Presto

October 8, 1927
PRESTO-TIMES
is over the Lincoln Highway, up to the doors of the
factory of the great Packard Piano Company. It is
a splendid road through a country that suggests pros-
perity and especially that form of it expressed in
piano sales. At the factory very encouraging con-
ditions were reported and the appearance of activity
in every department of the great plant verified the
A Trip Around Interesting Circle of Piano statement.
The Packard Piano Company is particularly grati-
and Band Instrument Plants in That State
fied by the interests of the trade in the two newest
Conducive to a Feeling of Opti-
Packard models, the Louis XVI Art grand and up-
mism in the Observer.
right. The grand is a five-foot size made in mahog-
any lacquered, with bench to match. This grand
has the characteristic Packard merits of beautiful
design, graceful lines, splendid tone and volume and
of course the quality that has kept the Packard piano
Activity in the Various Plants Visited Is a Reflection in a place of prominence in the music trade.
The Packard Plan
of the Energetic Methods of Present-
The
piano
trade
is pretty generally acquainted with
ing the Lines.
the "Packard Sales Plan" through the Portfolio
A motor trip around the Hoosier circle of music which has been freely distributed. In the plan the
industries was the pleasant experience of a Presto- Louis XVI grand and the "New Packard Free Piano
Times correspondent last week. It began at Ham- Lesson" Advertising Service cooperate towards achiev-
mond, and La Porte, Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend, ing success. The pianos have been excellent business
Fort Wayne, Bluffton, New Castle, Richmond, getters from the start and the plan is one that inter-
were all visited. The loop was looped when he got ests the dealer who desires to quickly, effectively and
back to Hammond and thence home, to Chicago. It inexpensively increase his business.
INDIANA MUSIC
FACTORIES BUSY
WISCONSIN MUSIC
TRADE ASSN. MEETS
(Continued from page 4)
there in many booths. The following pianos were
observed on the main floor of the auditorium:
Steinway & Sons, Edmund Gram Co.; Schumann,
Everett, Wm. Knabe & Co., Miessner, Beckwith,
Hazelton, J. & C. Fischer, Duo-Art, Geo. Steck &
Co. The Milwaukee music houses had displays of
pianos and other lines of musical instruments and
radios: Miessner Piano Co. and "the "Melody Way,"
the J. B. Bradford Piano Co., Kesselmann-O'Dris-
coll Co., Flanner-Hafsoos Music House, Edmund
Gram, Inc., Noll Piano Co., Music Trades Radio
Corporation, Percy Kimberly general manager; Lueb-
tow Music Co., Orth Music Co.
This showing of music trade interests, especially
of the promotion of the piano, proved the joint char-
acter of the event.
The M. Schulz Co., Chicago, had its line of pianos
on display in Room 105, Hotel Wisconsin. The
exhibit was in charge of Mr. Prinz, traveler in Wis-
consin territory for the house.
Among Those Present.
Among members of the trade from outside Mil-
waukee and the state present at the convention were:
T. R. Husten, Baldwin Piano Co.; R. M. Strub,
Standard Pneumatic Action Co. of New York; O. G.
Swanitz, Chicago office Kohler Industries; T. M.
Fletcher, Q R S Music Co.; Percy Kimberly, Zenith
Sales; Jas. T. Bristol, Harry Bibb, the Brunswick
Co.; Henry Weisert, Bissell-Weisert Co.; Frank M.
Hood, Schiller Piano Co., all of Chicago, and J. F.
Howard, Floyd D. Masters and E. J. Jordan of
American Piano Co., New York, and others.
The Golf Game.
II ugh Randall, chairman of the golf tournament
committee, announced that, notwithstanding the
downpour of rain the players would motor to the
golf grounds and if the course could not be used
they would "switch" to cards and the prizes that
had been allotted to golf winners would be similarly
given to the card winners. After which all would
return to the city for the banquet at the Hotel Wis-
The above cut, taken from a snapshot, shows one side of the H. C. Bay Company's factory, Blurfton, consin in the evening. The game, however, came off.
Ind., which occupies practically a city block of ground space and a large tract across the street from the
Of the prizes at the golf play, notwithstanding the
main buildings. The automobiles belonging to the Bay Company employees are lined up on both sides
of the streets around the block, as indicated in the picture. Superintendent Lestina is seen (at right) at rain, awarded to winners in the 5 "blind bogies" win-
ners were: First, Jas. T. Bristol, Chicago; second,
the main entrance.
A. M. Koch, Chicago Music Trade Indicator; third,
was delightful as to weather conditions and a pleas-
Of course the optimistic statement is to be ex- Harry Bibb, Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.; fourth,
ure to witness the activity prevailing at every music
pected from a man so sure of the strength of his Mr. Bretzloff, of the Kohler Industries, Chicago. In
industry visited.
plan and his appeal generally to the trade, as A. S. the "net plays" O. G. Swanitz, of the Chicago house
Straube Activity.
