Presto

April 21, 1928
PRESTO-TIMES
UNITED ACTION
IS NOW ASSURED
Everybody In Various Associations of Music
Industry and Trade Urged to Work for Big
Attendance and Increase of Enthusiasm
in Events at Commodore.
convention attractions by an efficient committee and
the advantages of attending the meeting at the Hotel
Commodore are being impressed upon the trade by
competent and enthusiastic members of the music
industry and trade.
The publicity committee for the conventions is
under the chairmanship of Ernest H. Vogel, of the
Kohler Industries; assisted by B. B. Wilson, Fred-
erick Steele and William J. Dougherty, with D. L.
Loomis, secretary of the National Association of
Music Merchants and Alfred L. Smith, general man-
agt-r of the Music Industries Chamber of Comerce,
in consultation.
ATTRACTIVE EXHIBITS
Appoints Exhibit Committee.
President C. J. Roberts of the National Association
Exhibition Feature of Week to Be Notable in Extent of Music Merchants has appointed the following
members to act as an exhibit rules committee for
and of Great Value in Increasing Sales Activity
service during the week of the convention: Shirley
and Improving Selling Methods Generally.
Walker, San Francisco, chairman; Alex. McDonald,
Everything points to a successful convention of the New York City; M. V. De Foreest, Sharon, Pa.;
music trades at the Commodore Hotel, New York, Henry E. Weisert, Chicago; O. A. Field, St. Louis,
during the week of June 4. In attractive events those Mo.; B. B. Burton, Birmingham, Ala.; Geo. H. Beas-
in charge of the annual meeting see the power to ley, Texarkana, Ark.; A. D. La Motte, San Diego,
Calif.; C. R. Moores, Fort Wayne, Ind.; H. G. Pul-
frey, Ann Arbor, Mich.: E. P. Andrew, Detroit,
Mich.; F. L. Paige, Terre Haute, Ind.; A. Z. Moore,
Lancaster, Pa.; L. B. Casagrande, Milwaukee, Wis.;
S. H. Morecroft, Syracuse, N. Y.; A. L. Maresh,
Cleveland, Ohio.
The duties of the members of the committee will
be to visit the exhibit rooms on the mornings of the
business sessions of the merchants' association, prior
to the opening of the sessions, to urge upon exhibitors
that exhibits be closed udring the hours of the
business meetings, which will take place Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 a. m.
to 1 p. m.
A Convention Attraction.
S. L. Rothafel (Roxy) will deliver an address at
one of the business sessions of the National Associa-
tion of Music Merchants at the Commodore Hotel,
New York, the week of June 4. It will be a privilege
to many in the trade to see and hear the most strik-
ing, best-loved and widely known personalities con-
nected with radio broadcasting and the motion picture
industry. Mr. Rothafel will follow his illimitable and
familiar salutation, "Hello Everybody!" with an in-
spirational address touching upon the "Appeal of
Music to the Great Mass of the Public."
An indication of "Roxy's" tremendous following-
lies in the fact that in one of his rooms in the Roxy
Theater there lies neatly bundled up more than one
million letters which "Roxy" has received during the
past year from movie fans and radio enthusiasts.
Now he has his own theater, the "Roxy," the
world's largest house in one of the best localities in
New York city, and up to the minute in appointment,
HKRMANN IKTON
size and luxury.
draw the dealers, salesmen, tuners and others to the
His Start.
bi'^ hotel. That it will be made a business-building
It was in Forest City that he entered the motion
meeting is well understood and in the manner of
carrying out that scheme, the officials and special picture business, and from that time on "Roxy's" rise
committees will present many surprises in procedure. was like a romance. He came to New York and in
1913 at the Regent Theater on Seventh avenue, up
A new meaning will be given to the word convention.
town, amazed the motion picture public with his
The meetings of the various associations affiliated
with the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce will originality, taste and keen perception of what the
TO
THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY
Cooperation within an industry is the keynote of Success.
This does not imply that individual effort should lag-. Both are needful
for continued progress and one must derive its inspiration and impetus from
the other.
It is less important that a Convention be successful than that every
member of the industry should attend and obtain new viewpoints and angles
from what he will hear and see. That will make the Convention as well as
his own business a Success.
