Presto

Issue: 1925 2008

January 17, 1925.
PRESTO
CHRISTMAN
"The First Touch Tells 9 9
PORTLAND STARTS
YEAR WITH CHANGES
New Stores, New Managers and Other Trans-
positions in the Affairs of Men of Music
in Some of the Prominent Piano
Centers.
PORTLAND'S SHAKE UP
Things Seem to Suggest that the Year Started Will
Be a Good One for Trade Almost Every-
where.
The Famous
Studio Grand
(only 5 ft. long)
Will be a Stronger Leader this year
than ever before. It has no success-
ful rival in the trade or with discrim-
inating piano buyers.
January 1 was a clay of changes in the Portland,
Ore., music trades. On that, date J. H. Dundore,
after being associated with Sherman, Clay & Co. for
nearly thirty years, the last thirteen of which were
in Portland as manager of the retail store, retired
and was succeeded by Frank M. Case, who has been
connected with the Wiley B. Allen Co. for sixteen
years, the past fourteen of which were as manager
of the Portland branch of the company.
B. R. Brassfield comes to Portland as the manager
of the Wiley B. Allen store. He was for ten years
the Pacific Coast representative of the Packard Piano
Co., and was the coast representative of the Ameri-
can Piano Co. for about a year, and the past year
has been in charge of the Wiley B. Allen coast
agencies.
W. K. Whitney, who has been with the Wiley B.
Allen company since 1888, has been made assistant
manager of the Portland store, and Frank Ray-
mond, for a number of years in charge of the piano
department of the G. F. Johnson Riano Company, of
Portland, has joined the Wiley B. Allen force and
will be in charge of the piano department of the
Portland store.
Visitors and Sales.
A recent visitor to Portland, Ore., was C. E. Gor-
ham, Pacific coast representative of the American
Piano company. Mr. Gorham while in the city
called upon the G. F. Johnson Piano company, the
representatives of the Chickering Ampico and the
Ampico in the Marshall & Wendell; the Wiley B.
Allen Co., who have the Ampico in the Mason &
Hamlin and the Haines, and the Reed, French Piano
company, who handle the Knabe Ampico and the
Ampico in the Fischer.
At the Wiley B, Allen company they received their
first shipment of the Ampico in the Mason & Ham-
lin and the instruments were not on the floor a day
before a delighted customer had purchased one of
the instruments, while at the Reed, French Piano Co.
Mr. H. G. Reed reported that they were sold out
entirely by the first of the year of all their Knabes,
including grands, Ampicos and uprights and the new
year found them with a Knabe Concert grand which
they have for furnishing the artists who come to
Portland for recitals.
B. R. Brassfield Made Manager.
B. R. Brassfield, general manager for the Wiley B.
Allen Co., for Portland, Ore., and the Pacific North-
west, will have the assistance of J. E. Whitney, and
his city sales manager for Portland will be Frank
Raymond. The choice of the management at head-
quarters in San Francisco of this trio of efficient
workers was made from the belief of their fitness
for the responsive positions. His experiences in-
clude conducting his own store in Kansas and from
successes in this field he passed to greater ones
selling at wholesale for the Packard Piano Co. ; j
The city sales in Portland have always befeh
considered a big factor in the success of the- company
and placing Frank Raymond at the head of the
city sales force is considered an assurance of a con-
tinuance of the big sales.
m
A New Enterprise.
J. F. Matthews, who for a number of years has
been connected with the piano department of the
Reed, French Piano Co., of Portlend, Ore., has en-
tered into partnership with H. H. Thompson of the
H. H. Thompson Piano Company, who are doing
business in the Seiberling Lucas establishment on
Fourth street.
The firm features the Gulbransen and the Kranich
& Bach pianos. Both gentlemen have many years'
experience in the piano game and while Mr. Thomp-
son has built up a splendid business, he anticipates a
great increase since Mr. Matthews has joined forces
with him.
Personal Items.
S. L. Wakefield, who for the past year has been
connected with the Reed, French Piano company of
Portland, Ore., has severed his connection with the
company and gone to California.
Among the visitors to Portland, Ore., during the
holiday season was Frank B. McCord of the Mc-
Cord Music Co. of Bend, Ore. Mr. McCord says
that business conditions in his district are excellent
due. to the activity in the lumber industry of which
Bend is the center of that territory.
NOVEL SHOW WINDOW EFFECT
CHRISTMAN
Reproducing Grand
the most satisfactory both in imme-
diate profits and in building more
business.
THREE generations of Christmans
* have made the Christman Piano
what it is today—one of the world's
truly great pianos.
Many More Dealers Have
Arranged to Start the New-
Year with the Entire Line of
CHRISTMAN
Players and Pianos
"The First Touch Tells
9 9
Ret. U. S. Pit. Off.
