Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1925 2033

Page 10 Text:

10
July 11, 1925.
PRESTO
upon the firm very shortly became simply Jesse
French.
As his own business it prospered, extending
branches to St. Louis, in charge of his brother-in-
law, O. A. Field, and to Memphis, in charge of his
step-nephew, O. K. Houck, and also branches at
Joyous Incidents Commemorate the Fiftieth Birmingham and Little Rock. These were consoli-
dated into the Jesse French Piano & Organ Company
Anniversary of His Entrance Into
in 1887, and in 1890 he and the other members of the
the Music Business.
tirm joined in forming the Starr Piano Company to
the business of James M. Starr & Com-
The fiftieth anniversary of the entrance of Jesse take over
so that the Jesse French Piano & Organ Com-
French, president of the Jesse French & Sons Piano pany,
would have goods of its own manufacture to
Company, New Castle, Tnd., into the music in- pany
market.
It is rather significant that Jesse French
dustry is being celebrated by the company, pianos were
made in this factory in the days of
and omang other incidents to commemorate Milo J. Chase, first
before it became the Starr piano plant.
the event was the distribution of the Jubilee
In 1902 the French family sold all of its holdings
Calendar which was a pleasing gift to visitors to
the Jesse French & Sons exhibit during the recent in the Jesse French Piano & Organ Company and a
little bit later disposed of the Starr Piano Company's
trade convention in Chicago.
holdings, to concentrate on the upbuilding of the
The celebration recalled the interesting history of Jesse French & Sons pianos at New Castle, Ind.
Mr. French which in the interval from a particular
This brief review brings events up to the Golden
date in 1872 to the present time is filled with incidents Jubilee, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Jesse
showing his activity of mind and thoroughness of French's entrance into the piano business proper,
action. Mr. French's first association with the music although he really has been connected with the music
business was when he bought out the sheet music business for fifty-three years.
business of J. A. McClure, Nashville, Tenn., in 1872.
It was a great disappointment to all of Mr.
But he got into the piano business in 1875 as a mem- French's friends that his health did not permit him
ber of the firm of R. Dorman & Co.
to attend the convention, but his family is glad to
Very shortly thereafter F. G. Smith made a prop- report that he is now regaining his strength and
osition that he would put some capital into the firm vitality.
and supply pianos "at a concession," so the firm of
Dorman, French & Smith came into being. Mr. Dor-
man looked after the local business at Nashville while
Mr. French was on the road, and the firm of Dorman,
French & Smith did business anywhere fram Pitts-
burgh to San Antonio.
Upon returning from Texas after a long, hard, but Automobile Trip to Pacific Coast of Well Known
Piano Men Began This Week.
successful trip, he found that the "concessions" made
by his manufacturing partner were all in favor of
There is only one regret in connection with this
the factory, and the collections made by his mer- story; no camera man was on hand to snap a picture
chandising partner, and which he had sent in as of the jolly party that left Chicago on the morning
result of his sales, had all been used to pay old of July 6, via motor car, for the Pacific coast.
debts for which he was not responsible, and of which
In the party were T. N. Rice and wife, who were
he knew nothing. This placed him in the usual piano the guests of Frank L. Jordan and wife. Mr. Jordan,
man's position of having a lot of experience, plenty who is general representative of the Schiller Piano
of liabilities and "very little working capital, where- Company, planned the trip several weeks ago during
the music trades convention at Chicago, and as Mr.
Rice had looked forward for some time to taking
just such a trip, the invitation to join the Jordans
came at a very opportune time.
They will go over the Lincoln Highway to San
Francisco, then up and down the coast, possibly
stopping at a number of other points.
The reason for regretting that we were unable to
obtain a photo of the globe trotters is due to the big
sign on the rear of the machine, which read: "Safety
First. Schiller Pianos Always," which will no doubt
do much to advertise the well known instrument. It's
a safe bet, and so they're helping along a good cause.
Incidentally it might be noted that this is Mr.
