steinway family and has been brought
up in the business. Mr. Zeigler, a piano expert and
accoustician of international fame, together with
Theodore Steinway, is responsible for the peculiar
excellence of the Steinway piano.
The Steinway Industry.
The house of Steinway & Sons has branch factories
and distributing branches in many of the great cities
in this country and abroad. There are more than
200,000 Steinway pianos in use throughout the world,
and the factory capacity is not far short of 10,000
annually.
A feature of the Steinway industry has long been
the special art-case designs which have found place
in prominent homes and art institutes. The latest
advance of the house, particulars of which are told
in this article, will give to New York a new center
of musical interest and must prove one more step
forward in the career of an instrument and an indus-
try which have for many years stood conspicuously
forth among the world's great attainments in art
products.
A new fireproof building of fifteen stories, base-
ment and sub-basement, is to be erected for Stein-
way & Sons, on the property acquired by the organ-
ization at 109, 111 and 113 West 57th street, New
York City. The structure will have a frontage of
sixty-three feet on West 57th street and extend
through the block to 58th street, where it will have a
frontage of one hundred feet. The numbers on 58th
street are 106, 108, 112, 114 and 116.
In the new Steinway Building, the basement, sub-
basement, first, second, third, and fourth floors will
be occupied by the showrooms and executive offices
of Steinway & Sons. The remaining eleven floors of
approximately 8,000 square feet each, will be leased,
either wholly or in part, to tenants, and will be div-
vided as required.
Its Distinguished Appearance.
The entire exterior of the building on the 57th
street side which will be faced with stone, with steel
windows and plate glass, for its entire height, will
present an unusual and highly distinguished appear-
ance. The roofs, where the various setbacks occur,
as required by the zoning law, will be paved with
tile, providing terraces on the tenth and thirteenth
floors, on 58th street, and on the thirteenth floor on
the 57th street side, all of which will be available for
the use of tenants.
But something that will distinguish the new Stein-
way & Sons building from anything else designed for
music trade purposes is the scheme for the finish of
the interior. The architectural designs, decorations,
furnishings and furniture for the Steinway showrooms
and offices will excel in elegance anything ever
planned for a similar institution. A grand and satis-
factory setting will be provided for the world-famous
line of uprights, grands and concert grands, and spe-
cially designed art pianos.
The Office Floors.
The office floors above the fourth will have un-
usual light from four sides, ample and exceptionally
well finished toilet rooms with both outside light and
air. Forced ventilation will be provided on each
floor. The public elevator corridor has the unusual
advantage of outside light and ventilating. These
elevators are very large, being 6 feet wide and 6 feet
6 inches deep.
In five different locations, on each office floor, sup-
ply and waste pipes have been provided so that run-
ning water for wash basins or other purposes may be
supplied to the tenants, if desired.
Absolutely Fireproof.
A complete sprinkler system is to be installed
throughout the entire building and the window trims,
the door trims, the base mouldings and the picture
mouldings are to be made of steel. No wood what-
soever is to be used in the construction of the build-
ings The floors are to be of cement, which is to be
given a dustproof and waterproof finish.
The mechanical equipment is to be of the most
modern type. The boilers are to be oil burning, thus
eliminating smoke, dust and the necessity of remov-
ing ashes.
An unusual feature is that the tenants' delivery
wagons may load and unload in the building, directly
at the service elevator. The entrance to the tenants'
passenger elevators on 57th street is of unusual width
and is to have a marble floor, marble walls and orna-
mental ceiling.
A Famous
The new advance of the
house of Steinway & Sons
almost any other move that
Center.
famous American "piano
is more significant than
has marked the industry
OPEN HUTTON MUSIC HOUSE.
NEW STEINWAY BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY.
and trade within a great many years. Steinway Hall,
on Fourteenth street, New York, has betn a center
of world-wide musical interest. It was built in 1866,
when the Fourteenth street section of New York was
just beginning to blossom into a center of art and
business. At that time Union Square was a fenced-
in park surrounded largely by residences of the sub-
stantial old citizens of the city. And around Stein-
way Hall clusters much of the tradition and musical
history of the metropolis, in which pianists and com-
posers of the entire world have taken active part.
Something like ten years after Steinway Hall was
erected the famous Steinway Concert Hall was dedi-
cated, seating 700 persons, and from that day to this
the beautiful auditorium has contributed to the fame
and advancement of aspiring beginners as well as to
the greatest pianists the world has known.
To merely name the great ones of music who have
A new music store, owned by L. L. Hutton and
wife of Saybrook, will open in the Sweeney building,
100 block North Center street, Clinton, 111., this week.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutton are experienced in selling
pianos and made a special trip recently to leading fac-
tories in Chicago and other points to select their
stock. Mrs. Hutton will be in charge of the business
at the present. The store will be known as the Hut-
ton Music House.
