PRESTO
presto
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY.
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
C. A. DANIELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT - - Editors
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the
Post Office, Chicago, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879.
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Items of news and other matter are solicited and if
of general interest to the music trade will be paid for
at space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen
in the smaller cities are the best occasional corre-
spondents, and their assistance is invited.
Forms close at noon every Thursday. News mat-
ter should be in not later than eleven o'clock on the
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Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South
Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
SATURDAY, MARCH 1. 1924.
CONVENTION SHOWS
The determination of the Convention Ar-
rangement Committee to bar displays from
the Waldorf-Astoria next June may be in
some way wise. The purposes of the annual
meetings are not altogether commercial not-
withstanding that it is impossible for busi-
ness men to get together without the thought
of business. And there is one insurmount-
able obstacle to the observance of any rule
against individual exhibits of "the goods" at
any industrial convention. It is that the meet-
ings, if in large cities, as the music trade con-
ventions are, must be held in the very midst
of great factories and more splendid ware-
rooms in which full lines of instruments are
shown in most alluring manner.
Naturally the visiting dealers will visit the
warerooms of the manufacturers whose in-
struments they represent. And they will, if
at all alive, also visit the warerooms of other
manufacturers, for purposes of comparison
and the kind of information without which no
live merchant can hope to win.
That seems to make the ruling against "ex-
hibitions" at the conventions futile and some-
times worse. It denies to many members the
same, or similar, privileges that come easily
to resident industries located in the conven-
tion cities. And, inasmuch as the annual meet-
ings now alternate between the two great
piano manufacturing centers, the industries
located in towns and places distant from the
two convention cities have no way by which
to display their products to the retail dealers
who attend the conventions. It may seem
better to take the chance of diverting inter-
est from the sessions than to lessen the gen-
eral attractions and so reduce the number in
attendance. Besides the diversions will exist
anyway.
Of course, this is not meant as a criticism
of the convention management. It is, as are
all such things in Presto, designed as a sug-
gestion, for every question worth discussing
at all must have two sides.
No one will doubt that the special exposi-
tions have been failures, in both New York
and Chicago. They do distract from the pur-
poses of the meetings. But the individual, or
even the larger hotel displays seem to have
enhanced the interest and increased the at-
tendance by dealers, instead of working
against the serious designs of the annual con-
ventions. What do the dealers themselves
think about it?
March 1, 1924.
piano catalogue and find -that the prospect's
preference is for a style that is not in stock
and is seldom called for. Most of the retail-
ers know what that means.
In times past the purpose of a vast variety
of styles was to insure large orders, especially
from new representatives. In some instances
it was customary with the manufacturers to
exact that new agencies put in the "entire
line." That meant a good deal to the aver-
age dealer, and it was not a popular plan. The
other extreme was introduced by the Corl
Piano Co., at Battle Creek, Mich. Mr. Corl
announced that he would make but one style
of piano and sell it at uniform price to all
dealers. The industry did not last long, but
it inaugurated a system that has become com-
mon enough, though very few, if any, of the
manufacturers adhere to a single design. Most
of them, however, are cutting down their lines
to more plastic proportions and, in a few in-
stances, confine their line to not more than
two or three styles.
No doubt the custom of producing cata-
logues with pockets for the pictures of case de-
signs, instead of in the body of the book, is
due to the advantages, to the retailer, of hav-
ing the catalogues display only such styles of
cases as they may have in stock. The plan
is in that sense a good one, aside from any
consideration of printing economy.
The government's attempt to cut down the
unused styles of manufactures was not, prob-
ably, directed to pianos, but it seems to have
some bearing there as well as in many other
industries.
A R T H U R A. FRIESTEDT'S PLAN
The history of the music trade discloses few
instances of busy men pausing to devote time
and money to the general good of the depart-
ment of endeavor in which they have been en-
gaged. If any statistician were to compute
the possible results of Mr. Arthur A. Frie-
stedt's campaign in favor of a change from the
old-fashioned calendar year of the fiscal year
in business, it might prove astonishing. The
saving in time and money would probably far
exceed the average estimate. For with busi-
ness, as with the fast locomotive, it is the stop-
ping and starting that creates a considerable
part of the expense.
