Classic Mode

Presto

Issue: 1927 2154

PRESTO-TIMES
The American Music Trade Weekly
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
PRESTO P U B L I S H I N G CO., Publishers.
F R A N K D. A B B O T T - - - - - - - - - -
(C. A . D A N I ELL—1304-1927.)
J. FERGUS O'RYAN
_ _ _ _ _ Managing
Editor
Editor
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 0234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address ( C o m -
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), " P R E S T O , " Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 189G, at the
Post Office, Chicago, 111., under Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1.25; Foreign, $4.
Payable in advance. No extra charge in United States
possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Kates for advertising on
application.
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if of
general interest to the music trade will be paid for at
space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen in the
smaller cities are the best occasional correspondents, and
their assistance is invited.
Payment is not accepted for matter printed in the edi-
torial or news columns of Presto-Times.
Where half-tones are made the actual cost of produc-
tion will be charged if of commercial character or other
than strictly news interest.
When electrotypes are sent for publication it is re-
quested that their subjects and senders be carefully indi-
cated.
Forms close at noon on Thursday. Late news matter
should be in not later than 11 o'clock on that day. Ad-
vertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, 5 p. m.,
to insure preferred position. Full page display copy
should be in hand by Tuesday noon preceding publication
day. Want advertisements for current week, to insure
classification, should be in by Wednesday noon.
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South
Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1927.
NEW PRESTO BUYER'S GUIDE
The 1928 Edition
The widely expressed interest of piano deal-
ers and salesmen in PRESTO BUYERS'
GUIDE, following the announcement of prep-
aration of the new edition for 1928, is a tribute
to the usefulness of the book, owing to the
dependable character of its statements. The
attitude of the trade in expecting absolute cor-
rectness about the newer forms of grands,
playerpianos and reproducing pianos makes
the responsibilities attending the preparation
of the new edition for 1928 greater than ever
before in thirty-one years of publication.
The established considerations of tonal and
structural merit wiil govern statements in the
new book. It is designed primarily for the
use of retail merchants and their salesmen in
the guidance of customers who may be in
doubt as to the merits of any particular piano
which may be drawn to their attention.
PRESTO BUYERS' GUIDE has been
relied upon by thousands of intelligent piano
buyers and a large proportion of piano mer-
chants employ it for reassuring their custom-
ers and sustaining just claims set forth by
their salesmen. Every statement in PRESTO
BUYERS' GUIDE is sincere and estimates of
the qualities of the pianos, playerpianos and
reproducing pianos are based on the personal
knowledge of experts in the piano industry.
minor wail of unsatisfied orders, of blueness
that was anything but the blue streak of the
fast express. One said that while a great
amount of business was coming in the prof-
its were knocked into a cocked hat by over-
head expenses and the firms were handling a
larger volume of goods with no appreciative
increase in net profits.
A few of the speakers tried to condole with
the business men of their trade by declaring
that other lines were as badly off, one of them
saying that he had a friend in the piano man-
ufacturing industry who had been complain-
ing. Even in the automobile business, dealers
were complaining' about prospects holding off
from buying low-priced cars on various ex-
cuses, principally, "Wait for the new Ford!"
The lesson that comes home to the piano man
from these views and remarks is: "Quit whin-
ing. Get out and hustle and sell all you can.
Other trades have their own difficulties; they
surmount them. You understand yours bet-
ter than anvone else ; drive on and over them."
Co., Chicago, indicate that alert men were ac-
tive in every state in the Union to disprove
the bugaboo of the summer slump in the piano
buying desire. From hundreds of entries in
the piano sales contest, eighty-three winners
have been picked. That is, eighty-three sales-
men exceeded the minimum number of fifteen
piano sales in the two months of special effort.
The Weaver Piano Co., Inc., York, Pa.,
frankly admits that inertia in months outside
of summer is a possibility in the piano sales-
man. To avert that feeling, it organized a
piano sales contest for Weaver dealers and
salesmen beginning Oct. 1 and ending Dec. 31.
The results so far reported are surprising
proof that salesmen may be stimulated in sell-
ing efforts in an extraordinary way by an or-
ganized scheme including honors and financial
rewards in addition to salaries.
