MUSICAL
TIMES
PRESTO
Established
1881
Established
1884
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
10 Cents a Copy
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1928
CHRISTMAS TRADE
IN BOSTON FIELD
Piano Favored by Holiday Gift Buyers in
Gratifying Way — New England Trade
Associations D i r e c t e d Towards
Stimulating Desire for Pianos.
BY HENRY McMULLAN.
Boston is profiting by the expression of the Christ-
mas spirit, and the music trade is a big sharer in
the results. The stimulation in piano sales is one of
the most cheering features of the shopping activities
in the Hub. With the revival of interest in piano
music the demand for the hand-played piano is show-
ing evidence of steady growth. And the causes of
revived piano interest visible in the country at large
are especially notable in Boston.
William F. Merrill, secretary and treasurer of the
New England Music Trade Association, is an enthus-
iastic believer in the return of the hand-played piano
once more into the leading place it has held in the
musical world for the last fifty years. He believes
that there are cycles in people's preferences for this,
that or the other thing. The bicycle, the phonograph,
the player-piano, the reproducing piano, all at dif-
ferent periods held their places in the spotlight. The
radio came last. He believes that the radio in future
time will not be used so much as an instrument for
dispensing music, that it will be used more for
1'stening to quotations of the market, lectures and
sermons or news. The piano is bound to come back
with the education of the children in piano-playing
The New England Music Trade Association has
extensive plans for activities that incidentally will
affect piano sales. Mr. Merrill, who is connected with
the Ivers & Pond Piano Co. in Boston, says the asso-
ciation is the oldest organization of piano men in the
United States; it was organized in 1896. The present
president is Shepard Pond, treasurer of the Ivers &
Pond Piano Co., Boston.
Shepard Pond's Trip
Mr. fond left Tuesday, December 18, on the
Hamburg-American Line steamship "Reliance" from
New York for a two-weeks' Christmas-New Year's
cruise to the Caribbean, visiting Havana, Jamaica
and Panama. This is the third time this year that
Mr. Pond has made this trip.
Christmas Carols in Boston.
Christmas carols will be sung at the noonday serv-
ices of St. Paul's Cathedral, Boston, on Friday, Sat-
urday and Monday before Christmas. Arthur M.
Phelps, cathedral organist and choirmaster, will speak
at the noon service Thursday on "Old Christmas
Carols," illustrating his talk with old carols sung by
a small choir of men and women. Mr. Phelps is
holding a singing school for all who arc interested in
church music on Friday nights from 8 to 9 o'clock
on the fourth floor of the Cathedral rooms. Instruc-
tion is given on the appreciation of music.
Good Starck Report.
Presto-Times correspondent called at the P. A.
Starck Piano Co.'s Boston store, 156 Boylston street,
where he met Henry J. Cogan, wholesale representa-
tive. Mr. Cogan said that the Starck Piano Co. was
getting its share of the pre-Christmas business, al-
though like all others in the piano business at the
present time they are willing to welcome more
customers.
C. G. Faux, manager of the P. A. Starck Piano
Co., 156 Boylston street, told Presto-Times corre-
spondent that sales were commencing to go better.
Steinway Trade Good at Steinert's.
A call was made at M. Steinert & Sons Co., 162
Boylston street, where Joseph P. Sayward, the man-
, ager, was met. Inasmuch as this house is handling
the Steinway piano its trade has been yen- good.
Panatropes Selling Well.
A call was made at the Brunswick-Balke-Collender
Co., 314 Stuart street, where it was learned that while
business had been quiet during the summer, it had
picked up considerably during December. Mr.
Heckler says the Panatropes are going pretty well.
Charles Shaw, the manager, was not in.
Other Interesting Facts.
Ernest Brangs is one of the veteran salesmen con-
nected with the house of Ivers & Pond. Mr. Brangs
has a long clientele of old customers, and besides he
had a very pleasant address in meeting new ones.
R. H. Reed was another of the very pleasant per-
sonnel of the Ivers & Pond Piano Company that was
met at this most beautiful store, 258 Boylston street.
Mr. Reed also is a piano man of long experience and
wide acquaintance.
One of the delightful sights in the desk part near
the front of the store is a great painting of Handel
Pond, originator of the Ivers & Pond Piano Com-
pany. This fine portrait is the painting of a master,
Dana Pond, brother of Shepard Pond, whose studio is
in Paris and who is in Boston at present on a visit.
