Presto

January, 1932
PRESTO-TIMES
AN ENLIGHTENING COMMUNICATION
The following letter was duly received at Presto-
Times office soon after the last issue of this paper
appeared in which issue was published a photographic
group of piano manufacturers taken at Washington
during the piano manufacturers' convention held in
that city in May, 1899. The list of names given in
Presto-Times was quite incomplete but Mr. Fulton's
communication will enlighten our readers very much
in this list.
Letter from Oscar F. Fulton.
Editor of Presto-Times,
Chicago, Illinois.
Dear Sir: It seems to me, if I may say so, that
the few men you mention by name gives a very in-
complete roster of those who were present when
the photograph was taken at Washington, D. C, in
1899. You mention some of the big shots of that
day, but there were others present. Then again, in
order to keep the record clear, not all were piano
manufacturers. There was a liberal sprinkling of
retail dealers.
You mention by name Messrs. Owen, H. F. Miller,
A. H. Fischer, Handel Pond, Anders Holmstrom,
Bob Kammerer, Col. Conway, W. H. Poole, E. H.
Bill, W. E. Wheelock, P. H. Powers, Harry Frtund,
Gust. Anderson, Alexander Steinert, Win. Strich, F.
G. Smith, Jr., Henry L. Mason, Leopold Peck, C. H.
Parsons, Robt. Proddow, Myron F. Decker.
Here are some others whom you did not mention.
Above Fred Stieff and his son, George, is none other
than Charles Jacob. Charley sported a classy beard
then, and looked like a French count. But he had
more brains. Then, to the left, and just above, is
Henry Behr, a notable piano maker of that day.
Standing next to Mr. Behr is James Miller, a brother
of Henry. Above, to the left is Bill Burgess of the
Wegman Piano Co. The heart softens a little over
the memory of this grand old bon vivant. Next to
Mr. Wheelock on the extreme left, is Mr. "Charley"
(as we always called him) Stieff. Every traveler
who visited Baltimore, years ago, will remember with
affection this fine gentleman. To the left of Mr.
Stieff is Albert Haines, and above Mr. Haines is
J. C. White of Horace Waters. Standing at the side
of Mr. White is Edward Milton Boothe.
On the top row, w r here E. L. Bill stands, is Fred
Bauer, Chris. Garretson and Alec. Grimes. The be-
whiskered gent on the end of this top row may be
Frank Lee, but I am not sure.
On the extreme right, three rows from the top, is
a man of rare distinction in the annals of our trade.
I refer to James Ramsdell, of Philadelphia. As a
post-prandial speaker he delighted all who were priv-
ileged to listen to him. His banquet speeches were
scholarly, polished, and sparkled with unforced hu-
mor. Steffensen, the arctic explorer, who once heard
Mr. Ramsdell, afterwards made the comment that it
was the only after dinner speech that did not remind
him of a talking walrus.
The gentleman with a Napoleon I I I imperial, is
Levi Bertolette of Wilmington, Del. Mr. Bertolette
was at one time a city magistrate. When he retired
from the bench he became a member of Robeleti and
Co. He developed into a first rate piano man, and
always made it a point to attend conventions. Next
to Mr. Bertolette is Tasso Fischer, brother of A. H.,
but Henry Fischer, who performed prodgies on the
road for his firm, is not present.
You mention Henry L. Mason of Mason and Ham-
lin, but you pass by Mr. Mason of the Sterling Piano
Co. of Derby, Conn. In those days, the Sterling
was an outstanding piano, and the agency for it was
a real asset in a dealer's set up. If there were ever
Four Horsemen, in its popular application in the
piano business, I nominate Rufe Blake, Brooks, Ma-
son and Williams. Without spending a dollar for
national advertising, they placed the Sterling with
nearly every blue ribbon dealer in America. They
concentrated their advertising copy in the trade pa-
pers, and then induced the dealers to do their national
advertising in the daily newspapers.
To the right of Harry Freund is a man whose
name was very prominent in the trade at one time.
