PRESTO
July 11. 1925.
MEMOIRS OF A
MANUFACTURER
illiam Tonk, Frominent in American Music
Industry, and Founder of the New York
Piano That Bears His Name, Adds
to Literature of Progress.
A VALUABLE BOOK
Narrative of the Business and Private Life of One
Who Has Devoted Himself to Music's
Practical Development.
Another member of the American piano industry,
an;l one whose experience has qualified him for a
lasting f lace in the world of music, has put his
memoirs into permanent form and will soon put forth
a book of unusual interest. William Tonk, head of
the New York industry which bears his name, has
had a varied and progressive career, and his new book
promises to meet with widespread favor.
Mr. Tonk is still as active as ever in the industry,
and he has had a practical part in many of the plans
for trade betterment and commercial advancement
within his special lines of observation. He has de-
voted considerable time to the preparation of his
memoirs, and the book will prove a substantial con-
tribution to the fast-multiplying record of men who
have accomplished things in the political, industrial
and social life of the nation.
Good Literature.
Fortunately, Mr. Tonk possesses the rare gift of
expression to a degree that has enabled him to turn
his recital of happenings, within and without the
ranks of his life work, into a series of vivid, interest-
ing chapters. And he includes in his life story a
world of anecdote and historical data of the kind
that instructs as well as entertains.
As one who has had the privilege of reading por-
tions of the Mss. of the forthcoming book the v/riter
of this column has been made'conscious of the scope
of Mr. Tonk's book, and recognizes in it a fund of
information and reference to be found in no other
existing published work. It is this feature of the
vvork that will give it permanence, although, as is
cuslomary. the anecdotal and reminiscent chapters
will probably attract most readers and create more
general comment.
Mr. Tonk begins with some very interesting re-
searches of geneologic nature. He traces the family
name far back and, in so doing has discovered some
unique facts and suggestive data. He covers his life
experience from the days when Chicago was com-
paratively young, and describes, as it has seldom
been described, the tragedy of the great fire which
destroyed the mid-west metropolis in 1871.
That event in the nation's upheavals took place
when the author was a very young man, but he had
his share of it, and in the conflict which preceded the
fire. The disaster of 1871 followed the close of the
Civil War but six years and, touching upon the Rebel-
lion Mr. Tonk gives a view of one of the most vivid
characters in the bitter days of the conflict. For Mr.
Tonk was a member of the Ellsworth Zouaves of
deathless fame.
To members of the music trade, the author's start
with Julius Bauer, in Chicago, will prove fascinating.
His later career covers a large part of the develop-
ment of the piano business, as well as the small in-
strument trade in which he was engaged before
establishing the present piano industry of William
Touk & Bro. in New York.
His Varied Knowledge.
There is, too, a section of Mr. Tonk's book which
may be said to form an encyclopedia of business or-
ganization and ethical procedure. For the author has
been associated with the piano manufacturers' organ-
izations, and it has fallen to him to formulate rules
and to postulate regulations of procedure, as well as
olher directions for the New York, or national, asso-
ciations. The extracts from his writings in that con-
nection must be of value as models, or as sugges-
tions, for years to come because they often set forth
the aims and purposes of trade organizations and pre-
sent concise rules of practice, as the result of
research and observation.
A very fascinating chapter of the book treats of
foreign travel in which points of interest are touched
on in diary form, and thus shorn of the conventional
descriptive matter which so often proves tedious, in
this day of comparatively easy access to foreign
landmarks. In this it is certain that Mr. Tonk sets
a new example, and a good one. For it affords the
reader a quick tour of the old world and an up-to-
date sight-seeing trip to places everyone wants to
know about.
Unconventional Travel Tales.
There is almost no technical piano matter in the
book. Whatever may be said about pianos has no
flavor of commercialism, nor is there any dissertation
on case designs, tone quality or "how to take care of
the niano." It is, in short, a book in which a useful
life is told, with some detail, and a great deal of
ground is gone over which must be of as much inter-
est to people who have no concern in the piano busi-
ness further than that they love music and know how
to produce some of it—as all intelligent people, in
this day, must be able to do.
CHEERING REPORT OF
M. SCHULZ COMPANY
F. P. Bassett Optimistic About Future Condi-
tions in Trade and Foresees a Fine
Year for Extended Line.