Rice's second honeymoon, for though he has been
married some months the occasion was none the
less fitting for a romantic trip. It never matters
how many milestones we pass on life's highway, love
A moderate priced reproducing piano,
is ever the same, and it keeps us young.
beautiful in design and rich in tone.
Write for our new explanatory Chart,
the most complete and simple treat-
ment of the reproducing action.
JESSE FRENCH IN
JUBILEE CELEBRATION
JORDAN=RICE PARTY
OFF FOR CALIFORNIA
The Lyon & Healy
Reproducing Piano
Wabash at Jackson - - - Chicago
Builders or Incomparable
[[PIANOS, PLAYER5\REPR0Dl)CING WANOS
THE BALDWIN
CO-OPERATIVE
PLAN
will increase your sales and
solve your financing problems.
Write to the nearest office
for prices.
AUSTRALIA ADOPTS
MUSIC MEMORY CONTEST
A Scheme of Promotion Now Being Agitated by the
Australian Musical News.
That characteristically American institution, the
Music Memory Contest, has lately been transplanted
in Australia. A scheme of such competitions through-
out that country has been agitated by the Australian
Musical News. That paper offered a prize of ten
pounds for a contest in connection with the South
Street Festival at Ballarat. In announcing the plan,,
the News cited the fact that similar contests had been
held in more than 12,000 cities and towns in the
United States.
The same project was broached in connection with
the Lismore Musical Festival in New South Wales,
being proposed by Dr. Cahill at a meeting of the
Festival Society.
ADDS LINK TO CHAIN.
A. C. Cavedo is manager of the new Greensboro,
N. C, branch of the Corley Co. Mr. Cavedo is man-
ager of the North Carolina district of the company
and will devote about half of his time to the second
link in the Corley Co.'s North Carolina chain of
music stores.
OPENS FLORIDA BRANCH.
CINCINNATI
INDIANAPOLIS
LOUISVILLE
INCORPORATED
CHICAGO
DALLAS
ST. LOCIS
DENVER,
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO
Edward C. Short is manager of a branch music
store of the Burton Music Co., of West Palm Beach,
Fla., recently opened in the Ingram Arcade, Holly-
wood, Fla. The store will handle Kranich & Bach,
Straube and Kroeger pianos as well as phonographs,
small goods and sheet music.
R. A. BURKE RETURNS
FROM NORTHWEST TRIP
General Conditions of Northwest States Good,
Reports Story & Clark Traveler After Suc-
cessful Invasion of That Section.
A post-convention trip was recently completed by
R. A. Burke, Story & Clark Piano Co.'s traveler, in
which the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, North
and South Dakota were visited and conditions ob-
served. The trade in that section is steady and has
caused dealers and manufacturers no worry as to
the summer and fall business.
"Business conditions in general are good in the
states I visited and the prospects are fine for a good
steady summer and fall trade," said Mr. Burke to a
Presto reporter this week.
The Story & Clark exhibit at the convention, which
pleased old friends and won many new ones for the
Story & Clark line, was attended by Mr. Burke,
whose principal objective in the Northwestern tour
was to call on the new dealers of the company.
The Hoskins Music Co., Cheyenne, Wyo., has
taken over the agency for the Zenith line.
SPENCER
The Intrinsic Qualities of This
Piano Command Attention
A High Grade Instrument at a
Moderate Price
First Class Factory and Equipment
Ample Production and Service
SPENCER PIANO COMPANY, Inc.
FACTORY: Thirty-FirsI St. and First Ave.
OFFICES: 338 E««t 31st Street, New York N. Y.
E. Leins Piano Co.
Makers of Pianos and
Player Pianos That Are
Established L e a d e r s
Correspondence from Reliable
Dealers Invited
Facfory and Offices, 304 W. 42nd St
NEW YORK
"Built on Family Pride"
Doll & Sons
Represent the Artistic
in Piano and Player Piano
Construction
JACOB DOLL & SONS
STODART
WELLSMORE
Jacob Doll & Sons, Inc.
Southern Boulevard, E. 133rd St.
E. 134th St. and Cypreu Ave.
NEW YORK
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/

Page 11 Text:

July 11, 1925.
