13
PRESTO-TIMES
June 30, 1928
NEWS OF TRADE IN
NEW YORK CITY
(Continued from page 7.)
Sunday school singers and audiences. J. H. Mack,
of Philadelphia, newly elected president of the as-
sociation, said: "While we have carefully avoided
syncopation and jazz in hymns and Sunday school
music, we have recognized the need of youth for
vigorous music and have got away from the old
dead tunes."
The Driblet Method of Ordering.
"Dealers must change their tactics before piano
busiiess can come back robust and strong," said a
prominent man of the trade in New York to Presto-
Times man this week. He was talking as man to
man, and therefore I am holding his name in the
background. "The old method of giving a contract
order, 'send me so many pianos within a year' or
'within six months,' has been abandoned, I am sorry
to say. Dealers are ordering now by driblets, and
they're getting the same long time as formerly when
they purchased a carload or more at a time. And
even in their small orders they are making two bites
of a cherry by ordering twice in the same month, and
constantly asking manufacturers to carry them at
that.
"But I see a very hopeful sign of a mighty re-
newed activity in the fighting rivalry that is being
superinduced by changes of agency and changes of
men among the cleverest piano salesmen America or
the world has ever known."
"Thesee men—all fighters in loyalty to their new
employers—are going at it hammer and tongs to
sell as many pianos as possible (and it is possible
to sell three times as many as has been sold lately),
and then what will the firms do that dropped them?
Naturally, they'll fight back, stimulate their salesmen
by every known or heretofore untried inducement, to
sell more pianos, interest more people in pianos, get
more prospects lined up.
"The result of all this fierce rivalry will be a god-
send to the piano business, and some of the farseeing
and more active of the dealers stand a chance of
THE LATEST JESSE
FRENCH PRODUCTIONS
making more money than they ever guessed was in
this business."
International Musical Mart.
Arrangements for a permanent international musi-
cal mart in Grand Central Palace, New York, have
been completed, according to an announcement the
other day by C. H. Renham, general manager for Colorful Pageant in Hotel Ambassador Attrac-
Conde Nast and his associates, who recently pur-
tive Feature Accompanying Interesting
chased the well-known show building for the purpose
Events of Western Music Trades
of preserving the lower floors for the usual exposi-
Convention This Week.
tions and installing on the upper eight floors perma-
nent sales marts.
The annual convention of the Western Music
The musical mart will open on October 1. The
Trades' Association was held at the Ambassador
1926 export of musical instruments amounted to $16,-
Hotel, Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Wednesday and
000,000—about 8 per cent of the entire manufacture Thursday of this week. The Music Pageant and Show
of American instruments. It is estimated that 60,000 held from Monday to Saturday was an added attrac-
foreign buyers come to America yearly. Four-fifths tion for the music trade to attend. The Los Angeles
of these arrive in New York and never have time to dealers who were active in making the pageant a
get far into the interior.
success included the following:
E. H. Uhl, president of the Southern California
Lauter Sales.
Music Co.; W. H. Richardson, president of Richard-
The Lauter Piano Company's success in retail sales
tiftil Period and other styles of pianos it is manufac- son's, Inc.; E. A. Geissler, vice-president, Birkel
Music Co.; L. E. Fontron, secretary-treasurer, Martin
turing. The fame of these beautiful styles spread
in Newark, a very musical city, is due to the beau- Music Co.; E. Palmer Tucker, secretary, Western
Music Trades' Association, and vice-president, Wiley
all over the city( it is a great city with half a million
B. Allen Co.; Ben Platt, president. Platt Music Co.;
souls) so that many came to see and several each
John
W. Boothe, manager music department Barker
month remained to purchase.
Bros.; Don C. Preston, president, Don C. Preston
Griffith Piano Company's Great Retail House.
Co., Inc.; C. Dow, general manager, Fitzgerald
A call was made on Monday of this week upon
Music Co.; G. H. Barnes, president, Barnes Music
Harry Griffith of the Griffith Piano Company, 605-607 Co.; A. G. Farquharson, secretary, Music Trades
Broad street, Newark, N. J., by Presto-Times eastern Association of Southern California, and Waldo T.
man. The new place has style plus. To begin w r ith, Tuppcr.
it is a new 15-story building named the Griffith build-
Greetings from Shirley Walker.
ing and the company moved into it on June 1. And
At
the
suggestion
of President C. J. Roberts of the
next consider the pianos they are agents for—the
Steinway, Aeolian Co., Duo-Art, Sohmer and the National Association of Music Merchants, Shirley
Walker, vice-president of the National Association,
Brambach.
was called upon to officially extend greetings to the
"We have had a very satisfactory season," said western convention from the National Association.
