MUSICAL
TIMES
PRESTO
Established
1881
Established
1884
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
10 Cents a Copy
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 1928
WONDERFUL TRADE
IS COMING BACK
That's the Situation that Confronts the Piano
Manufacturers Today and Chicago
Men Are Talking
of It.
R. J. Cook, general manager of the retail division
of The Cable Company, Chicago, whose correspond-
ence with the retail Cable stores throughout the coun-
try gives him intimate touch with primary conditions,
secondary outlooks and tertiary files of local infor-
mation about fall and winter trade, said to a Presto-
Times representative on Wednesday of tlr's week
that business is simply going to be wonderful.
"Speaking of ourselves," he said, "although we
have been preparing for an increase in trade of sub-
stantial degree, we are finding some difficulty in get-
ting certain styles of our first rate sellers finished in
time to suit the exigencies of the new and rather
imperative demand." One of these styles he spoke
of was the B-B-Kingsbury, for which there is a well-
nigh unprecedented demand.
Business Is Actually Here.
Mr. Cook is not a blind optimist; he is not one of
the whoop, hurrah kind of piano men. His fund of
information has been carefully gathered, and his joy-
ous enthusiasm over what he has learned at first hand
is ebullient because the business is in sight, and more
of it coming in every day. Incidentally running over
the increases of vital activity in today's and tomor-
row's piano trade, he mentioned the good crops that
farmers have just harvested, which if sold even at
moderate prices will bring lots of money into agri-
cultural districts; the starting up of great industries
that had placed large orders for manufactured sup-
plies and accessories; the shortage of pianos at the
stores; the new call for Period small grands and other
contributory causes.
And Mr. Ryder of the retail Chicago store of The
Cable Piano Company, who was also present at the
;
t me of this little chat at the City Club of Chicago,
spoke in the same optimistic vein about the outlook
for local trade in Chicago and its immediate suburbs.
These men were talking as man to man with no idea
of being quoted for publication. But Presto-Times
knows that President Geo. J. Dowling of The Cable
Company and its other higher officers are aware of
the return of the demand for pianos and are making
every possible effort to meet the dealers' require-
ments.
All along Piano Row in Chicago a reporter for
Presto-Times found the same feeling—business is to
lie plentiful the coming fall and winter. That's the
feeling at the W. W. Kimball Co., at Adam Schaaf's,
at P. A. Starcks', at Baldwin's, at Steger's, at Lyon
& Healy's. And as for Story & Clark's and the M.
Schulz Company's and Gulbransen's—why, they're all
preparing to ship many times as many pianos as they
have been doing in any given period for the last two
years.
SONORA APPOINTMENTS
Scnora Phonograph Company Appoints L. E.
Hilduser Field Manager; W. E.
Cochrane at Pittsburgh.
L. E. Hilduser has been appointed field sales man-
ager for the Pennsylvania territory of the Sonora
Phonograph Co. The territory will include the states
of Pennsylvania and Delaware, New Jersey as far
north as and including Trenton, and a few counties
in Ohio and West Virginia.
Mr. Hilduser is a native of Philadelphia. He en-
tered the music field in 1923 as a representative of the
Columbia Phonograph Co. in Philadelphia. After a
year he resigned to take over the managership of the
Pennsylvania Phonograph Distributing Co. of Phila-
delphia, Sonora distributors. On August 1, 1927, he
went to New York as Metropolitan branch manager
of the Okeh Phonograph Corp. On August 1 of this
year he rejoined the Sonora Co.
The present plan calls for several Sonora sales rep-
resentatives to work under Mr. Hilduser, W. G.
Cochrane having already been appointed as Pittsburgh
representative. His territory will take in all the
section around the western part of Pennsylvania, in-
cluding- several counties of Ohio and West Virginia,
and going as far east as Johnstown.
"There can be no question of the success of the
new Sonora line," said Mr. Hilduser. "Each instru-
ment is outstanding in its particular field, and the
greatest enthusiasm has been displayed by dealers
attending the pre-season Sonora showings."
GOOD WURLITZER TRADE
IN THE CAROLINAS
W. B. Word, Southeastern Wurlitzer Man, and J. C.
Henderson, New York Man, Report Activity.
W. B. Word, Southeastern representative of the
Wurlitzer piano factories, returned from his vacation
and is calling upon Wurlitzer dealers in North and
South Carolina. Mr. Word reports good business
in this section of the country and predicts unusual
prosperity during the coming fall.
James C. Henderson, general Eastern representative
of the Wurlitzer piano factories with headquarters in
the Wurlitzer Building in New York, has been enter-
taining many Wurlitzer dealers from out of the city
during the past few weeks, who have been making
buying trips to New York. Mr. Henderson writes the
home office that business prospects for piano sales in
the Eastern territory are exceptionally good and has
sent in several large orders for Wurlitzer pianos dur-
ing the past few days.
MUSIC MEN TAKE TO THE AIR.
Seven representatives of the J. W. Greene Com-
pany of Toledo, Ohio, flew to Huntington, Ind., last
week to view the latest model Orchestrope, manu-
factured by the Capehart Automatic Phonograph
Company. The trip to. the factory from Toledo was
made in an hour and twenty minutes. While in
Huntington the party inspected the factory of the
Capehart. In the party were W. W T . Baillie, manager
of the phonograph department of the J. W. Greene
Company; J. H. Beat of the J. W. Greene Company;
Frank A. Bailey, manager of the DeVilbiss Manu-
facturing Company, Toledo; Allen D. Gutches, and
C. H. Wolfert, Capehart Orchestrope representative.
Miss Mary Wirt of Chicago accompanied the party.