A custom of the Packard Piano Co.'s retail
managers and dealers is a series of concerted
selling efforts throughout the year. Periodic
meetings at some central point provides the
trade press with good, suggestive stories for
the trade. The Baldwin Piano Co. also makes
MUSIC SPIRIT AND SALES
certain seasons and periods occasions of ex-
In the belief that sales of pianos are in equal
traordinary selling efforts by its representa-
ratio to the degree of national interest in music
tives and the schemes of organization all con-
generally and piano music particularly, the re-
duce to the enthusiasm of the salesmen in the
port of the National Bureau for the Advance-
field.
ment of Music is encouraging. More than a
Throughout the trade other progressive
doubling of the extent of the National Music
houses stimulate the piano selling energies of
Week in the four years of its existence is
their salesmen and results point to the possi-
shown by figures just made public by the Na-
bility of business at all seasons in which it is
tional Music Week Committee. These indi-
sought with systematized enthusiasm.
cate that 1,614 cities and towns participated in
the observance last May.
Where system runs to seed it produces
This is contrasted with the first national
queer growths in advertising men—flowers
celebration, in which 780 towns participated.
that respond only to the fertilizer of puffer-
This remarkable growth has been affected not
ino. In their code there is no greatness in
r
by sensational methods, but by a quiet promul-
simplicity and the man who is approachable
gation of the Music Week idea and a co-oper-
on easy terms, like Henry Ford, or Marconi,
ation with local observances on the part of the
or President Coolidge, is simply putting up
National Music Week Committee.
with a reprehensible waste of time. There
Previous to the synchronization of the vari-
are a few advertising managers in the piano
ous local Music Weeks, which was brought
trade who can be seen about business (which
about by the initiative of C. M. Tremaine, only
is as much to their interest as to the caller's)
150 cities or towns had ever held a Music
only between 10 and 10:30 a. m. on the second
Week. The total for 1927 is 1,614.
Thursday after the first Monday of months
An analysis of the Music W r eek activities commencing with "M," and then only in the
shows some significant factj: The extent of dark of the moon.
the Music Week movement in any state is in
* * *
proportion to the number and enthusiasm of
A very lively discussion is going on in the
the music organizations ; music trade associ- Swedish press and commercial circles regard-
ations are effective aids to stimulation of mu- ing the system of selling on the instalment
sical movements and piano playing contests plan, which is rapidly gaining ground in
especially.
Sweden. Opposition to the system led to a
In a large number of instances, the local resolution being passed in the Riksdag this
Music Weeks produced definite beneficial re- year asking the Government to institute an
sults, such as the promotion of group piano inquiry into possible methods of public con-
classes, piano playing contests, organization of trol in order to counteract its effects.
bands, orchestras or choral groups; the pur-
The Minister of Commerce has now invited
chase of musical instruments for the schools, representatives of industries and commercial
a recognition of music as an essential in the firms selling on the instalment system or af-
school curriculum, and a getting together of fected by the system to a conference at the
local musicians for civic betterment.
Ministry of Commerce.
FALSE IMAGININGS
People in every line of trade are prone to
believe that their particular business is the
least successful, the most difficult to conduct,
beset with the most snags and hard-pressed
with the most wily and designing enemies.
In all these assumptions and conclusions they
are entirely wrong, wholly in the dark, com-
pletely misled.
A Presto-Times man recently attended two
banquets of commercial associations not even
remotely connected with the piano business
and at each some of the speakers voiced a
November 12, 1927
SYSTEMATIZED PIANO SELLING
The number of piano men who believe that
summer dullness is more of a state of mind
than a condition is becoming reassuringly
large. Action to disprove the summer dull-
ness fallacy resulted in an amazing number of
piano sales during the summer months of this
year, which agreeable events contributed to a
healthy average business for all the months of
the year.
The names to hand of the sales winners of
the summer sales campaign of the Gulbransen
* * *
Recent figures relating to the music indus-
tries of Germany, compiled on inquiry by the
British piano manufacturers, into that coun-
try's export trade, show that Germany now
occupies only a very small place in the British
piano market. Several reasons account for
this, but the chief reason stated is that "the
present high standard of the British piano,
which is admitted even by manufacturers
abroad, has convinced the British piano-buying
public of the superiority of the home-made
instrument."