Harry Griffith.
"Chiefly in high-priced grands. Mr. Walker, speaking at the opening convention ses-
Grand piano business with us has been good; our sion, said:
trade is much better than it was last year."
'T bring greetings to the Western Music Trades
Typographical Error Corrected.
convention from the National Association of Music
In the little story in last w r eek's Presto-Times about Merchants. It was the hope of President Roberts to
Wessell, Nickel & Gross actions in the New York attend this convention but responsibilities connected
letter "natural science" was made to read "national with the National Association, as well as his own
science." We blame the iinotyper for this, but forgive business, prevented him from attending. The recent
him on the ground he was thinking of politics as a national convention honored the Pacific coast in select-
national science being practiced down at Houston. ing one of its vice-presidents from this territory. As
Hut he must stand corrected for spoiling the sense I happen to be the victim, President Roberts asked
of the quotation: "Intelligence has not been applied me to extend for him his greetings. In order to bring
on large scale except in the realm of natural science.'' the East and the West in closer contact. President
Well, anyway, what we intended to say was that it Roberts is planning to send Mr. Delbert L. Loomis,
required a lot of keen intelligence and observation secretary of the National Association of Music Mer-
of the laws of natural science to bring the Wessell, chants, to the Pacific coast in October to meet with
Nickel & Gross actions up to the perfect mechanism the trade associations in the cities up and down the
Pacific coast, and to call upon the trade to discuss
they present today.
trade problems and to secure first-hand information.
"In closing I will state that the national convention
A. R. Stokes & Son, who operate a piano store at
McKeesport. Pa., has opened a branch at 648 Miller recently held in New York was one of the greatest
ever held. The attendance was extraordinary, in fact,
avenue, Clairton, Pa.
it reminded us of the West of our own Western
Music Trades convention. Over 300 attended each
session. The programs at these sessions were more
constructive than they have been in the past. There
was evidence everywhere of an intense desire for the
music trade to get together in an endeavor to solve
WEAVER PIANOS
(Irand*. Uprights and Player*
some of its problems.
"1 regret that President Roberts himself could not
Pmest and most artistic
piano in design, tone and
be here to give you his message. President Roberts
cousirurtion that can h-
is a forceful speaker and keenly feels the need of or-
madr
ganization work. So constructive was his administra-
tion that the convention unanimously re-elected him
Y O K h PIANO&
for the ensuing year, and I hope it w r ill be your pleas-
Upright* arfl P«ay«r IMuno*
ure to meet President Roberts, either here on the
A
piano of gr*Ht
A high grade pi
coast or in Chicago next June where the next annual
value and with charming tone quality
li
convention will take place.'
Livingoton PUnos— Uprir^t* ant vi«ve Minn.
Beeman P. Sibley, and Fred B. Buell of the
A popular niauo tt a popular pru-e
Western Piano Corporation, were busy meeting
friends and representatives of the line of the corpo-
Over 70.000 inatrumentt made by tbu company acr iin b
ration. These w"ere seen in the exhibits of Barker
Ing their own uraiaes in all partt of the ci-riliced wor'A
Write for catalogues and -tate on w'jat ler-r* /on w a I* 1
Bros., Richardson's, - the Danz Music Co. and the
like to deal and we will makr you • Droi>o«itioo i* VCT, »r«
Martin Music Co. Henry G. Melvin, Pacific North-
located in open territory.
west representative for the Western Piano Corpora-
Factory YORK
WEAVE* PIANO CO.. lot
tion, also attended the convention.
(Continued on page 16)
MUSIC TRADE MEETS
IN LOS^ ANGELES
The LEADING LINE
Trench
fl/rce /S75-
FOLLOW THE TRADITION OF
UNQUESTIONABLE QUALITY
Coin Operated and Selection Controlled Pianos
MECHANICALLY PERFECT
Music That Pays as It Plays
W E S T E R N ELECTRIC P I A N O CO., 832-850 Blackhawk St., Chicago, HI.
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/