August 15, 1929
ROBERT B. OSLUND IN
CHICAGO THIS WEEK
Spokane, Wash., Piano Man and Also Enter-
prising in Radio, Gets Cordial
Receptions.
Robert B. Oslund, head of the Oslund Piano House,
or Professor Oslnnd, as he is known. Spokane, Wash.,
is a Chicago visitor this week. Mr. Oslund has a
record for great work and big business in the line
of piano selling and his abilities have of late been
admitted in radio manufacturing circles.
On his way to Chicago, Mr. Oslund made stop-
overs at his birthplace and boyhood home, Cokato,
Minn; to his alma mater, Gustavus Adolphus Col-
lege, St. Peter, Minn; and Comfrey, Minn., where
he had made his start as a music teacher. The local
papers in all three towns spoke in glowing terms of
the return of their former citizen and congratulated
him upon his successful business ventures. While in
Cokato he visited his mother and his brother, S. P.
Oslund. and also his brother, Dr. Jno. E. Oslund, of
Yasa, Minn.
Some of Mr. Oslund's record sales and shipments
of pianos away from his home town and the sending
of radios by airplanes read like fairy tales, but are,
nevertheless, all true, and go to prove the enterprise
of this active dealer.
13
PRESTO-TIMES
the music of the folk who have been held in political
subjection, and that is probably why those who have
been held in social subjection find it so much to their
liking. It is natural that syncopation in an intense
form is found among all Slavic people and among
Hungarian provinces where gypsy life is an impor-
tant part of the life of the folk. It was for much
the same reason that syncopation became the natural
expression of the American Negroes and was used
bv them for their cake-walks and curious dances.
NEW BOOK SOURCE
OF INSPIRATION
Survey of the Various Industries of the Coun-
try Discloses the Position of Music Among
Workers and Prompts Progressive
Dealers to the Required Action.
The new publication of the National Bureau for
the Advancement of Music, "Music in Industry," is
the basis of comprehensive campaign to stimulate the
use of music in the various industries. The book is a
survey of the utilization of music in industrial plants
and big commercial houses and contains information
necessary to an aggressive drive for an extension of
the musical activities resulting in more musical in-
strument sales. The new book should be in the
hands of every progressive music dealer.
Fills Great Want.
Until recent years, there have been several phases
of the relation of music to human welfare in this
country concerning which there has been little
authentic data in a systematic, coordinated form.
Strangely, the Instrument Sailed Over the Well charted information on music in social service
has been, with a few exceptions, a minus quantity. It
Purchaser's Hotel 24 Hours Before
was not until 1925, for example, that there was avail-
She Bought It.
able any authoritative data as to what our city gov-
Mrs. Leila Jo Caughinan of Columbia, S. C, de- ernments were doing for music. That data was then
scribed as a "pretty music teacher," is the fortunate provided in a book on "Municipal Aid to Music in
possessor of the grand piano which was brought over America," containing the findings in a survey made
on the recent transatlantic trip of the Graf Zeppelin, by the National Bureau for the Advancement of
which landed at Lakehurst, N. J., Sunday, August 5. Music.
Only slightly less meagre had been the assembled
The story which reaches Presto-Times says of the
incident of the purchase of the piano that Mrs. Caugh- facts on music among industrial workers, until the
man, who was in New York at the time, "was appearance of "Music in Industry," a book contain-
leaning out of the window of her hotel that evening ing a compendium of the results of another survey
to determine the cause of the unsual sounds in the made by the same bureau. It remedies a deficiency
air. Mrs. Caughman saw the great ship sailing ma- that has been felt ever since the boom in employee
jestically over her hotel. Little did she realize that music-making which was one of the phenomena of
inside that splendid silvery body swung a grand piano the World War. During the intervening period, and
—the first to cross the Atlantic via the air route— following a slight slump immediately after the war,
and that within 24 hours this historic instrument there has been a less sensational but steady develop-
would be hers! Such are the strange tricks chance ment of industrial music which has now reached the
impressive proportions recorded in this book. The
plays on humanity."
author of the book is Kenneth S. Clark.