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/
November 12, 1927
P R E S T O-T I M E S
GOOD PUBLICITY FOR
THE M. SCHULZ LINE
Handy Little Booklet Just Issued Is Complete
in Assuring Information for Pros-
pective Piano Buyers.
THINGS SAID OR SUGGESTED
BUSINESS
CONCENTRATION.
Elmer Hartley, the Banning, Mo., dealer, tells a
story about wonderful business concentration of his
friend and competitor, James J. Crain, the piano man
of Oak Ridge in the same state. The Banning man
told about it to a Presto-Times man this week while
Mr. Crain was registering concentration in the lobby
of the Hotel Sherman. They usually come to Chicago
together. Explaining that fact Mr. Hartley said he
came along to keep his friend from buying the Union
Station or the Coliseum or something in the public
building line from an affable stranger.
"Friend Jim has stores in Gladstone and Oak
Ridge," said the Banning dealer in telling one on his
traveling companion. At the beginning of the holi-
days, he started a contest for the salesmen in the
two stores. The livelier the contest became the more
pianos were sold. Jim was all worked up.
" 'How far is it between Oak Ridge and Glad-
stone?' Phelps, the grocery drummer, asked him one
day.
" 'Three pianos,' was the answer of my concen-
trated friend. 'But the Gladstone bunch say they
will close four sales today and that will shove 'em
one ahead.' "
* * *
"Then we start this radio company with a capital
stock of $3,000,000?" inquired the first promoter.
"We do," said the second promoter.
"One more question."
"Ask as many as you like."
"Have we enough of that capital stock paid in to
take us out to lunch?"
* * *
TEMPTING JOHN McCORMACK
There was not much to remind George Tilton, a
piano salesman for the Chas. E. Roat Music Co.,
Battle Creek, Mich., of pianos when he found the
solitudes of the northern part of Houghton County,
Michigan, on his vacation last summer. For the most
part the problems of bait, tackle and camp equipment
commanded his attention, to the exclusion even of
piano selling. He didn't note any piano possibilities
up where he was. They are so few that the quantity
is negligible.
But Mr. Tilton did see a chance for a male vocalist;
preferably one with a stomach trained to a canned-
goods diet and a frost-proof artistic temperament.
It is a winter as well as summer job and it gets 'way
below up there.
Last winter the innkeeper at Missahauk Portage
added to the gaiety of the mining and lumber region
by opening a moving picture show. His machine
was good and his films thrilling, but the show failed
to entirely satisfy miners and lumber jacks.
For relief the showman bought a roll-operated in-
strument designed for shows in places where manual
operators are not obtainable. It helped some. It
made noise and the pictures didn't look so ghostly.
But not yet were the first-nighters, every-nighters
and get-tighters of Missahauk Portage and vicinity
satisfied. They wanted the song features found in
all well-regulated shows and told the harassed pro-
prietor so.
That brought the proprietor to the limit of his
ability to satisfy. No vocalist was forthcoming, and
in disappointment the patrons boycotted the show.
That was the situation when the Missahauk Portage
impressario told his troubles to the sympathetic Bat-
tle Creek piano man.
"Maybe you might know of a good singer in your
town?" was the hopeful inquiry. Mr. Tilton remem-
bered a number of singers he would like to see
exiled but he mentioned no names.
"How much will you pay?" he asked.
"There's twenty-five dollars a month in it. I'd
even go as far as thirty for a sober singer who would
take a hand at waitin' on table in the daytime," was
the alluring offer.
"H—in, that ought to fetch a good one," encour-
aged Mr. Tilton.
"Well, it hasn't so far," complained the Missahauk
patron of song. "Last July three dandy singers from
Chicago w r ere here on their vacation, but none on
'em would take me up. They worked at sellin'
planners in a store as a reg'lar job."
"I think they ought to have considered your offer.
Nothing to do but sing and double in china. Twenty-
five a month! My, but they were foolish!" com-
mented Mr. Tilton.