Bond, president of the company. Mr. Bond con- of Kohler & Campbell, won first prize.
veys cheer in every word and the busy plant is the
The big Straube factory at Hammond is practically
most convincing proof of the truth of his optimism.
in "full blast," with good-sized shipments, many of
What is in evidence in the busy departments of the nected with the Foster-Armstrong Co., Rochester,
them carload lots, going out daily. The activity in
factory is the result of the energy and enterprise N. Y., and the Harvard factories. He was fifteen
the factory is a reflection of the energy of the sales
which
contributed to the success of this fine old in- years with the latter at the Dayton, Ky., shops. On
department in achieving cooperation of the dealers
the closing of that plant, he invested in Florida prop-
dustry,
famed alike for the substantial character of
with the national advertising efforts.
erty and resided there two years until, as he says,
Last week the Presto-Times man viewed the evi- the concern, its fair and honorable dealing with its "Bay got me."
trade
and
the
harmonious
methods
of
cooperation
in
dences of Straube plans for making dealers' sales
In New Castle.
the plant which have evoked the Packard formula:
Reprints of the October national advertising were
In the Jesse French & Sons Piano Co.'s factory at
"If there is no harmony in the factory there will be
being mailed to dealers with a letter of instructions
New Castle, the prominence of certain features of the
none in the piano."
suggesting a tie-up from H. A. Stewart of the sales
piano industry were plainly apparent. While the
The Settergren Plant.
department.
The Western Division of the National Piano Tech-
Two other centers of trade activity in the Fort business in the uprights has shown a remarkable
nicians' Association has been invited to hold its
Wayne district are B. K. Settergren Co. and the increase since the beginning of August, the sales of
meeting, set for October 23, at the plant of the
H. C. Bay Co. at Bluffton. The B. K. Settergren Jesse French grands is the most noticeable fact in
Straube Piano Co., Hammond, Ind. The invitation,
Co.'s plant has been working overtime for several the output.
"The fact that we made such a good start at the
read at the meeting in Chicago Sept. 23, was ac- weeks. Orders are booked for about all they need up
cepted.
to the end of the year but with increased facilities early part of the year makes us feel sure that ship-
which they have added from time to time they are ments for 1927 will exceed those for 1926," said II.
The Hobart M. Cable Co.
meeting demands and planning to take care of their Edgar French, president of the company, comment-
The Hobart M. Cable Co.'s factory at LaPorte is
ing on the pleasant conditions.
old friends, at least.
running full time and just now employs a full force
The growing foreign trade of the company, as well
The H. C. Bay Co.
to supply the demands which have been climbing
as the increased sales of Jesse French & Sons pianos
up on the order book gradually for some weeks past.
The other Bluffton piano making industry, the at home, are assurances of the certainty of the antici-
Vice-President H. B. Morenus believes that a fairly
great plant of the H. C. Bay Co., is these days, a pations. Everything in the great factory is in shape
good trade, at least, is on the way for the coming
scene of rather surprising activity, surprising and for the increased demands. The plant is not only
fall and winter season. "At any rate," he says, "as
interesting in the extent of its activities in all depart- a great production means but a well-oiled distribu-
for the Hobart M. Cable Company, we will have
ments of piano building, uprights, grands, players, tion machine.
our hands full until long after New Year."
reproducers and the accessories that go into the
The advertising of the Jesse French & Sons, both
The Hobart M. Cable Co.'s management some
making of pianos, for at the Bay Company factories the wholesale and that designed for the uses of the
time ago adopted a plan or, rather, put into execu-
are made the actions, plates and much of the hard- retailers, is distinguished by characteristics in keep-
tion a system of direct agency selling, if that is a
ware that goes into the construction of its pianos. ing with the policies of the house. The basis of the
proper designation of a line of work being done by
The numerous manifestations of a great piano man- copy is an appeal to the desirability of the piano as
traveling representatives in cooperation with local
ufacturing center in active operation and working an important aid in the cultural scheme of the Amer-
agencies established from city to city and neigh-
well-nigh to the limit of normal production is, indeed, ican family. Of course the fine musical qualities of
borhood to neighborhood. This plan has been worked
an interesting spectacle, but such were the conditions the Jesse French & Sons pianos and their high place
out rather thoroughly in the state of Indiana of late
found by your correspondent there last week.
in the piano industry are made clear in a frank, un-
resulting in a "good handful" of sales.
The engagement of Otto Lestina to be general fac- mistakable way.
Although The Hobart M. Cable Company has not tory superintendent of the Bay plant has resulted in
In Elkhart.
been exploiting its grands to a great extent, never-
improvements in construction and in greater produc-
Your correspondent found the band and orchestral
theless this division of the factory is in very active
tion. Mr. Lestina had practically retired from piano instrument factories at Elkhart very busy, verifying
operation and not long hence, evidently, they will be
building and had gone to Florida intending to make the statement that it is the most important city of
able to supply instruments from the grand factory
a permanent home there, but he was prevailed upon the world in this line of musical instrument produc-
in quantities to more fully meet the demand which
to get into his old-time occupation of piano building tion. There has been a notable falling off in orders with
they are not now able to do.
and join Mr. Bay, with whom he had been a factory
some of the industries here, but as a whole trade is
co-worker years ago at the Steger piano factory. good and shows improvement compared with a few
Cheerful Packard Report.
Since the Steger days Mr. Lestina has been con- months ago.
The automobile trip from LaPorte to Fort Wayne
BIG PIANO PRODUCTION
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