Frank A. Lee Located.
At Boston I learned that Frank A. Lee, formerly
president of the John Church Company of Cincinnati,
which owned the Everett Piano Company of Boston,
is now living comfortably in California.
The Chickering & Sons piano factory which re-
cently began its transference from Boston to Roch-
ester, N. Y., has now about completed that removal,
according to some Boston people with whom I
chatted.
John Anderson, who for many years was known
as a great scale draftsman and for many years was
superintendent of the Everett factory in Boston, is
still loyal—in sentiment at least—toward the piano
business. He is now living at 53 Lombard street,
Newton, Mass.
At the Oliver Ditson Music Company, 179 Tre-
mont street, Arthur J. Fisher, the advertising man-
ager, and David C. King, publicity manager, both
predicted a good business for the coming winter in
their lines of publications.
Charles Potter's Success.
At Vose & Co.'s headquarters in Watertown, Mass.,
Presto-Times correspondent met Charles D. Potter
of Sound Beach, Conn., who is now traveling whole-
sale representative for Edward Smith & Co., manu-
facturers of varnishers, enamels, tillers and lacquers
at West avenue, Sixth and Seventh streets, Long
Island City, N. Y. A recent connection for Mr.
Potter, but lie says he is doing well. Mr. Potter for
some years has been known to the piano men
throughout a very large territory.
$2 The Yeai
CHEERFUL VIEWS
OF MANUFACTURERS
Opinions of Manufacturers on Conditions and
Anticipations of an Optimistic Nature
Encouraging Dealers and Others.
Walter C. Hepperla, president of the Premier Grand
Piano Corporation, 6 East 39th street, New York,
told the Presto-Times correspondent on Tuesday
morning of this week that business with his company
has been pretty fair. But he qualified this statement
by saying that it was all pressure business. In other
words, Mr. Hepperla was uttering a truth that every
other piano man in America knows, namely, that
some pianos can be sold but that it takes hustling to
sell them.
J. H. Shale in from Trip.
J. H. Shale, president of the Ceko Corporation,
was met in his office at 11 West 42d street, New
York, by Presto-Times correspondent on Tuesday
morning of this week. Mr. Shale had been out on a
trip, including a stop-over at Norwalk, Ohio, where
the factory is located. E. D. Button, treasurer of
the company, is located permanently at the factory,
but Mr. Button expects to arrive in New York on
Saturday of this week, to hep resent at a conference
of the officers of the company. Mr. Shale on his trip
made several little calls on dealers in A. B. Chase
grands and Emerson small grands. He -found that
both these makes are still retaining their popularity.
Activities of Hy. Eilers.
Hy. Eilers, who made a big reputation for many
years along the Pacific Coast, is now conducting
special sales in New York city. Recently he has had
success in selling Welte Mignon products at 12 West
45th street. That sale is about closed out. At about
the end of this week he intends to re-locate in the
Bush Terminal Building, 130 West 42nd street.
"The piano business today swings largely upon
grands and small grands," said Mr. Eilers to the
Presto-Times correspondent. "The big comrmies
that are pushing for trade locally are selling more
pianos ni New York and the territory within one
hundred miles of the city than the average piano man
in the trade is aware of. This is done largely by per-
sonal solicitation."
A special display of Brunswick phonographs and
radios was held last week at the Burner Music Co.,
Zanesville, O.
FEATURING STEINWAY SALES
T h e accompanying cut
shows a w i n d o w in the
store of Grinnell Brothers,
Detroit, which is at once
an a r t i s t i c arrangement
and effective publicity for
two notable sales of Stein-
way pianos. These two
grands were recently pur-
chased for the palatial new
Fisher Theater in that city
and which will be placed
in an artistic environment
appropriate to the splendid
instruments.
The window was given a
Steinway atmosphere by
the use of portraits of fa-
mous artists who use the
Steinway piano exclusive-
ly. On the left is the pic-
ture of Josef Hofmann and
on the right that of Ossip
Gabrilowitch, leader of the
Detroit Symphony Orches-
tra.
The show window at-
tracted great attention and
great numbers in the Christ-
mas shopping crowds on
Woodward avenue.
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