P R £ S T 0-T I M E S
when a lessening aggregate of piano sales takes
place.
Apparently A. G. Gulbransen is a piano manu-
The American Music Trade Weekly
facturer who has lost faith in admonition and
exhortation alone to effect a change in repre-
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
hensible piano trade methods. He has made the
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
solution of the problem arising out of the used
PRESTO P U B L I S H I N G CO., Publishers.
piano his own. The Gulbransen Company has
Editor
F R A N K D. A B B O T T
- - - - - - - - -
introduced a series of three instruments which,
(C. A. D A N I ELL—1904-1927.)
in Mr. Gulbransen's opinion, will strike a body-
J. FERGUS O'RYAN
_ _ _ _ _ Managing Editor
blow at the traffic in used pianos. In offering
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 0234.
the latter, the dealer usually depends on an allur-
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), " P R E S T O , " Chicago.
ingly low price in getting the attention of pros-
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the pects. The low price argument loses its appeal
Post Office, Chicago, 111., under Act of March 3, 1879.
when strictly new pianos of reasonable and
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1.25: Foreign, $4.
Payable in advance. No extra charge In United ^States nationally advertised prices and assured merit are
possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Rates for advertising on brought to the attention of prospective buyers
application.
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if of intrigued by the used-piano gambling proposi-
general interest to the music trade will be paid for at tion.
space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen in the
smaller cities are the best occasional correspondents, and
Realizing that the trend of the piano industry
their assistance is invited.
is for more quality and lower prices, Mr. Gul-
Payment is not accepted for matter printed in the edi-
torial or news columns of Presto-Times.
bransen says it is the manufacturer's part to en-
Where half-tones are made the actual cost of produc-
tion will be charged if of commercJal character or other able the dealer to conform to that course of busi-
than strictly news interest.
When electrotypes are sent for publication it is re- ness. It is only when instruments of greater
quested that their subjects and senders be carefully indi- quality and lower prices are put in competition
cated.
with the reconditioned used piano that the menace
Forms close at noon on Thursday. Late news matter
should be in not later than 11 o'clock on that day. Ad- of the latter will be minimized.
vertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, 6 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
PIANO ON THE RADIO
classification, should be in by Wednesday noon.
The Baldwin Piano Company has taken a
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South potent and modern means of promoting the
Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
piano and shows its progressiveness in arrang-
ing for the Baldwin program over eighteen
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1929.
stations of the National Broadcasting Com-
pany, beginning next Sunday, February 3. It
The last form of Presto-Times goes to press
is appropriate that distinguished artists will
at 11 a. m. Thursday. Any news transpiring
after that hour cannot be expected in the cur- be presented in the distinctive half hour of
rent issue. Nothing received at the office that music each Sunday evening, when the cause
is not strictly news of importance can have of the piano as an instrument for the home
attention after 9 a. m. on Thursday. If they will be served and the part of the piano in the
concern the interests of manufacturers or
production of fine music will be illustrated by
dealers such items will appear the week follow-
ing. Copy for advertising designed for the means of the Baldwin piano.
The piano as the most universal of all musi-
current issue must reach the office not later
f:han Wednesday noon of each week.
cal instruments will be properly presented in
the artistic scheme of the company, as dis-
closed by its advance programs. Mme. Maria
COMBATING USED PIANO SALES
Carreras, Walter Gieseking, and Richard Buh-
The used piano taken in trade has provided
lig are famous artists among the names on
an acute piano trade problem for many years,
the early announcements. The Baldwin piano
because it disturbed the stability of prices and
will accompany such famous violinists as
weakened the ethical sense of the retail piano
Sascha Jacobsen and such famous vocalists as
trade. In taking an old piano in part payment
Cyrena Van Gorden, prima donna of the Chi-
on a new piano, salesmen and dealers eager to
cago Civic. Opera Company.
close a deal, too often agree to a fictitious valu-
The cause of good piano music will be
ation on the old instrument. The accumulation
served by the "At the Baldwin" half hour of
of the used pianos taken in trade is an embar-
radio. The Baldwin Piano Company goes on
rassing reminder of lost legitimate profits. The
the air with a well-defined idea of making a
anxiety to get back the money represented by the
worth-while contribution to the creation of
antiques leads to a suicidal practice—offering the
good music, focusing attention particularly on
junk, in more or less reconditioned form, as reg-
the part the piano plays in the cultural joys
ular parts of the piano presentations.
of the family circle.
The conditions were bad enough when the used
It does not pay to let even the crank go
pianos taken in trade at ridiculous valuations
away without examining his proposition. The
were merely made the means to closing sales of
new pianos. But when the accumulated used thing itself may be valueless, but it may con-
tain the germ of an idea possible of great
pianos themselves became principal objects in
things. Nor can the careless or cranky ap-
piano dealers' sales, the vital necessity for a
pearance
of the visiting inventor be taken as
change in piano trade methods became apparent.
a
criterion
of the worth of his model. Everv-
It is a condition that affects piano manufacturer,
body is familiar with the story of Westing-
piano dealer and ultimate consumer.