11
PRESTO
KURTZMANN
Grands—Players
PLAYER CUSTOMERS'
RESPONSIBILITIES
Manufactured by
Considered Equal of Those of Retailer Who
Sells Him His Playerpiano Whose Plain
Duty It Is to Impart a Proper Under-
standing of the Instrument.
C KURTZMANN & CO.
AROUSING OWNER'S PRIDE
On That Depends the Sum of Player Roll Sales as
Well as the Growth in Favor for
Playerpiano.
Factories and General Offices
526-536 Niagara Street
The dealer should recognize his own and the cus-
tomer's responsibilities when he sells a playerpiano.
The latter should not be left with the possible idea
that all he has to do to make fine music is to sit
down and strenuously pump; the dealer should im-
part the information about the requirements for
playing. And the more the playerpiano owner con-
siders himself important in the playing of the instru-
ment the greater will be the measure of his enjoy-
ment.
Instead of being a passing fancy, as it becomes in
too many cases, the playerpiano may be made a
source of constant joy to its owners. This is accom-
plished when the dealer teaches his customer to play
his instrument properly, using every advantage pro-
vided by the manufacturers.
BUFFALO, N. Y.
STRICH & ZEIDLER, Inc
GRAND, UPRIGHT and PLAYER
AND
HOMER PIANOS
740-742 East 136th Street
NEW YORK
BRINKERHOFF
Grands
-
Reproducing Grands
Player-Pianos
and Pianos
The Line That Sells Easily
and Satisfies Always
BRINKERHOFF
PIANO CO.
OFFICES, REPUBLIC BLDG.
209 State Street
CHICAGO
The Heppe, Marcellus and Edouard Jules Piano
manufactured by the
HEPPE PIANO COMPANY
are the only pianos In the world with
Three Sounding Boards.
/Patented in the United States, Great BrltatBi
France, Germany and Canada.
Liberal arrangements to responsible agents only*
Main Office, 1117 Chestnut St.
PHILADELPHIA. PA.
Joint Interests.
It is a fact that the playerpiano manufacturer and
the roll maker stand together in the field of sales.
The fortune of one affects the success of the other.
Every playerpiano sold increases the calls for music
rolls; every roll sold to an owner who is a competent
player of the playerpiano, adds to the sum of musical
joy somewhere. The pleasures derived from hearing
the rolls are reflected in playerpiano sales sooner or
later. The playerpiano owner who understands his
instrument and takes a pride in playing it properly,
is a potent influence for playerpiano sales.
The dealer should explain to his customer that a
most delightful form of personal endeavor is required
from the performer on the playerpiano; that there is
more required than putting on a roll and pumping;
that understanding and practice are requirements for
proficiency. The duty of the dealer and his salesmen
is plain.
The Wrong Idea.
Many dealers have sold and a few still sell player-
pianos with the understanding that this lever did this
and that lever did something else. They say so much
about tempo and dynamics, stops and controls, that
the customer is filled with wonder at the mechanical
character of the instrument and doesn't see the possi-
bilities for artistic joys in playing it. Making him
acquainted with the mechanical character of the
player would be all right if the knowledge of the
parts were accompanied with instruction in the ways
to use them in getting the best out of the player.
When the customer is impressed with the fact that
pumping and working the levers are not the end of
the requirements for properly playing the player-
piano.
Teaching Player Use.
Teaching the playerpiano customer to get all the
joy out of his playing is providing insurance in roll
sales. Roll sales are in equal ratio to the joys of the
playerpiano owners. The music dealers should keep
this fact uppermost in their minds. Where the
playerpiano owner's education is started properly,
every day adds to the joy in its use. Every time the
owner who has learned to play properly sits down
to his instrument he gives a demonstration that may
create the buying desire in some prospective buyer
who is listening. And when he influences player
sales he at the same time influences music roll sales.
The Dealer's Thought.
The dealer should proceed on the understanding
that he is not selling a mere machine but an in-
genious contrivance by which the cause of good
music may be served. The customer should be made
to understand that there is something delightfully
ADAM SCHAAF, Inc.
