Presto

PRESTO
PACKARD FOR NEW
DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL
Famous Instrument from Fort Wayne, Ind.,
Scores a Notable Triumph with Discrim-
inating Teachers of Lone Star State.
The discriminating judgment of the Dallas Board
of Education and its musical directors settled on the
Packard Grand for the New Sunset high school audi-
torium, and on Packard for the executive office and
meeting room for the Dallas public school music
teachers. The choice of the famous instruments
from Fort Wayne is considered of more than ordi-
nary consequence because of the character of the
judges by whom they were selected.
And, furthermore, the discriminating taste and
judgment of the committee of the Elks, "where good
fellows get together" and good music abounds, has
also rested on the Packard Grand. The instrument
now graces the Dallas club rooms of the splendid
new Elks building, lending added grace to the mag-
nificent surroundings.
The Elks Club have regular periodical concerts,
engaging the best of talent, also embracing in their
membership a most splendid array of talent, in both
vocal and instrumental music. Their selection of the
Packard, in competition with various other leading
makes, is particularly significant.
J. C. Phelps is the Packard piano distributor in
the state of Texas. He operates a retail business at
the Associated Arts and Crafts Center, 1907 Main
street, Dallas, Tex., and has charge of the Packard
wholesale business in that state.
BIG CIRCULATION FOR
GULBRANSEN DISPLAY
Full Page Advertisement in Four Colors
Appearing Dec. 6 in Magazine Section
of Fourteen Newspapers.
A full page advertisement in four colors of the
Gulbransen Co., Chicago, will appear in The Amer-
ican Weekly Dec. 6. The American Weekly is the
magazine section of 14 big city newspapers, as fol-
lows:
New York American, Boston Advertiser, Chicago
Herald and Examiner, San Francisco Examiner, Los
Angeles Examiner, Washington Herald, Atlanta
American, Milwaukee Sentinel and Sunday Telegram,
Rochester American, Detroit Times, Syracuse Amer-
ican, Baltimore American, San Antonio Light, Seattle
Post-Intelligencer.
The circulation of The American Weekly is 4,723,-
541. It circulates everywhere in the United States,
and being the magazine section of a Sunday news-
paper, it has many readers per family and per copy.
The advertisement carries a strong urge to buy a
Gulbransen Registering Piano this Christmas, and
also calls attention to the Christmas Carols idea,
spreading the spirit of music at Christmas time
through the revival of the old custom of singing
Christmas carols.
December 5, 1925.
methods. Agriculture still is basic; when it slumps,
down go both manufacturing and the moving busi-
ness. For in a true analysis, manufacturing and
transportation are projected upon agriculture. When
these three lines are evenly adjusted to one another,
then we are led to believe by some of our philoso-
phers of industry, we'll have no more quick slumps
in business, no more periods of oversupply and un-
derdemand."
INDIANAPOLIS SENDS
LATE TRADE ITEMS
L M. FRENCH TELLS
NEW LINCOLN STORY
The Pearson Piano Company are still conducting
their fifty-second anniversary. The holiday trade is
commencing to show up and some real activity is
reported.
Steinway .& Sons concert grands were used at the
Academy of Music this week at the concert given
under the auspices of the Mendelssohn Choir; also at
the Caleb Mills Hall by Lambert Murphy.
Mr. Schmidt, of New York, and Mr. Wells, of Cin-
cinnati, manager of the Steinway & Sons' branch,
spent the day in Indianapolis with John C. Pearson
on Monday. Mr. Decker, of the Ampliphone Com-
pany of Brazil, Ind., and R. N. Oates, of the Schaff
Bros. Piano Company, Huntington, Ind., were other
visitors in the past week.
A good deal of publicity was given the Baldwin
Piano Company in the past week by Harry Snod-
grass, "king of the ivories," at the Keith's Opera
House, where a Baldwin concert grand was used.
E. Fred Colber is spending several days in the
city demonstrating the Knabe Ampico, and giving
some very interesting talks on the instrument. Pros-
pective buyers are being invited to hear Mr. Colber.
His work is having a good effect and some excellent
results are looked forward to. "The only objection,"
says Mr. Rapp, "is that we can't get enough of the
instruments, and I am sure some of the Knabe friends
will be disappointed when we find ourselves short of
them and will be obliged to wait on deliveries."