National, state and local piano trade associa- house and his air-brake and the humiliating
tions have had the condition alluded to under con- turning down of other men who came to fac-
sideration at various times but no practical pre- tories with a valuable idea.
ventative ever was definitely prescribed. Indi-
vidual piano manufacturers and dealers have elo-
quently pointed out the suicidal action of dealers
who feature the used piano in their businesses.
The regrettable phase condemned, however, con-
tinues and becomes more marked and menacing
Piano business, like any other business, is the
way you make it. Through hard work on the
part of our entire organisation our business has
increased 10 per cent this year over our best
previous year.—B. K. Settergren, president of the
B. K. Settergren Co., Blujfton, Ind,
February 2, 1929
THIRTY YEARS AGO
(From The Presto, February 2, 1899.)
Two Henry F. Miller artists' grand pianos were
sent from Boston to be used at the first concert of
the Franklin County Musical Association at Green-
field, Mass., Thursday evening, January 15, 1899.
The concert proved an unusual success; great credit
was given to the soloists and to the large chorus
of seventy voices, and the Henry F. Miller pianos
shared in the general compliments.
Not to be outdone even in the matter of helping
their friends to "keep time," Kranich & Bach have
issued a beautiful calendar. It is hard to say which
of the many calendars that have come to The Presto
is most beautiful, but certainly none of them is more
attractive than the one designed to keep in mind
the splendor and beauty of the Kranich & Bach
pianos. It is fine enough for any parlor and, being
so handsome, it will be preserved.
Mrs. W. C. Penfield, the pioneer piano dealer of
Minneapolis, has sold her business at 516 Nicollet
avenue to Foster & Waldo, and will in a short time
retire from business
Whatever comes from the Everett Piano Company
is sure to be elegant and of most approved design.
Therefore, it is not surprising to receive a really
artistic calendar upon which, together with daintily
colored figure and flower-pieces, the only suggestion
of advertising are the words "The Everett Piano,"
modestly printed in the upper right-hand corner of
the card.
David H. Sanders, musician, critic and senior mem-
ber of the Baltimore firm of Sanders & Stayman,
whose death was announced last week, was well
known in musical circles all over the country.
At 3 a. m. last Monday a fire broke out that caused
over a quarter of a million dollars' loss to J. Rayner's
lumber and veneer yards, Morgan and Fulton streets,
Chicago.
The increased space- in the Steinert Building, which
the M. Steinert & Sons Company has devoted to its
several departments of their great Boston trade, is
the best evidence of the popularity of the house and
of its success. Nearly 60,000 square feet of floor
space, in three distinct buildings, are now occupied
by the Steinert Company in the music business, in
buildings which may be roughly estimated to have
cost in round numbers a million dollars.
The "Poole" piano continues to progress and to
extend its popularity. It is today one of the best
pianos in the trade with which to meet competition
and overcome it. It is a piano whose maker under-
stands just what the people want. And Mr. W. H.
Poole is just the man to supply a popular demand.
He has ideas and possesses the facilities for putting
them into practical effect.
The Schiller Piano Company has raised the wages
of a number of their employees, showing increased
prosperity.
G. H. Poppenberg, who has dealt in musical in-
struments in Buffalo, N. Y., for years, has moved
to a new and well-arranged store at No. 636 Main
street. Mr. Poppenberg announces that he is carry-
ing a larger stock than ever.
Messrs. M. Steinert & Sons Company of New
Haven, Conn., have secured as chief clerk in their
music department the services of Mr. Elmer E. Ran-
dall of Boston, who has for the past twenty-two years
been employed by the Oliver Ditson Publishing Com-
pany of Boston.
The "Weser" piano with the Orchestral Attach-
ment is a winner anywhere. The large scale "Weser"
uprights are imposing and also popular. Dealers
should see them.
Rudolf Dolge, special commissioner of the Na-
tional Association of Manufacturers, in charge of the
warehouse at Caracas, Venezuela, is in the United
States and can be addressed at the general offices of
the American Trade Association, The Bourse, Phil-
adelphia.
Frank D. Williams, the piano and organ dealer of
Sioux Falls, S. D., is proprietor of the Opera Music
Store.
(From the Export Supplement of February 2, 1899.)
El Senor D. Frank D. Abbott, editor de este peri-
odicosaldra de Chicago en la semana corriente para
un largo viaje en Mexico y demas poises Hispano-
Americanos en pro del arte e industria que repre-
senta nuestra publicacion.
El Senor Chas. H. Steinway, presidente de la Cia
Steinway e hijos de Nueva York, salio de esta ultima
ciudad para Europa la semana pasada, con el unico
objecto de visitar los establecimientos de su fima
en Hamburgo y Londres. Los negocios de Stein-
way e hijos, tanto interiores como el extranjero estan
actualmente en una situacion extroardinariamente
favorable.
Jose Leite desea a y un Ano Nuevo muy prospero
y Feliz.
Jose Mendes Leite Deseja a V. Sum anno novo
muito prospero e Feliz.
Para 1 de Janeiro de 1899.
^
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