REP
P?ANOS NG
Established
GRANDS AND UPRIGHTS
Reputation
FACTORY
1020 So. Central Park Ave.,
Corner Flllmore Street
%£^s
and Quality Since 1873
STULTZ & BAUER PIANOS
FOR ASBURY PARK HOTEL
Two Fine Grands Chosen by Appreciative
Owners of Hostelry and Bought from
Local Dealer.
Two Stultz & Bauer grand pianos, made by Stultz
& Bauer, 338-340 East Thirty-first street, New York,
have been sold to the new three million dollar hotel
nearing completion in Asbury Park, N. J., by John
N. Burtis, the dealer of that city. The pianos had a
leading part in the opening ceremonies this week.
"The Stultz & Bauer piano enjoys deserved dis-
tinction in this part of the country and the choice of
the grands for the hotel was made by judges of
appreciation and practical musical knowledge," said
Mr. Burtis this week. "To the buyers for the hotel
the name of Stultz & Bauer was in itself a guarantee
of merit and security. They knew of the personal
supervision over every instrument built by members
of the family controlling the manufacture."
The Stultz & Bauer factory is one of the more
modern structures devoted to the piano industry in
New York and the company is very optimistic over
the prospects for a lively fall business. "Orders for
the fall business are now keeping the force working
full time and the fact is an assurance of the business
of the coming season," said W. C. Golden, general
traveler for the company, when seen at the factory
this week.
NEWSY FACTS ABOUT THE
MEN WHO RETAIL PIANOS
Items gathered From Various Sources Relate Inci-
dents in the Trade Activities.
G. C. McKinnon recently opened a store in Troy,
Ala., w ? here he will handle everything in music.
The Mason Music Co., Barron, Wis., has moved to
larger quarters.
Edward Jackson has opened a music store at 566
Massachusetts avenue, Indianapolis.
A new music store was opened in Flint, Mich.,
recently by John Fyfe and Alfred Lindholm.
The music department of Crooks & Ware, Danville,
Va., has been enlarged.
Extensive improvements have been made by the
Smith-Billings Music & Jewelry Co. of Pittsfield, 111.,
including a new store front.
The new Frank M. Tiller Piano Store on Third
street, Louisville, Ky., was opened this week.
Smith's Book Store, Fergus Falls, Minn., recently
added a music department.
The Bidinger Music Store is settled in its new
home on Market square, Kenosha, Wis.
H. S. Wick recently opened the Music Exchange
at El Dorado Springs, Mo., as the successor to D. I.
Netkerow.
Preparations for the formal opening of his new
music store are being made by Ralph Ballinger, music
dealer of Oskaloosa, Iowa.
The Elko Repairing & Music Co. last week moved
to the Biancani Building, Eureka, Nev.
A. G. Reynolds & Son are preparing to move to
its new home at 407 North P avenue, Fargo, N. D.
Herbert Launspach has engaged in the music busi-
ness at 211 West Jackson street, Medford, Ore.
FEATURING
GULBRANSEN.
The Parks Music House Company Louisiana, Mo.,
had an effective June window display, showing how
pretty a bride can be and what would make her
most happy on her wedding day, that it was shown,
was a beautiful Gulbransen piano tied with a large
white ribbon. This was a very attractive window.
RADLE TONE—The Musician's Delight
Whenever you hear the name RADLE you immediately
think of a wonderful tone quality, durabili y and design.
OFFICES AND SALESROOMS
Musicians insist on RADLE
319-321 So. Wabash Ave.,
CHICAGO, ILL.
personal in the using of a playerpiano. That point
of view should be impressed on the customer, for
therein lies the basis of his future pleasures. His
joy in his playing will be in equal proportion to his
pride in his acquired ability to play in the way that
achieves the greatest clement of art. Rolls are a
means to an end when played by the person with
understanding of the way to play.
New Adam Schaaf Building,
F. RADLE, Inc.
Est. 1850.
609-11 W. 36th St., New York City
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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