November 15, 1924.
BIRD'S=EYE VIEW
OF GREAT INDUSTRY
Unparalleled Growth of One of the Foremost
Piano Factories in the World, and the
Causes of Its Substantial Devel-
opment.
THE H. C. BAY COMPANY
Great Industry at Bluffton, Indiana, Producing More
Grands, Playerpianos and Reproducing Grands
Than Any Other.
The making of pianos today is a special art that
calls for many intricate feats of workmanship.
Many readers of Presto have visited piano factories
and know something about the methods by which
the instruments are produced. Today, as never be-
fore, success in piano manufacture rests upon effi-
ciency and perfection of production methods. It has
been very long since the truism prevailed that ma-
chinery surpasses the human hand in the perfection
of detail, as well as in speed and accuracy. All of
these requisites, of course, count largely in a piano
factory, where the smaller parts of the instrument
must be absolutely uniform and perfectly finished.
HARRY C. BAY.
All this means that the piano factory that is per-
fectly equipped in plan, machinery, special appliances
and, above all, in management, is the factory from
which most satisfactory instruments will issue, and in
which the possibility of rapid but perfect productive-
ness insures economy in cost and, consequently,
prices most attractive to buyers.
The dealers, of all men, understand this. They
judge the instrument by results. They examine the
material, the construction of the instrument, and they
judge of its selling value, from the merits of obvious
durability and tone quality. It is the purpose of this
article to apply the theories here annunciated to the
perfect factory of the H. C. Bay Company, at Bluff-
ton," Ind.
The Problem of Production.
The H. C. Bay playerpiano, grand and reproducing
grand, came by natural processes into the specialty
class. To produce them in quantities without in any
sense diminishing the higher qualities, meant that
they must be instruments of exclusive production, or
nearly so. To attempt to turn out a few players and
grands was futile from the standpoint of first cost.
Mr. Bay early in his career as a manufacturer
saw that successful and uniformly good piano pro-
duction would soon become a problem of quantity.
To manufacture fine pianos at a production cost
which would be attractive to the ambitious retailers'
demands, special machinery, special processes and
ample factory room in which to operate—the latest
and most perfect equipment—were absolutely essen-
tial.
Realizing all this, the president of the H. C. Bay
Company prepared for the great business of that
Company. He established a mammoth plant at
13.
PRESTO
Bluffton, Indiana, and has steadily added to its pro-
ductiveness until today it is not only one of the
largest piano factories in the world, but the largest
devoted to any special branch of the music industry.
It is capable of turning out more pianos of strictly
fine quality than any other plant in the world. And
it is today turning out a larger number of complete
instruments than any other factory.
At the Factory.
A few words will present a birds-eye view of con-
ditions as they exist at the H. C. Bay Company's
plant at Bluffton. And, in advance, an outline of the
causes of existing activities there must be of interest.
H. C. Bay himself is a piano maker. Note the
word. He is a piano maker—that is, he has worked
in piano factories. He has fashioned the instru-
ments and their parts with his own hands. He un-
derstands what piano making means, as distinguished
from the assembling of pianos "manufactured," in
the customary meaning of the word. He started,
years ago, to make pianos in a small way with the
view to artistic excellence. He succeeded.
Later Mr. Bay secured the basis of his great plant
at Bluffton. He moved his factory from Chicago to
the enterprising Indiana city. At this place he found
working conditions ideal. A contented industrial peo-
ple, well schooled in the arts of the piano maker. He
gathered together an organization. He planned to
grow steadily and substantially. He succeeded. He
added to his financial equipment. He took no
chances, notwithstanding that he did a large business
and was accommodating to his trade. Above all, he
produced pianos of quality in steadily increasing num-
bers until the factory output had grown to a re-
markable number of instruments each day.
A Visit to Bluffton.
The reasons for the rapid and substantial success
of the H. C. Bay Company are thus made clear. And
they were made still clearer to a representative of
the Presto who recently visited the factory at Bluff-
ton. Energy is. of course, evident everywhere in a
great factory turning out so many completed instru-
ments every day. But it is energy perfectly organ-
ized and systematized. The production sheet was in
evidence, and it recorded a remarkable output of com-
pleted playerpianos and grands during the month of
October. It was, of course, the full factory capacity,
without special hurry or any attempt at crowding,
something Mr. Bay and his superintendents will not
allow because of the essential point of perfection of
detail, as applied to every H. C. Bay instrument.
This production sheet shows that the cost of pro-
duction has become a problem well solved and set-
tled, and that the much-discussed problem of "over-
head" is disposed of. Under such methods the only
conclusion is that factory methods and the production
plans generally are about perfect. The facts are evi-
dences of the directing influences of Harry C. Bay,
president of the Company, who, as has been said, pos-
sesses a comprehensive knowledge of piano building
gained from actual experience, coupled with ambi-
tious progressiveness.
The alert manufacturer, too, has surrounded him-
self with a corps of able aids in every department.
The Plant and the Workers.
A force everywhere in the H. C. Bay Company is
expertness. Loyalty to the house is the common
spirit of the factory force. Every man's mind is on
his task, impelled by the idea of producing the best
results he is capable of. The spirit of the men is
expressed in the slogan printed on cards which hang
throughout the plant: "Highest Quality at the Right
Prices Will Keep Us Busy." That is worth consid-
ering anywhere.