Christman Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
The Butler Music Company, of Marion, Indiana,
can always be depended on to do something novel,
interesting and effective in the way of advertising.
The cut herewith shows one of their recent Gul-
bransen window displays. They got one of the Gul-
bransen 24-sheet posters, design No. 6, and held it
until their posters were on the boards. Then they
put it up as a window background and J. Edwin
Butler states that it attracted a surprising amount of
attention.
This was only part of the campaign, however, for
at the same time the Butler house ran 45-inch Gul-
bransen newspaper ads, thus making a triple tie-up—
newspapers, posters and window display.
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).
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January 17, 1925.
PRESTO
HONORING WEAVER EMPLOYEES
A menu printed in a book made of leaves of ma-
hogany veneer, was a characteristic feature of the
Third Pioneer Dinner of the Weaver Piano Co., Inc.,
York, Pa., given January 6 at the Lafayette Club
in honor of men who have faithfully served twenty
years and more. Besides the bill of fare the interest-
ing souvenir had a list of "Honored Guests," "Baby
Honored Guests," "Guests" and "Just Guests." In-
teresting "Weaver Facts" were printed on the last
mahogany leaf.
At the banquet the Weaver Piano Company enter-
tained thirty-one employes, each of whom has been
connected with the organization from twenty to
forty-two years. There are three generations of one
family in the Weaver employ; the father, Ferdinand
was careful not to slight the work in any respect.
He was much surprised and still more pleased when
his father-in-law said, 'It is your house.'
"Now we don't always get the things we think
we are producing for others but there is always in-
direct compensation in doing our best. When we are
working on pianos let us always remember that we
are working on the most expensive article that goes
into our customers' homes, it will help us to make
it with that care that will make our customers proud
of it and cause them to recommend it to their
friends. One careless workman can spoil the work
of all the rest just as one instrument in a band spoils
the results of the whole band.
"It looks as though we are going to be pioneers
A JESSE FRENCH

BUTE
Tablet Commemorates Munificent Gifts of Piano
Manufacturer and His Inspirational Influence in
the Completion of Structure.
(Continued from page 3.)
work, well expresses the feeling of the entire com-
munity towards Mr. French and bears the following
inscription:
FRIEND OF YOUNG MEN
BY HIS MUNIFICENT GIFTS
JESSE FRENCH
HONORARY PRESIDENT
OF THIS ASSOCIATION
INSPIRED HIS FELLOW
CITIZENS
TO BUILD THIS HOME
FOR THE
NEWCASTLE
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION
DEDICATED JANUARY 4 1925
SPIRIT MIND—BODY.
An excellent likeness of Mr. French is on the tablet.
NORTHWEST DEALERS
SEE BRIGHT OUTLOOK
Visit Baldwin Piano Co., Chicago, with News of
Steady Trade in Their Section of the Country.
HONOR GUESTS AT WEAVER DINNER.
Petry, thirty-eight years, the son, John Petry, thirty-
four years, and the grand son, Charles Petry, seven
years.
It would be difficult to find a group of men any-
where with higher ideals as to the quality of their
product than these guests of the company. Through
their efforts the Weaver piano has experienced a con-
stant development until it meets with the approval of
many of the world's best artists as well as of a host
of discriminating buyers. An accompanying cut
shows the guests in a group. In an address Presi-
dent W. D. Bond said:
Mr. Bond's Address.
. "Once a year we like to sit around the same table
and fellowship together where we can mingle on an
even basis without any distinction or rank. Here at
the table and during these festivities we are all on the
same level. There is no 'super' and no boss.
"We are all a year older than when we met a year
ago, but four are being promoted as 'pioneers' in
the twenty-five-year class and thanks be to God none
have been taken from it. To work together from
twenty years to over forty years is an achievement
in itself, and to do it with as little discord as we
have had is a double achievement. Our main busi-
ness is to produce harmony. Harmony and discord
won't mix, consequently our harmonious co-operation
has been one of the contributing factors to our suc-
cess.
"Some people think only young people are good
looking, but men, as I look into your faces today,
you look better to me than ever and I feel that I
have never loved you as much as right now. We
have not only worked together harmoniously, but
we have added refinement to our pianos inside and
outside, during the past year and this in turn has
added to the respect for us among our representatives
and their customers. We are engaged in a business
that should be more profitable. The musical scale
begins with 'do' and ends with 'do' and so we should
have plenty of 'do.' But we find that we add to our
own happiness by adding to the satisfaction and hap-
piness of our customers.
Sane Stories.
"One of our travelling salesmen said to a prospec-
tive customer last year: 'I am not an agent, I am
an Angel of Commerce bringing joy and happiness
to people's homes.' That is indeed an occupation to
be proud of.