GULBRANSEN JAP AID.
The sum of $520.20 was contributed to the Japan-
ese Relief Fund by the officials and employes of the
Gulbranseu-Dickinson Company, Chicago. Many of
them had previously donated to other Japanese re-
lief funds. The sum named was a response to the
Chicago Piano & Organ Association campaign for
funds. Every department of the Gulbransen-Dickin-
son Company had a part in the splendid showing
made, there being 851 contributors.
A branch store of Sherman, Clay & Co. will be
opened at 142 North Virginia street, Reno, Nev.,
when the building is remodeled.
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
September 22, 1923
A HOST OF INTERESTED
STARR PIANO CO. GUESTS
EXPERIENCES IN SOUTH AMERICA
H. C. Niles, Pittsburgh Distributor of the
Products of Big Industry at Richmond,
Ind., Heads Enthusiastic Delegation.
Piano Manufacturer from the Land of Uncle Sam Tells of What He Saw
in Uruguay and Brazil, with a Visit to the Expo=
sition at Rio de Janeiro.
AN INSTRUCTIVE DAY
Some of the Wonder-Scenes of Mountain Ranges and Undulating Plains,
with a Trip by Eirie Cable to Lofty Heights.
Visitors Inspect Factory Processes, View the Beauti-
ful "Quaker City" and Attend Evening Barbecue.
By JESSE FRENCH
Ideal weather, together with the high spirits and
enthusiasm of the visitors, made the trip of the dele-
gation of dealers headed by H. C. Niles of the Starr
Phonograph Company, Pittsburgh, to the factories
of the Starr Piano Company, in Richmond, Ind., a
most happy occasion on Tuesday of last week. H. C.
Niles, formerly advertising manager of the Starr
Piano Company, is distributor of that organization's
products for Pennsylvania, West Virginia and East-
ern Ohio. The trip w r as the occasion for a general
inspection of the great Starr factories and its prod-
ucts. Visitors from the company's Chicago, Indian-
apolis, Cincinnati and Richmond branches, with deal-
ers, were also in attendance.
The day started with a breakfast at the Arlington
Hotel, followed by a thorough trip through the Starr
factories, where every department was visited and all
operations of production observed. All visitors, offi-
cers of the company, heads of departments and fac-
tory foremen wore badges bearing their names and
information as to company connections, which added
greatly to the get-together spirit.
At noon a lunch was served, buffet style, in the
phonograph inspection department. At the end of
this room, amid fall decorations, were exhibited Starr
pianos, Starr phonographs, and the latest Gennett
records, which were admired and created much inter-
est. The styles were demonstrated continuously
throughout the day.
Late in the afternoon phonograph records were
made by the party at the factory recording room, a
feature which was enjoyed on account of its novelty.
The visitors motored, at the close of the day, to
the farm of the Starr Piano Company, west of Rich-
mond, where a barbecue of beef, lamb, pork and all
the trimmings, occupied their attention until train
time. Among the guests of the company were:
A. O. Lechner, Lechner & Schoenberger, Pitts-
burgh; Win. Cooper, Cooper Bros., New Kensington,
Pa.; R. E. Stone, R. E. Stone Co., McKeesport, Pa.;
H. C. Millemen, Millemen Piano Company, Elwood
City, Pa.; John Cooper, Cooper Bros., New Kensing-
ton, Pa.; Paul Mechling, Dawson Bros. Piano Co.,
Pittsburgh; R. R. Myers, Spear & Co., Pittsburgh;
C. W. Books, Pioneer Music Co., Indiana, Pa.; I. D.
Walker, Faller Bros. Furn. Store, Donora, Pa.; J. W.
Gonaware, Latrobe, Pa.; Ira D. Menoher, Ligonier,
Pa.; F. A. Faller, Faller Bros. Furn. Stores, Wil-
merding, Turtle Creek and Donora, Pa.; H. C. Niles,
Starr Phonograph Co., Pittsburgh; Oscar Decoster,
Decoster Bros., Jeanette, Pa.; B. S. Lyde, Spear &
Co., Pittsburgh; L. C. Milheim, Butler, Pa.; Richard
Winter, Robert Winter Music Co., Irwin, Pa.
The Indianapolis visitors were: H. G. Hook, A. J.
Apple, Russell Dierdorf, Mrs. Ruth Troup, Miss
Johanna Gilday, all of the Indianapolis Starr store;
also W. G. Wilson, VVidener Grafanola Shop; Minnie
As this is a city of 2,000,000 inhabitants, and is
the commercial metropolis of South America, we
stayed here about two weeks, sight seeing, and felt
well repaid. Any person not having seen New York
harbor would be most apt to say that there is nothing
to surpass Buenos Aires, as it is lined up for miles
with vessels from all parts of the globe. In some
places the shipping vessels were so thick you won-
dered how the vessels could get in, unload and get out
again. Everything was congested. The govern-
ment, however, is building a new dock, to cost many
millions, which, when completed, will equal if not
out rival, the capacity of our own boasted metropolis.