Every finished instrument in the H. C. Bay Com-
pany's factory is a token of the men's faithfulness to
the code of the plant: "Be thorough; pianos get tone
and character from the men who make them."
All cases, backs and metal parts are made in this
remarkable factory.
Also the H. C. Bay Company has the honorable
distinction of being the only piano industry that
makes its own electric motor for its Reproducing
pianos. The company does its own plating, and
makes its own player action, which is distinguished
for its simplicity, ease of operation and durability.
It is often said that certain piano industries "make
their instruments in their entirety." That statement
holds good with the H. C. Bay Company in as com-
plete a sense as to any piano industry in the world.
Pianos of quality, with a big selling demand, and
made in their entirety by the H. C. Bay Company at
Bluffton, Indiana, in numbers unsurpassed the world
over! Surely a rtmarkable factory and a great in-
dustrv.
A CHRISTMAS GRAND PIANO CLUB.
Paige's, 6422 Wabash avenue, Terre Hau'.e, Ind.,
is advertising a grand piano Christmas club which
is interesting people in and around that city. "This
plan assures you of a grand piano in your home
on Christmas morning, on terms so easy they are
possible for anyone to meet" is the assurance in
the advertising.
COUNT DU BARRY
ADDRESSES SEATTLE
"Bad Case of Nobility of Intellect" Doesn't
Prevent Irrepressible Piano Man from
Stating Charms of Wick Piano.
The Du Barry coat-of-arms, a reminder of his-
toric royal capers, adorned this piano ad of Count
Du Barry in the Seattle, Wash., newspapers last week.
The Du Barry Piano Co., of which Count Du Barry
is head, handles the Wick piano in the "Du Barry
Chambers" in the Bon Marche building and there-
from broadcasts the facts about them to the elite,
the bourgeoise and the proletariat as well as to any
other group interested in P. S. Wick piano, player
or reproducing piano made by the P. S. Wick Co.,
St. Paul, Minn..
The advertisement of the Du Barry Piano Co. is
in the distinctive style of Count Du Barry, which is
debonnair and jocular, while at the same time talking
business. Here it is:
Du Barry playing with kings rocks the easy chair.
Suffering from a bad case of nobility of intellect
from, an old family ailment, Du Barry is in his piano
salon at Union street rocking the easy chair and lis-
tening to good music.
Inasmuch as he wins with Wick, Wick is the name
of a piano made by old masters, made famous by
Du Barry.
Wick himself is a genius at piano building and a
crank for quality—two cranks enter into this deal—
Wick and Du Barry. Wick makes the music and
Du Barry listens to it to see if it is good enough
for his exacting clientele in Washington.
New models here, with tones that roll like thunder
heard in a deep forest through the heavy thickness
of the spruce—then to echo and fade away in sweet
unity with songs of colored woodland birds on such
a rare occasion.
Music for gods alone runs through Count Du
Barry's chambers at Union street, Seattle. Du Barry
Piano Co., Bon Marche building, ready now for you.
Hear the soul of the great Wick sing and let Du
Barry sound out the tones for you.
C. E. JACKSON SEES TRADE
IMPROVEMENT IN SOUTHWEST
Missouri and Other States Visited and General Pick-
Up in Business Is Noted.
C. E. Jackson, sales manager of The Cable Co.,
Jackson boulevard and Wabash avenue, Chicago, re-
turned last week from a tour of the Southwest, where
trade conditions were closely observed.
The future prospects of the piano trade depends
largely upon the ability of the farmers to purchase
goods and Mr. Jackson reports that the farmers in
that section are fairly prosperous. This fact is the
basis of the optimistic viewpoint of dealers as the
farmer trade constitutes the largest body of pur-
chasers of pianos.
"I found the trade in excellent shape and dealers
optimistic," said Mr. Jackson, this week. "In south-
west Missouri and other points of my visit I saw a
general improvement along all lines of business and
the piano trade in particular."
BAD FIRE DESTROYS BIG
STOCK AT WHEELING, W. VA.
Davis, Buckham & Tyler Piano Building Totally
Destroyed on the Night of November 6.
A disastrous fire at Wheeling, W. Va., on Novem-
ber 6th, destroyed two business buildings with a loss
of more than $750,000. One of the burned structures
was the Davis, Buckham & Tyler Building, owned
and occupied by the piano house of that name. The
Davis, Buckham & Tyler Piano Co. has been located
at 1418 Market strce*, Wheeling, for a good many
years and had established a large business.
W r hile the fire must prove disastrous to the enter-
prising firm of piano dealers, it is expected that the
business will be continued in temporary quarters until
the building can be replaced by a new one. The fire
was one of the most disastrous the city of Wheeling
has experienced. The number of pianos consumed
has not been estimated, but the loss was nearly total.
NEW BRIDGE HELPS TRADE.
The opening of the new State Street bridge, 1%
blocks north of The Smith Piano Company store of
the Henry F. Miller Stores Company, at 274 W.
Water street, Milwaukee, is expected to benefit the
store materially by diverting a great deal of traffic
so it will go by the store, according to a report re-
ceived from John G. Stenger, manager of this store.
The bridge was opened with impressive ceremonies
on Saturday, November 1.
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