"I heard a story some time ago about a building
contractor whose daughter was married to his super-
intendent. He decided to make a long trip and gave
his new son-in-law an order to build a good house,
first class in every respect, until he returned. The
son-in-law built the house conscientiously and was
proud to show it to his father-in-law, because he
in more ways than one and that our whole city will
some day soon bring together all of those who have
been connected with the same working organization
in York for twenty years or more and to have a
great demonstration in which we will play a part.
The idea is rapidly taking root in the York Chamber
of Commerce."
Tuner Reads Poem.
Following Mr. Bond's address Wm. C. Busser, a
piano tuner with the company since 1901, read a poem
of his own composition.
The "Honored Guests" at the banquet were: Fred
Blackinger (1883), assistant piano department; Fer-
dinand Petry (1887); Michael Feiser (1888), assist-
ant rubbing department; Phillip Quickel (1888),
cabinet room; Walter Selemeyer (1890), superintend-
ent, player department; W. S. Bond (1891), presi-
dent; John Petry (1891), planer boss; Charles A.
Blauser (1894), superintendent, mill department;
Joseph Braverson (1895), superintendent, lumber
yard; Harry Ginter (1898), foreman regulating de-
partment; Allen B. Ness (1898), foreman veneer
department; Samuel Rudy (1898), foreman varnishes.
The "Baby Honored Guests" were: R. A. Gleitz
(1899), acoustic engineer; Percy G. Mundorf (1899),
secretary; Harry Beck (1899), player installer; Dan-
iel Nickey (1899), foreman of maintenance.
The Guests.
The "Guests" were: S. P. Mummert (1900), sales-
man; Fred Heckert (1900), action finisher; Wm.
Heltzer (1901), foreman glue room; Wm. Wester-
hold (1901), superintendent finishing department;
Wm. Busser (1901), tuner retail department; Charles
Little (1902), foreman packing room; Lincoln
Hoopes (1902), band sawyer; Norman Allison (1902),
office manager; Percy Hall (1902), tuner; Charles
F. Baer, vice-president; R. A. Paules, director; Ed-
ward Morningstar (1903), foreman stringer; John
Rhodes (1903), tone regulator; Frank Rhinehart
(1903), foreman bench department; A. E. Fair (1903),
cabinet finisher; Charles Stauffer (1903), cabinet fin-
isher.
The "Just Guests" were: Walter L. Bond (1909),
treasurer; Chauncey D. Bond (1910), general super-
intendent; Raymond Reisinger (1912), foreman oiling
department; Daniel G. Meckley, Jr. (1914), assistant
superintendent.
AN APOLLO ADDITION.
Work was commenced last week on two new
units for the Apollo piano factory at DeKalb,
111., that will give 35,000 feet of additional manufac-
turing space. The building will be a new veneer de-
partment and a new shipping department and will
cost around $100,000, it is stated.
Dealers of the Northwest are generally inclined to
be optimistic, but optimism was never more pro-
nounced among this progressive body than at the
present time. Visitors to the Chicago trade, from
that part of the country, have foreseen the advantages
this year offers in the piano trade and, accordingly,
are placing liberal orders.
Among the Northwest dealers who have made calls
in Chicago during the past two weeks are: A. G.
Lewis, of the Butte Phonograph Co., Butte, Mont.;
James Thomas, Thomas & Bash Piano Co., Republi-
can City, Nebr., and L. E. Maynard, Fargo, N. D.
All these gentlemen were visitors to the Baldwin
Piano Co., whose extensive line is represented with
much force in their respective cities.
The recent increase in wheat prices is gratifying to
the Northwest farmers, who represent the greatest
purchasing body in that part of the country. It is
considered a great factor in stabilizing conditions, and
will be of material aid to the Northwest farmers who
center their efforts mainly on the production of wheat.
GRAND OPERA FOR DALLAS.
A committee, several of which are men of the music
trade of Dallas, Tex., has completed plans for a sea-
son of grand opera there. The committee appointed
by the joint city clubs, which includes D. L. Whittle,
of the D. L. Whittle Music Co., Lester Burchfield, of
Sanger Bros., and Robert N. Watkin, of the Will A.
Watkin Co., representing the local music trade, will
underwrite a guarantee of $37,000 to insure the visit
of the opera company to the city.
ESTABLISHED 1S54
THE
BRADBURY PIANO
FOR ITS
ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE
FOR ITS
INESTIMABLE AGENCY VALUE
THE CHOICE OF
Representative Dealers the World Over
Now Produced in Several
New Models
WRITE FOR TERRITORY
Factory
Leominater,
Mast.
Executir* Officti
138th St. and Walton AT*.
N«w York
Division W. P. HAINES A CO., Inc.
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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