Presto Buyers' Guide
Analyzes and Classifies
All American P i a n o s
and in Detail Tells of
Their Makers.
PRESTO
E«abiuhed lnu.
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
Presto Year Book
The Only Complete
Annual Review of the
American Music In-
dustries and Trades.
10 c m • ; ts.oo a Y~T
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1925
CALIFORNIANS SEE
GOOD YEAR AHEAD
Music Dealers in Many Cities There Observe
Evidences of a Promising Period for Sales
and Prepare to Realize on the Ex-
pectations.
ADVERTISING PIANOS
San Francisco Sales Manager Makes Excellent Use
of Radio to Impress Listeners-in with Claims
of Piano Music.
That expectations for a good business in 1925 are
very bright is a fact adduced from the plans, prepara-
tions and pronouncements of the music dealers of
San Francisco and the Pacific coast generally. The
larger cities of northern California show the evi-
dences of a bright look forward that San Francisco
particularly proclaims. The business for the Janu-
ary days already past is considered comparatively
good when compared with the after-Christmas busi-
ness in previous years. Anyway the interest of the
prospects in all kinds of music goods, not to speak
of radio, is declared encouraging.
The progressiveness of the piano sales promoters is
shown in the use of radio for effective publicity pur-
poses. An instance in point was the piano recital of
January 17 broadcast over KPO by California com-
posers already known to fame. California Compos-
ers' Night was a radio event arranged by Harold
Pracht, sales manager of the Wiley B. Allen Co.,
San Francisco. It gave a greater prominence to
piano music in the programs of the day and its value
as a piano sales making demonstration was plain.
A Big Audience.
The prominent composers who participated in the
broadcast recital were Wallace Sabin, whose recent
triumph, "St. Patrick at Tara," was produced at the
annual performance of the Bohemian Club; another
composer of Bohemian Club plays, H. J. Stewart,
whose work as organist and composer is widely
appreciated, and John Metcalf, composer of "Absent"
and other excellent songs. Other composers con-
tributing to the success of the radio event were Uda
Waldrop, municipal organist; George Stewart Mc-
Manus, Alfred Atriola, Mary Carr Moore, and Rudy
Sieger. In the exhibition of his own work each com-
poser played the piano.
Trend of Interest.
The event arranged by Mr. Pracht over KPO is
only one instance of the recognition by music houses
of radio's grip on the public interest. Music houses
that already operate a radio department are inmost
instances enlarging the floor space and adding more
facilities for sales. In the pursuit of sales of radio
by the White House, Manager G. A. Morton does not
neglect the opportunity to present the claims of the
phonograph as a supplemental instrument to the re-
ceiving set. A big line of radio and phonograph
combination machines is featured.
In Oakland.
Across the Bay in Oakland the same eagerness to
respond to the interest in radio is apparent. Radio
was recently added by the H. C. Capwell Co. there,
and this week a radio section is being added by Taft
& Pennoyer in Oakland with L. L. Murphy as man-
ager.
The claims of the player music roll department
have been acknowledged by Kohler & Chase in the
remodeling plans just completed in the San Jose
branch. The roll section has been given a more
prominent position towards the front of the store and
several new sanitary demonstration booths have been
installed. The new conveniences are in line with
the vigorous methods of Manager Max Wilcox in
providing pleasant surroundings for customers.
New San Jose Manager.
J. A. Miller, the new manager of the radio section
of Sherrrian, Clay & Co.'s San Jose branch, has a
radio fame that might be called international. At the
completion of the world's largest station at Lafayette,
which he helped to erect, he sent the first "round
the world" radio message.
Featuring Electric Pianos.
Peter Bacigalupi is featuring coin operated electric
pianos, orchestrions and music rolls with his usual
enthusiasm at his new store, 107 Golden Gate avenue,
to which he recently moved from 1261 Market street.
The location of the new store was wisely chosen by
Mr. Bacigalupi for its proximity to the film and film
music exchanges, which attract the motion picture
owners and managers from a wide radius. Numerous
customers for automatic pianos are found among the
movie theater folk.
The extent of the theater organ business is shown
in the numerous sales to theaters by the G. H.
Leathurby Co. This company points to the results of
a very successful pursuit of the theater organ pros-
pect and is planning for a greater business than ever
for 1925. A recent installation was a Leathurby-
Smith Unit Organ in Beatty's Casino, San Francisco.
STANDARD PRICES INTEREST
BIG TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Music Industries Chamber of Commerce Among 1
Other Bodies Urging Hearing of Bills in Congress.
Members of the House Committee on Interstate
and Foreign Commerce received a visit last week
from representatives of twenty-two national indus-
tries who asked for an early hearing on the standard
price bills now in the committee's hands. The dele-
gation consisted for the most part-of secretaries and
other officials of national trade associations who came
here to attend the National Distribution Conference.
The visitors were introduced to the members of the
committee by Representative Schuyler Merritt of
Connecticut, whose name is attached to one of the
pending measures.