" 'The next day,' said Mrs. Caughman, in telling
Some Interesting Facts.
the story, 'I picked up a newspaper to read about
the Zeppelin, and at the same time saw the adver-
After chronicling a few of the current manifesta-
tisement of the piano which had been brought over tions of industrial music in other lands, Mr. Clark
on this ship..' "
points out some of the high spots revealed by the
Mrs. Caughman took the piano to her home in survey in this country. For instance, the railroads
Columbia, S. C , feeling very proud of being the lead the van as to the number of operations from
which musical activities are reported. Their total of
purchaser of the instrument.
115 operations is approached most closely by that of
the department stores, which is 89. This one group,
MASON SPEECH IN BOOKLET.
Last December in Cleveland, Ohio, Henry L. Ma- however, would be outdistanced by the manufacturers
of various kinds, if their joint total of 107 plants
son, president of Mason & Hamlin Company of
Boston, delivered an address before the Music were to be admitted as qualifying. As to the favorite
Teachers National Association, entitled "How Has activities among these and other classes of industry,
the Pianoforte as an Instrument Developed Since the author shows bands to be in the majority among
1876?" The address was of such great interest and the railroads, and choral work with the department
is so instructive that it has been reprinted in booklet stores.
form. Mr. Mason states that he will be glad to send
a copy to any music merchant in Ohio who may
request it. His address is 18 Station Street, Boston,
Mass.
Attention is called to the Schumann Piano Com-
pany's advertisement covering the back page of this
LUDWIG SUPER-SENSITIVE DRUM.
issue of Presto-Times. It is more than an ad.; it
Ludwig & Ludwig. drum manufacturers, 1611 North calls attention to what has been done through the
Lincoln street, Chicago, have this to say about their years by building one excellent product, with one
new drum, called the Super-Sensitive: "This new splendid name and persistent striving to improve its
drum responds to the lightest tap of your stick or to handiwork so as to make it more and more worthy
the heaviest fortissimo roll with the same tone qual- of that name.
ity throughout. The Super-Sensitive is proving our
claims in the hands of drummers everywhere. The
variety of effects it makes possible; its tone control—
Presto-Times acknowledges the receipt of a 64-
no ring whatever; its easy speaking snares; and its page issue of the Paris Morning News, Paris, Tex., of
snappy tone are winning scores of friends daily."
the date of Sunday, July 28. It is the sixtieth anniver-
sary number of the paper and is a convincing proof
of the adage, "Westward the star of empire takes
GYPSY LIFE AND SYNCOPATION.
Travel by automobile and summer camping parties its wav."
has brought the people nearer to nature and to that
gypsy life for which so many persons long when
TOO LATE TO BE CLASSIFIED.
nature is at its balmiest. Northerners who are housed
WANTS CARLOADS OF PIANOS.
to death for so many cold months take to the road
established piano company in the middle west is
and gladly exchange their formal modes of living for An old
in the market for a few carloads of attractive, used
hot-dog-stand methods of eating and listen to jazz
straight and player pianos. We might also consider
a quantity of new instruments at clean-up prices.
for a change. The fascinating accent of the short
Address J. K. L., care Presto-Times, giving descrip-
beat is found in its most highly developed state in
tion and prices of what you have to offer.
A New
UPHOLSTERED
BENCH
for
Radios
Midget Uprights
and
Small Grands
BOUGHT PIANO THAT
CAME OVER IN ZEPPIUN
SCHUMANN, A GREAT PIANO
Without Music Compartment
is The Tonkbench Shop's
answer to the demand for a correctly
proportioned bench, for small, low*
keyboard pianos.
It is 18 inches high.
The top size is 12 inches by 23 inches.
The standard finishes for the base are
Mahogany and Walnut but these benches
may be ordered unfinished, for painting
or lacquering in colors.
The upholstered tops are offered in Red,
Green, Blue, Brown or Taupe—Figured
Velours.
Originally designed as a Radio Bench,
this model has attained unusual popu-
larity; not only in the Radio Field but
in its new role as a bench, which in style,
proportion, comfort and color-harmony,
matches perfectly the new ideas in small
piano construction and decoration.
In ordering specify
No. 42'/ 2
Mahogany, Walnut or Unfinished
Red, Blue, Brown or Taupe Tops.
As the shipping weight of this bench is
only 12 pounds, we suggest ordering in
lots of 12 or including other benches in
order to take full advantage of the 100-
pound minimum freight rate.
ring
my
1912 Lewis St.
CHICAGO
LOS ANGELES BRANCH
4627 East 50th St.,
Los Angeles, Calif.
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