The volume of business done by the M. Schulz
Co., 711 Milwaukee avenue, Chicago, for the first
half of the year is considered by officials of that
firm as an indication that the present year will be
one of the best in the history of the business.
"The gain over last year is most convincing,"' was
the comment of F. P. Bassett, secretary, this week,
"and the outlook for a great piano year is most
encouraging. While I'm not over optimistic I believe
there will be a shortage of pianos this fall as con-
ditions are now better than at the same period last
year and are steadily improving.
"Every month of this year has been a better month
than the corresponding month of last year, and our
largest increase in a single month was March. As
we did a good amount of business last fall, there is
every reason to believe that this fall will be far
better. The best barometer of business is the bank
clearing, and as they are on the upward trend it is
evident that business will remain staple."
That the M. Schulz line had made a wide appeal
to discriminating buyers is proven by the fact that
the many enterprising merchants have attained a suc-
cess in exploiting the instruments of the active Chi-
cago industry.
PIANO MAN'S WIFE IS
EXPERT AUTOMOBILE DRIVER
Mrs.
F. W. Stephenson, San Francisco, Completes
Transcontinental Trip in Record Time.
Ready in the Fall.
Mrs. F. W. Stephenson, wife of the treasurer of
It is Presto's understanding that Mr. Tonk's book
Sherman-Clay & Co. of San Francisco, has recently
will be sold by subscription at $3.50 a copy, though motored across the continent with her daughter in
it will also be on sale in the leading book stores. It
her Pierce-Arrow car to meet her other daughter
will be ready for distribution late in the fall. At least
who has been at school in New London, Conn.
so this paper understands. Lovers of music, and
Mrs. Stephenson, while in New York, has been
especially ail in the trade who know the author, are making Aeolian Hall her headquarters, and has spent
advised to order in advance of publication. For the considerable time sight-seeing and taking in the
edition will be limited.
events of interest that have occurred during her stay,
Already a great many members of the trade have among them the Yale-Harvard races and the New
added their names to the list of subscribers to Mr. London-Poughkeepsie regatta.
Tonk's Memoirs, some of them taking from six to
F. W. Stephenson, who returns from Europe in
fifty copies. Manufacturers who have seen brief
about a week, with another daughter, will motor part
extracts from the work believe that it will prove of
of the way back with his family.
value in an instructive sense, especially the younger
men often being in need of just such data as Mr.
BUILDS IN OGDEN, UTAH.
Tonk presents, to say nothing of the rules of proced-
The Lyric Music Co., Ogden, Utah, recently built
ure in business organizations, and references to what
has been done to bring the music industry and trade a piano warehouse and salesroom at 3163 Porter ave-
nue. As soon as present plans materialize, the con-
to its present place in the world of affairs.
cern will move from its present quarters and will con-
duct its piano business from the new warehouse. The
GETS GULBRANSEN AGENCY
Lyric Music Co. has been controlled by C. L. Madsen
Announcement was made this week by J. H. Mal- about five years, handling pianos exclusively.
bin & Sons, Mt. Clemens, Mich., that they have
secured the agency for the Gulbransen registering
EVERYBODY WELCOME.
piano. It is the plan of J. H. Malbin & Sons to
devote a good-sized section of their store for the
A number of employees of the H. C. Bay Co.'s
exhibition of these instruments.
The Olympia factory in Bluffton, Ind., recently attended the mar-
Hotel was the first purchaser of a Gulbransen, a riage in Berne, Ind., of Menno Hanni and Miss
grand piano being secured for the use of the concert
Sylvia Bixler, two Berne young people. Mr. Hanni
orchestra which entertains the guests.
is employed at the H. C. Bay factory.
SPRING and SUMMER
offer opportunities for the live piano salesman unequalled by any other season. With the Bowen Loader it is easy to get out into the
country, taking the piano along. Sales are sure, and with the Ford runabout and one-man Carrier you can demonstrate and do busi-
ness anywhere. Our latest fool-proof, indestructible Loader for only $95 affords an unusual opportunity. Satisfaction guaranteed.
BOWEN PIANO LOADER CO.,
Winston-Salem, N. C.
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/