Presto Buyers' Guide
Analyzes and Classifies
All American P i a n o s
and in Detail Tells of
Their Makers.
PRESTO
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
Presto Year Book
The Only Complete
Annual Review of the
American Music In-
dustries and Trades.
to cent.; ti.oo a r,«,
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1925
MORE THAN HALF
CITY PIANOLESS
Milwaukee Consumer Analysis Shows That
with a Population of 549,174, only 67,151
Families in the Wisconsin City
Own Instruments.
KIMBALL LEADS IN NUMBER
Interesting Statistics in Which Relative Activities of
the Local Representatives of Many of the Well-
Known Pianos May Be Seen.
What appears to be the most accurate analysis of
the piano and its trade, in any large community,
comes in a printed survey made by the Merchandis-
ing and Research Bureau of the Milwaukee Journal.
And inasmuch as the Wisconsin city is one of the
recognized centers of musical culture and piano
trade development, the figures may be accepted as a
fair index to conditions as they exist in other Ameri-
can cities, in the matter treated.
The year 1910 was Milwaukee's best year in the
piano trade, as in other cities, and there are many
other points in common, and often especial interest
to the piano industry and trade. But, above all, is the
suggestion that, if Milwaukee still lacks so much of
having supplied her people with pianos, other and less
fortunate cities musically must be much worse off.
And that means that the piano may still even be "in
its infancy" as an industry and trade.
Following is the review, based upon the published
analysis of Milwaukee's piano condition, as written by
O. R. Smith, of the Public Service Bureau of the
Milwaukee Journal.
Half City Without Pianos.
If Milwaukee can be regarded as typical of the
larger cities, more than half the families in metropoli-
tan homes in the United States are still without a
piano. The percentage of owners is 48.74 of the total
families in Milwaukee's metropolitan district, accord-
ing to the Consumer Analysis Survey of the greater
Milwaukee market for 1925, compiled by the Mer-
chandising and Research Bureau of The Milwaukee
Journal. Comparisons in the survey are made with
a similar survey compiled in 1920.
An increase of only 3.2 per cent in the number of
families in greater Milwaukee owning a piano has
occurred in the past five years. In 1920, 48,205 fami-
lies owned pianos within the metropolitan district of
Milwaukee. This number had increased to 67,151 by
January 15, 1925, an actual increase of 18,946.
Uprights Lead in Numbers.
By far the greatest number of families owning a
piano possess uprights, but there has been a distinct
trend toward the Grand. Of those owning pianos,
only 2.5 per cent owned Grands in 1920. This per-
centage had increased to 5.33 in 1925.
During the past three years there has been a con-
sistent increase in the number of Grand pianos pur-
chased. The percentage of piano owning families
having Grands increased from 1.14 per cent in 1921, a
low point, to 14.82 per cent in 1922. In 1923 it was
19.28 per cent and in 1924, 21.66 per cent.
During this period approximately half of the total
purchases of pianos in any year were of the player
type. The high year in the purchase of playerpianos
was 1921, and 65.6 per cent of all pianos bought were
players. In 1924 the percentage was 49.5.
Players Increase.
Twenty-seven and thirty-six hundredths per cent
of the total piano owners are owners of player mod-
els. Comparatively few of these persons own player
Grands. The player Grands total 354, or 9.89 per
cent of the total Grand piano owners; the player up-
right total 18,026, or 28.34 per cent of the total
upright piano owners.
The count this year shows 363 differently named
pianos as owned by greater Milwaukee families.
Among the non-player uprights there were 274 dif-
ferent names, among the player uprights 146, non-
player Grands 50 and player Grands 7.
The Best Piano Year.
The year 1910 was the best piano year in the his-
tory of the industry, according to the findings of the
survey. During that year 7.02 per cent of all the
families who owned pianos as of January 15, 1925,
purchased their pianos. The total pianos purchased
that year by Milwaukee families were 5,206. The
next best year was 1923 when 4,875 pianos were
bought. The years 1924 and 1912 were practically
tied for third, 4,426 pianos being bought in 1924 and
4,482 in 1912.
Daughter is the greatest piano user, 34.86 per cent
of the total families owning a piano reporting that
the daughter uses the piano most. The Grand piano
was more frequently purchased for the mother and
wife than for the daughter, 44.18 per cent of those
families having Grands reporting that the lady of
the house was its chief user.