For at Buenos Aires they have room to expand.
I have seen nothing to surpass the beautiful boule-
vard drive at Palermo Park, liberally decorated by
costly monuments and beautiful statues, beautiful
shade trees and magnificent buildings. In my opinion
its opera house scarcely equals the one in Paris,
though it is said to be the second largest in the
world. On the second floor is a large room, said to
be a replica of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and
as in most Latin countries, the opera is well attended
and is supported by the municipalities.
Cemetary and Zoo.
In the United States we boast of our beautiful
cemeteries, magnificent trees, exquisite floral decora-
tions, etc., which I much prefer to those in the Ar-
gentine pity, which are so different and serve to
adorn what is really "a city of the dead."
The Recoletta cemetery presents a marvelous dis-
play of wealth and respect for the departed. Won-
derful mausoleums stretching immediately alongside
of each other, forming impressive rows fronting nar-
row streets, about twenty-five feet wide, running at
right angles. The visitor may readily get lost in the
labyrinths of tombs and statuary, while contemplat-
ing the wonderful display of wealth and art combined
to commemorate the virtues of the deceased. It cer-
tainly has few equals and no superiors. The one at
Lima, Peru, is of a similar character, but not on
Springer, Taylor Carpet Company; D. H. Craft, D. H.
Craft Co.; I. Seidel, Seidel Music Co.
The Chicago visitors were: William P. Krause;
Walter Melrose, music publisher; C. H. Buell,
Remick's department in Hillman's; S. J. Jein, Water-
son, Berlin & Snyder; Mr. Conover, Starr branch;
F. D. Wiggins, manager Chicago Starr branch.
From the Richmond retail store were: W. P.
Benner, manager; F. C. Templin. These were also
present: J. M. Wallace, Jr., of Wallace Music Com-
pany, Marion, Indiana; G. W. Duckwell, Palace De-
partment Store Co., Greenville, Ohio; E. I. Pauling,
manager Cincinnati Starr branch.
such a grand scale.
but as for me—
This may suit the people here,
"When my life's work here is done
And I sink to rest as the setting sun
Lay me down gently by the side
Of some flowing brook or ebbing tide.
And let their gentle murmurings be
The requiem to my memory."
Of course we visited the Zoological Gardens and
other points of interest. Through a favorable intro-
duction to public officials, we were furnished with a
launch and a guide, who took us all through the Emi-
grant station, an immense building, immaculately
clean, where every care and consideration was given
to the inmates. Then we sailed all around the harbor
and saw where the new harbor was to be, and far
beyond, extending some miles up the Platt river.
Sports and Mardi Gras.
Next day we took a launch and sailed around on
the deltas of the Platt. This was charming, as there
were many beautiful, narrow streams filled with
small pleasure boats and others bearing tropical fruits
from the jungles to the city market. To vary the
scene, there were many men in sculls racing and
practicing for the regattas. It was altogether a most
delightful trip. There is also a wonderful race track
here, and the jockey club is one of the richest and
largest, and the people generally are fond of the
sport. All the big races are held on Sunday.
We were fortunate to be here at the close of the
grand Mardi Gras Carnival. I had witnessed t h e
gala events in New Orleans, but I do not think they
equaled the one here. All along the line of parade the
city was ablaze with lights and magnificent electrical
displays. Everybody seemed to be in a jolly good
humor. Tons of confetti were thrown from the
carriages to bystanders, who repaid the senders with
interest. This festive scene was closed by a grand
ball. There was no disorder of any kind, and the
event was said to be the most orderly of all previous
demonstrations.
Best Governed Country.
On the evening of March 1st we left Buenos Aires
for Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, on steamer
"Cuidad," arriving in that city at 7 o'clock next morn-
ing. I fear I would weary my readers with a de-
tailed account of this lovely place. Here we met
again our good friend, Mr. Morgan, formerly of
Texas.
He was president of the American Club,
which gave him quite an ovation on his return. He
acknowledged the compliment in fine style, and
closed by saying he had met some fine travelers on
his return, among whom was "a live wire from New
Castle, Indiana, U. S. A." He added that he knew
the club would be glad to hear his "guest," etc. At
THE LOADER A GREAT HELP TO SALESMEN
"Normalcy" in the piano business will return when prices are reduced, when we have good crops or prospects of good crops, and
when Salesmen, (The men who actually sell the piano to the user), get to work.
The Bowen Loader will greatly aid any energetic salesman. F o r Country work there's nothing like it,—for City work it's a help.
$110.00 for the Loader complete, including springs and cover.
Shipped on approval to responsible dealers.
BOWEN PIANO LOADER CO.,
Winston-Salem, N. C.
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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