Faithfully yours,
'HERMANN IRION,
President.
have a character of uniqueness that will increase the
enthusiasm already expressed and the Chamber itself
will exercise its ability to make every meeting helpful
to the organizations. A message of President Her-
mann Irion of the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce to the entire music trade, printed on this page,
relates to the convention on June 4, at the Hotel
Commodore.
Apart from the educative value of the business
sessions of the various associations, the exhibits of
the manufacturers in the various phases of the music
industry will be predominantly educational. Not only
will there be novelty in the pianos, band instruments
and musical merchandise shown, but new and suc-
cessful sales methods will be demonstrated.
The music trade generally is being advised of the
public wanted. When the Strand, at that time the
country's greatest movie house, was thrown open to
the public on Broadway, in 1914, "Roxy" was selected
as managing-director. Successively, he threw the
magic of his personality and originality into the
Rialto, Rivoli and Capitol.
W. J. EDEN IN ST. LOUIS.
An interesting and interested visitor to St. Louis
lasr week was W. J. Eden, affectionately known, in
the trade as "Gulbransen Baby Bill." Of course he
had an enjoyable talkfest with E. A. Kieselhorst, head
of the Kieselhorst Piano Co., which represents the
Gulbransen line in St. Louis. Mr. Eden's field of
action includes Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Ne-
braska.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY
THE CELCO CORP.
In Letter From J. Harry Shale, President,
Purchase of Factory Property and Equip-
ment at Norwalk, Ohio, Is Told and
Other Facts Related.
The Celco Corporation, successors to the United
Piano Corporation, executive offices, Norwalk, Ohio,
announced to the trade that the corporation has pur-
chased all the factory property and equipment at Nor-
walk, Ohio. This property was sold by the Lhiited
States Federal Court of the New York City District,
J. HARRY SHALE.
and the sale has been approved by the attorney repre-
senting the creditors, by Alfred L. Smith, the receiver,
and A. L. Olney, referee in bankruptcy.
J. H. Shale Writes.
'"This completes the set-up of our permanent organ-
ization here," writes J. H. Shale, president of the cor-
poration. "We will continue to manufacture at Nor-
walk, Ohio, the A. B. Chase as America's finest piano,
the Emerson, and Lindeman & Sons pianos. We
have in process a new line of period models which
will very shortly be announced, and as soon as these
are ready we will also have our permanent and new
literature to distribute to the trade.
"We appreciate that until the factory sale was con-
summated there has been in the minds of some of the
trade a doubt as to our permanent operations. There-
fore, we are now set to go ahead very aggressively;
and we hope to be a prominent factor in the future of
the piano industry.
"This business is owned by Mr. Seth B. Foster,
Mr. E. D. Button, and myself, and is amply capital-
ized to start out in a strong position without any
indebtedness whatsoever; and to take care of any
necessary financing the dealer may require.
"Mr. Button, who is a practical and experienced
piano man, has served as purchasing agent of the
American Piano Company and in the sales force of
the Foster-Arm strong Company. Mr. Foster also has
considerable experience in retail and wholesale and in
the studied art of period piano architecture.
Appoints Distributor.
"We are also pleased to announce at this time that
definite arrangements have been made with W. F.
Frederick Piano Company of Pittsburgh, Penn., to
act as distributor of our line through western Penn-
sylvania and W r est Virginia. Several other new rep-
resentations have been made and others are in the
making and announcements will lie made shortly,
and it is our intention as soon as a suitable location
can be found that wholesale offices will be established
in New York City where complete samples of the
entire line will be on display.
"This institution is independent and connected
with no other institution, operating solely for its own
benefit, with a name value line of various grades for
exclusive representations among responsible piano
dealers. We feel in view of the present conditions
in the trade we have the line that is needed and this
announcement should be of general interest."
The officers of the Celco Corporation are as fol-
lows: J. H. Shale, president; Seth B. Foster, vice-
president; E. D. Button, treasurer; Walter A. Hall,
secretary; S. B. Keilholtz, assistant treasurer, and
Stuart H. Perry, western sales manager.
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