H. HUDSON MEETS SERIOUS MISHAP.
Henry Hudson, 33 years old, proprietor of the
Hudson & Son Music Company at Boonville, Ind.,
was seriously injured on Saturday, August 18, when
he fell from an interurban traction car in Evansville,
Ind. He was dragged several feet by the car and
when picked up was unconscious. He was taken
to a hospital in Evansville, where it was necessary to
amputate his left leg above the knee. He will prob-
ably be confined to tine hospital for several weeks.
Mrs. Hudson will conduct the music store.
$2 The Year
LYON & HEALY OPENING
IN CLEVELAND SEPT. I
Advertising Introducing Lyon & Healy to Cleveland
Has Begun—Harry Valentine, Manager.
After what will be a remarkable accomplishment
on the part of the contractors, the remodeled Dreher
Piano Co. store in Cleveland will be thrown open for
business Saturday, September 1, by Lyon & Healy of
Chicago, who, a short time ago, took over the Dreher
business.
The remodeling of the former Dreher store, which
occupies a commanding site on Huron road, at Euclid
avenue, Cleveland's principal business thoroughfare,
has been extensive both within and without the prem-
ises. A beautiful new bronze front has been installed
and the interior architecture and decorations on all
three floors have been made to conform in spirit and
beauty.
The advertising campaign designed to introduce
and sell Lyon & Healy to the Cleveland public began
Friday, August 24. Capital is made of the fact that
the new Lyon & Healy store will bring to Cleveland
the most beautiful and complete retail music estab-
lishment between Chicago and New York and that
the company's time-honored Chicago slogan, "Every-
thing Known in Music," will express the spirit and
scope of Lyon & Healy service in Cleveland no less
completely than in the firm's home city.
Harry Valentine, who was made a vice-president
and the manager of the new Cleveland enterprise, is
to be congratulated upon the splendid establishment
whose offices his long experience and wide Cleveland
acquaintanceship will enable him so efficiently to
direct.
REPORTED THAT H. C. BAY
COMPANY HAD BIG OFFER
Work of Adjusting Matters for Bankrupt Firm In-
volves Lawyers, Adjusters and Accountants.
Charles Horst, adjuster for the creditors of the H. C.
Bay Piano Company, whose home is at 4550 Maiden
avenue, Chicago, is in New York to be absent a week
or ten days in connection with his work.
Morton Slocum of Room 1325, 127 North Dearborn
street, Chicago, attorney for the Frank Naese Piano
Company, 4811 West Lake street, Chicago, one of the
Bay Company's creditors, is busy looking after the
interests of his client.
It is understood that a very substantial offer was
made this week to those handling the Bay affairs by a
large piano manufacturing house of New Jersey bor-
dering upon New York city for the assets and in-
cluding the plant at Bluffton, Ind., and the goodwill
for what it is worth if Mr. Bay, it is said, would
consent to turn everything over to the would-be pur-
chaser, so far as he is concerned.
FORMER WITMARK MAN DIES.
ATLANTA DEALER'S CHICAGO VISIT.
J. A. Stewart, president of the Ludden fr Bates
Southern Music House, Atlanta, Ga., who made a
quick trip to Chicago two weeks ago, expressed his
regret to a Presto-Times correspondent that he could
not get time to call on several of his Chicago friends
who have since written him asking "Why didn't you
call on me?" He said that next time he gets to Chi-
cago he will take a whole day for nothing but social
calls.
CHAS. STANLEY'S MICHIGAN OUTING.
Charles Stanley, superintendent of the Ludwig &
Co. factories in the Bronx, New York, who was laid
up for a month at his home in Grand Haven, Mich.,
nursing a broken arm, has fully recovered and is back
at his field of activity in New York. He says he
got as much joy as he could out of his "vacation," a9
he calls it.
Edgar B. Jones, president of the Schiller Piano Co.,
Oregon, 111 , made a flying "run" from the factory
to the Chicago office on Tuesday of this week to
meet a western representative Schiller piano dealer.
Otto Lehman, former opera singer and church solo-
ist until his 75th year, died at his home in Richmond
Hill, New York city, last week at the age of 89. He
gave up opera singing at the age of 60 and later sang
in St. Stephen's Church, St. Marks-on-the-Bowerie
and other Manhattan churches. For eight years he
worked in the musical library of M. Witmark & Sons
at 1650 Broadway, New York.
NORWALK PLANT DEED RECORDED.
A deed was filed last week in the recorder's office
at Norwalk, Ohio, showing the transfer of the old
A. B. Chase plant to the A. B. Chase-Emerson Cor-
poration.
The transfer was made by Alfred L.
Smith, of New York, trustee in bankruptcy, to the
present owners, for $30,000, and was merely a matter
of legal form, as they have owned and operated it
for some time.
M. L. Claypool of the Claypool-Lacy Music Co.,
Crawfordsville, Ind., the slogan of which is, "The
Home of Good Music," was a Chicago visitor two or
three days this week. He was accompanied by Mrs.
Claypool and their daughter, the trio traveling by
automobile.
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