"Nope, they wouldn't take the job. But they
gave me the name of a feller they was sure would
jump at it. I wrote to him but he never had the
politeness to even answer my letter. He's a Chicago
feller and maybe you know him. They put the name
here on the book," continued the disappointed seeker
for talent. "There it be." A nobby forefinger pointed
to the name inscribed:
"John McCormack, % Auditorium Theater, Chi-
cago."
* * *
Appropriately defined, a "city" is a place that has
a piano row, a "town" a place that is occasionally
enlivened by a piano dealers' competition feud, while
a "village" is any community that takes the slashed
prices of the annual moving sale seriously.
* * *
It is easy to be an optimist when the optimizing
is good. It is only the real, stamped-on-the-plate
optimist who can greet the world with an open-faced
smile in the face of adversity and mean it.
* * *
A valued contemporary expresses gratification that
"the noisy 'special sales artist' is lying low." That's
much better than lying outrageously.
* * *
Sometimes the professional pianist fools the news-
paper humorists by wearing his hair short.
* * *
Making pianos is a fine art; selling them a game
of skill.
BOWEN PIANO LOADER
A handsome and useful vest pocket catalog of the
M. Schulz Company, Chicago, briefly describes the
winning pianos, player-pianos and reproducing pianos
of the progressive house. It opens with a short his-
tory of Mathias Schulz, the founder of the M.
Schulz company.
He established the policies which have always made
the M. Schulz Company pianos famous for their
substantial construction, their fine woods, their superb
finish, and above all else, the expert workmanship
which goes into their manufacture. Embodying as
they do acquired skill and experience of more than
half a century, these instruments have quality, tonal
excellence, and durability which are second to none.
This is said about the M. Schulz reproducing piano
with the Aria Divina action: "The Aria Divina
reproducing action, manufactured by the M. Schulz
Company, is made under patents granted in 1923, and
it embodies improvements on all other types of re-
producing pianos. It recreates the playing of great
artists on the keyboard—it brings to your home such
world-famous pianists as Harold Bauer, Ossip
Gabrilowitsch, Fanny Bloomfie'd-Zeisler, Leopold
Godowsky, and many others. It offers a vast catalog
of classical and popular music, and yet modern man-
ufacturing facilities make it possible to offer these
instruments to the public at a price heretofore never
associated with the finer reproducing pianos."
Splendid halftone pictures are printed of the Louis
XVI small upright and small upright player-piano
and the Bungalow upright, Italian Renaissance, New
England, Paramount and William and Mary uprights.
The fine M. Schulz grands shown in cuts are Col-
ony, Marie Antoinette, Colony Aria Divina repro-
ducing grand, Venetian, Bardini and Castilla grands.
This is said about the winning M. Schulz small
grand: "The consummate skill of the entire Schulz
organization is devoted to making the most perfect
five-foot grand known to music lovers.
"No expense is spared in its construction. The
choicest materials are used throughout the entire in-
strument. The sounding board is of the finest white
mountain spruce. Beautifully figured veneers are
selected for the cases and the cabinet work is done
only by the most expert of the company's employees.
The same is true in the tone regulating, action regu-
lating and finishing departments."
GOLDSMITH'S RUNS OVERTIME,
The Goldsmith Piano Company, 1223 Miller street,
Chicago, is busy these fine fall days manufacturing
its line of upright pianos. In fact, the factory is
running every night until 8 o'clock. A. Goldsmith,
proprietor, is one of the sort of manufacturers who
never lose a perspective view of business. If a cer-
tain type of instrument is in demand they make it;
if the demand is not as lively as it ought to be in
one part of the nation they exploit new fields; if a
dealer does not call at the factory or send in an
order by telegraph or mail, they make a call on him,
or one of their traveling men does. And they never
fail to advertise.
S. V. Everett is opening a music shop in the C. L.
Chute Building, New Lexington, Ohio.
PS SALESMEN
Outside Salesmen must be equipped so as to "show the goods." The season for country piano selling is approaching. Help your sales-
men by furnishing them with the New Bowen Piano Loader, which serves as a wareroom far from the store. It is the only safe
delivery system for dealers, either in city or country. It costs little. Write for particulars.
3OWEN 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/

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