In compiling their consumer statistics the Mer-
chandising Research Bureau of The Journal used
the United States census estimates of January 1, 1925.
These estimates give greater Milwaukee a popula-
tion of 594,174 and 137,774 families.
AN UNPRECEDENTED YEAR
FOR STEINWAY & SONS
At Recent Election All Officers Were Re-
elected and President Frederick Steinway
Made Report of Great Prosperity.
Frederick Steinway was re-elected president of
Steinway & Sons, New York, at the annual meeting
held last week at old Steinway Hall on East Four-
teenth street. Other officers re-elected were: Henry
Ziegler, vice-president; F. Reidemeister, treasurer, and
Basis of Surveys.
To get the information on which the report is
based, the Merchandising Bureau mailed question-
naires to 10,000 housewives in the metropolitan dis-
trict. These names, selected at random from each of
the 1700 pages of the city directory, resulted in 3500
completely answered questionnaires being returned
personally to the office of the Merchandising and
Research Bureau.
Here each questionnaire was carefully checked by
experts of the bureau before it was accepted. In
order to get the co-operation of housewives in filling
out and returning questionnaires in person, the bureau
gave to each housewife who returned an acceptable
questionnaire, a shopping bag filled with samples and
full size packages of groceries and allied products,
representing a cash value of $2.50.
The consumer surveys are published in four vol-
umes, covering many subjects.
Comparative Popularity.
It is interesting to note that in the number of
pianos owned in Milwaukee the Kimball leads, with
2,434; the Kreitcr, made in Milwaukee, is represented
by 2,434, with the other Milwaukee piano—the Wal-
tham—third, with 2,086. Following in the order
named come the Story & Clark, Gulbransen, Kurtz-
mann, Hazelton and Schaaf. The figures pertain to
all descriptions of pianos, including uprights, grands
and players.
Of the straight pianos the Steinway comes seventh
in number, with Vose eighth, Chickering tenth, and
Decker & Son eleventh. On the whole that relative
schedule speaks well for the musical understanding
of Milwaukeeans, the proportion of fine instruments
being representative.
Of course the compilation shows a few glaring in-
accuracies, of no special importance, such as locating
the old Kronich & Bach at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; the
Becker Bros, at Chicago; many misspelled proper
names, including that of Milwaukee's pionoeer music
dealer, H. H. Hempsted; and similar slips of com-
piler or proofreader. The publication is instructive,
and shows great enterprise, of the right kind, on the
part of the Milwaukee Journal.
LYON & HEALY DANCE.
The first dance under the auspices of the Employes'
Benefit Association of Lyon & Healy, Chicago, was
held in the Red Room of the Hotel LaSalle, April
15th. The reporter of Presto made it his business to
"look in" during the height of activities. He ob-
served a crowded room of happy dancers. Some of
the "old-timers" clung to the steps of bygone days,
while the younger members seemed to have mastered
every trick of the toe that characterizes the dancing
of today. E. E. Sheetz and his orchestra, one of Ben-
son's organizations, furnished the music.
Conn band instruments and Washburn banjos are
carried by the Klien Music Co., Cheyenne, Wyo.
N. Stetson, secretary. Those named as officers and
Theodore Cassebeer constitute the board of directors
of the company.
In the annual report President Steinway told of
satisfaction with the business transacted in 1924,
which he said was the biggest and most profitable
year in the history of the house and added that the
outlook for the ensuing year for the Steinway piano
is one to evoke optimism.
In the record of the house of Steinway there is an
object lesson for some other piano manufacturers.
It seems to prove that the destiny of a great piano is
insured by loyalty not only to the representatives of
the instrument, but equally in the refusal to divert
energy and capital to the promotion of inferior in-
struments of the so-called commercial kinds. The
one-name-only principle in a really famous piano is an
asset beyond computation. And there is not a retail
piano dealer anywhere who does not recognize the
immense advantage of selling the Steinway. That
the past year was one of unprecedented prosperity for
the distinguished New York house is a fact filled
with significance and satisfaction.
GEO. P. BENT ARRIVES.
George P. Bent arrived in Chicago from Los An-
geles on Monday of this week, to remain until after
the June Convention. He found a mountain of mail
awaiting his attention, much of which had to do with
the dinner to crippled members of the trade which
will come off on one of the June evenings. Many of
the acceptances were in poetic form, greatly to the
delight of Mr. Bent, himself a recognized poet.
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/