The trade association officials told the members
of the committee that the industries they represent,
and American business in general, is handicapped by
the present uncertainty in regard to the rights of pro-
ducers to protect purchasers of trademarked goods
by fixing standard prices for the resale of these prod-
ucts. They did not back any particular one of the
four measures of this kind now before Congress but
urged the members of the committee to grant a hear-
ing on the general proposition during the present
session of Congress so that the various industries
interested might have an early opportunity to present
their views in detail.
The visiting delegation included: Alfred L. Smith,
secretary of the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce.
HENRY F. MILLER, DETROIT
STORE MANAGER, BONDED
Fine Records of These Salesmen for Boston Piano
Industry Receive Fitting Recognition.
C. B. Trowbridge, department manager of the De-
troit store of the Henry F. Miller Stores Co., has re-
cently been promoted to general manager of this
branch. This promotion was brought about by his
line record made as a salesman.
Mr. Brokaw and Mr. Monder, salesmen of the De-
troit store of the Henry. F. Miller Stores Co., have
been promoted to department managers of that
branch.
MUSIC WRITER IN BOOK STORE.
It will interest a good many members of the piano
industry and trade to learn that Harland Proctor,
several years ago active in music journalism, is now
manager of a book store in San Diego, Cal. Mr.
Proctor was for years connected with Presto and
Music Trades. He is now manager of The Marsh
Bookerie, in the California city. Inasmuch as Mr.
Proctor likes to read, and isn't averse to letting his
soul loaf, at times, he should fill the position per-
fectly.
PIANO MEN LIKED THE
RHYMED NAME CONTEST
Quite a Number of Good Puzzle Workers
Solved the Problems of the Hidden
Piano Names.
The versified problems of the hidden piano names
created very widespread interest among dealers and
their salesmen. The exact number of answers was
three hundred seven, and of them about one hundred
were fairly good and barely escaped securing copies
of Presto Buyers' Guide, Premium Edition, to which
all were entitled who sent in correct names of
ten of the pianos. There were ninety-two lists in
which were just seven of the correct names; sixty-
four gave only six of the names, and a lot more who
failed to discover more than six, many of them in-
cluding but four or five.
The Premium Edition of Presto Buyers' Guide was
to be presented to all who discovered as many as
ten of the names. The following were successful,
with number (in parenthesis) of names they found:
Francis Anderson, Clinton, Mo. (13); B. O. Bes-
tor, Madison, Wis. (14); A. E. Childs, Omaha, Neb.
(22); W. M. Flemming, Winston-Salem, N. C. (19);
James C. Gabbert, Grandview, Ind. (19); Mrs. Geo.
B. Harter, Akron, O. (16); Harry Jewell, Antigo,
Wis. (19); Joe B. Kelly, Altoona, Pa. (15); C. R.
Laugdale, Owatonna, Minn. (21); E. F. Lapham,
Chicago (20); H. C. Pohlamus, Syracuse, N. Y.
(14); J. W. Stevens, no address (20); A. G. Shaver,
Maurertown, Va. (10); James A. Terry, Salina, Kas.
(19).
As will be seen the best answer was. that of A. E.
Childs, of the house of A. Hospe Co., Omaha. Mr.
Childs fell down on Nos. 12 (Starck), which he read
Behr; 14, Schubert,—Schumann; 17, (Schumann),
Kurtzmann. Just those three caused a miss of wholly
good.
But the contest proved that the salesmen are
familiar with the names of pianos. Some of the
verses were very hard to solve. It is notable that
all but twenty named the following correctly: Bacon,
Baldwin, Tonk, Radle, Chickering, Vose, Steinway
and Cable. Other names which seem to have "come
easily" were Packard, Starr, Hardman and Poole.
Of the names which were not in the verse contest,
the following were given in a good many cases—
showing how familiar they are to the men who sell
them: Gulbransen, Wing & Son, Warfield, Lakeside,
Sione Piano Co., Chase, Hamilton, Cable & Sons,
Behr, Brinkerhoff, Edmund Gram, Holland, Schu-
bert, Bauer, Mason & Hamlin, Schiller, Premier,
Emerson, Estey, Seeburg, Lester, Lauter, Setergren,
Regal, Ampico, and Welte-Mignon. Some of those
names appear in from three to twenty-eight times.
Concerning the contest a good many comments were
made. For instance, Mr. Anderson of Clinton, Mo.,
said:
"I think it a good idea for salesmen to go over
these name verses in order to brush up their memo-
ries."
Mr. Torry, of Salina, Kans., said: "Your list of
hidden names caused a little work in this vicinity and
some of the names, I fear, are so well hidden that the
best that can be expected would be partly wrong."
Mr. Langdale, Owatonna, Minn., said: "Nothing
like trying, but I did get so interested when I got
started; I am connected with John B. Christian,
handling the Baldwin line."
A great many answers to the versified puzzles
came too late to have consideration, as the answers
appeared in the issue of Presto last Saturday. As
one writer said: "I haven't had time to work them
out carefully." Should Presto do anything of the
kind again, more time will be allowed; but the fun
is there, anyway—and the instruction.
NEW YORK MERCHANTS MEET.
The New York Piano Merchants' Association held
a meeting following a luncheon at the Republican
Club, 54 West Fortieth street on Thursday of this
week. The program included interesting discussions
of trade matters important at the present time and
vocal selections.
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/