Perhaps no business proposition, of general
kind, has been proposed to the music industry
and trade that has created more widespread
interest than that of Mr. Friestedt. Starting
in the music trade papers, the discussion has
extended to the daily press and the opinion
seems to be almost unanimously in favor of the
change from December, the busiest month, to
June, the dull one, for the summing up of the
year's accounts.
It seems such a reasonable proposition, even
obviously essential in many establishments,
that but for the force of custom and distrust of BUSINESS IN PORTLAND, ORE.,
change, there would be little need of more than
BETTER THIS YEAR THAN LAST
a suggestion.
And there is more than the question of con- More Gulbransen Sales than Can Be Filled and Other
venience, or even profit, in it. The closing of
Departments Also Busy.
a year's effort should mean a summing up of
Frank Lucas of Seiberling-Lucas Music Store, on
the assets of more than material kind. It is Fourth street, Portland, Ore., says that their Jan-
the time for a recapitulation of moral and uary and February business has been 25 per cent over
the business of a year ago in all departments. In the
spiritual effort as well. And the busiest period piano
department the Gulbransen pianos do not come
of the year cannot best be adapted to such in fast enough to supply the demand, and the Kohler
retrospect. Mr. Friestedt's investment of & Campbell and other lines are going well.
In the musical merchandise department the Bues-
money and time in a matter of such general
instruments are in greater demand than ever.
concern deserves all of the attention and ap- cher
The sales of the sheet music department are excel-
probation which have followed the proposition. lent as well as the Victor and Brunswick departments,
Mr. Friestedt believes that the only way to and the Q. R. S. rolls department has come up to
efface the demoralizing effect of December 31st standard.
is to change the accounting period to June
BALDWIN OFFERS GRAND PRIZE.
30th and leave the trade with nothing to do but
An announcement has just been made by Mrs. W.
plan for the creation of new business.
D. Crebs, chairman of the committee of prizes of the
FOR FEWER STYLES
•
The Department of Commerce at Washing-
ton is trying to make manufacturers reali?e
that the production of seldom-used varieties
of "every day commodities" represents waste.
Of course the suggestion is not at all novel
in the piano industry, although there are still
too many styles turned out by some of the
manufacturers.
At one time it seemed to be the ambition
of nearly all of the piano manufacturers to
turn out as many variations of case designs
as possible. Even the number of sizes ap-
peared to stimulate the ingenuity of the man-
ufacturers. One of the foremost factories
presented more than a dozen distinct styles in
three or four sizes. That must have meant a
great expenditure of capital and time. It also
meant confusion to the retailers. For if there
is anything that the average small piano deal-
er dislikes more than another, it is to show a
Ohio Federation of Music Clubs that The Baldwin
Piano Company of Cincinnati has offered a grand
prize of $100 for the best piano composition submit-
ted at the joint convention of Ohio Music Teachers
and the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, Toledo,
April 28th. This very generous gift of the great
House of Baldwin will do much towards stimulating
piano composition in Ohio and will be a decided in-
centive to musicians throughout the state.
A. M, LANSFORD'S ACTIVITIES.
A million dollar hotel just opened in Charlotte, N.
C, and a like one recently opened at Charleston,
S. C, have each two Baldwin grands. During the
past few months A. M. Lansford, who is a Baldwin
wholesaler, has sold grands for hotels in Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey and Florida, by mail in each case,
the buyers being the Foor-Robinson Hotel Co., build-
ers of many fine hotels, all of which he furnished with
Baldwin pianos.
FRANK STORY AND WIFE TO FLY.
Frank F. Story of the Story & Clark Piano Com-
pany, Chicago, and wife left last week for a vaca-
tion tour of Europe. They expect to cross the Eng-
lish channel from England to France by airplane.
Paris is one of their objectives, but they will also
go to the Riveira and many other places of interest
in different parts of Europe.
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