Frank Wilking, of the Wilking Music Company,
spent Monday at New Castle at the Jesse French &
Sons factory, selecting stock for the Christmas trade.
Some of the new two-toned ebony Jesse French
grand pianos will arrive shortly from the factory, via
truck. Mr. Wilking reports one of the style "G"
grands sold to a leading musician of this city. The
Jesse French piano is making many friends, and
every sale brings more prospective buyers," was Mr.
Wilking's remark.
The Apollo Grands also are going well, and sales
in this line have been anticipated, with the result
that a truck load has been ordered direct from the
De Kalb, 111., factories.
Recalls Playing with Two Lincoln Boys and
the Steamship Model Upon Which Great
Liberator Was Working.
In a reminiscent mood on Monday of this week,
L. M. French, retail manager of the Haddorff and
Bush & Gerts Chicago headquarters, fifth floor of the
Fine Arts Building, told of his boyhood days when
he lived next door to Abraham Lincoln in Spring-
field, 111., and when Tad and Will Lincoln were his
playmates. He said he had often seen Mr. Lincoln
leaving home, wearing a long coat with the tails flap-
ping out behind him. In those days Lincoln paid
little heed to style; he didn't seem to care whether
his clothes were pressed or not.
Mr. French went into the shed at the back of
Lincoln's premises with Tad and Will one day and
examined a wooden model of a steamship that
"Honest Abe" had been working on, and the two
Lincoln boys warned him not to touch it, "because
father would raise hob" if it was interfered with.
The carving was done in a block of red cedar, and
the rails were of string. It is not generally known
at this day, Mr. French says, that Abe Lincoln was
a steamship inventor.
When Mr. French first left home, to accept a posi-
tion in the music business, his friends wondered if
they would ever see him again. He was going "far
away" to Savannah, Ga., to work for Ludden &
Bates. Incidentally, he carried recommendations as
to character from the Governor of Illinois, the Illi-
nois state treasurer and state secretary, and from the
mayor of Springfield. Mr. Bates, who is now in the
piano business at Middletown, N. Y., wrote back that
he would have his coachman and carriage meet Mr.
French at the depot in Savannah, but Mr. French,
with a modesty which still characterizes him, declined
to be so much honored.
Steinway Grands in Concerts, Brisk Sales of
Jesse French Pianos, and Shortage in
Local Supply of Knabe's.
HUMAN TOUCH IN WINDOW SHOW
DEALERS HAVE BOUGHT
VERY CAREFULLY
So Says Elmon Armstrong, Piano Traveler,
Who Has Recently Made a Selling Trip
Over Seven States.
Elmon Armstrong, who has returned from a trip
covering seven states for the E. P. Johnson Piano
Company of Elgin, 111., was in Chicago on Tuesday
of this week, when a Presto representative talked to
him. Mr. Armstrong has recovered from an attack
of influenza, and he expects to be in Chicago until the
first of January.
"All reports indicate that the piano retail firms
have all the business they can take care of," said
Mr. Armstrong. "I am inclined to believe that piano
merchants have not overbought; that they have
bought more cautiously than usual. I believe the
logical result of this cautious purchasing will be that
piano merchants will begin to buy steadily again in
February for the season's trade, and for the Fall
business. I believe that this principle has been gov-
erning all other lines of business.
"There are three basic lines of industry in this
country—agriculture, manufacturing and transporta-
tion. Agriculture is essential; it was the original
business ia the pioneer days; it got along then with
very little manufacturing and hardly any transpor-
tation facilities, as we now understand trafficking
The remodeled store of the A. B. Clinton Co. of
Hartford, Conn., was shown to the public on its com-
pletion with new and interesting features especially
in the opportunity for window display. The old
fashioned store window has been replaced with a
large glass enclosed area giving space for an impos-
ing and beautiful exhibit as shown in the illustra-
tion.
A wax figure seated at the Chickering grand, tin
suggestion of a comfortable home scene, with hand
some rugs, chair, lamp and magazines gave a color
ful atmosphere to the setting which is the talk
the town. The care with which the plan was carrie
out, the beauty of its color scheme, all contributed
the attention attracted by this unusually successf
effort.
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/