He is Chandler W T . Smith of Boston. He was a one
man better business bureau. The gyp advertisers
of Boston had been raising hob with legitimate deal-
ers, and Smith went after them with an impressive
degree of success. He put some of them in the
hoosegow. But it did not do any good. Smith is
now dead, and there are more gyps in Boston than
leaves of grass on his grave.
Standing above and to the right of Leopold Peck
is William Daliba Dutton. He was associated in
business with Mr. Peck. Sartorially impeccable, Mr.
Dutton's approach to a dealer gave that dealer some-
thing to think about, even before business was
broached. While a sound piano man whose busi-
ness acumen was seldom questioned, Mr. Dutton was
by avocation, an art connoisseur. His opinions were
authoritative. His particular flair was for paintings
MATHUSHEK
PIANO MFG. CO
Extend
their
best
wishes to readers of
Presto-Times and the
entire music trade
and trust that the
year 1932 may bring
them health, happi-
ness, and prosperity
MATHUSHEK
PIANO MFG. CO.
132nd St. and Alexander Ave
NEW YORK, N. Y.
Pacific Coast Representative
LOUIS F. GOELZLIN
138 McAllister Street
San Francisco, Cal.
Mid-Western Representative
BEN M. STRUB
of the Barbizon School. He could spot a Corot, a
Millet, a Daubigny or a Diaz as far as he could see
them. The signature of the artist was immaterial to
the identification. He was a member of the Phila-
delphia Art Club and his social position was in an
exclusive circle where only a few of us are privi-
leged to enter, except to tune the piano.
Print some more of these pictures. I enjoy mulling
over them.
Yours very truly,
OSCAR F. FULTON.
PAPER FOR CLARK ORCHESTRA ROLLS
The Clark Orchestra Roll Co., De Kalb, III., in
referring to the quality of paper necessary for the
making of first-Class music rolls, says that "the
largest paper mill in the world makes the paper for
Clark Orchestra Rolls. Good timber, pure, filtered
water and skilled hands result in a sheet superior to
other music roll papers. Clark rolls are made of
specially treated material which withstands all
weather and humidity changes and assures the pur-
chaser of continuosly good music.
Carload shipments are unloaded, carefully piled
in a constant temperature warehouse and used to
make Clark Orchestra Rolls the best automatic
piano music made."
By the way, the Clark Orchestra Roll Co. is issu-
ing an exceedingly interesting line of new music
rolls beginning with the new year. In this connec-
tion the Clark Orchestra Roll Co. give this advice
to establishments where electric instruments are used:
"You want maximum income from your electric
piano, you can get it only by playing Clark rolls
and changing rolls each week.
A PLEA FOR QUALITY.
Mr. Edwin Jarrett, of the Mehlin Piano Co., New-
York, a keen observer of piano trade conditions and
a "sticker" for better grade instruments, for real
musical qualities in pianos, sends us the following
clipping:
"The building of a piano can in no way be com-
pared with the manufacture of an ordinary piece of
furniture, as its value does not lie in its outer ap-
pearance, but in its innermost structure. In order
to give the instrument its determined measure of
worth; that is, its tone quality, that means by which
it speaks to the music loving public, and through
which it, by an unexplainable art, awakens deeply-
buried emotions in the soul of mankind—something
more is necessary than the mere knowledge of cab-
inet-making. If the instrument is to be more than
mediocre, then the piano maker must be an all-round
genius. He must have a fundamental knowledge of
all kindred subjects relating to the building thereof,
he must be painstaking and scrupulous, must possess
technical scientific talent as well as an unerring
musical sense, and last, but by no means least, must
combine true artistry in all of his work."
Adding to the clipping Mr. Jarrett makes these
comments:
"The above extract came under my notice recently.
1 think it is just about the Alpha and Omega, and
the final word of description of those qualities that
should guide and control the builder of pianos. This
man is not imaginary; I have met him and watched
his work. In fact I know two of 'em, and a few
more have passed on into the heaven of good piano
men who are master builders and craftsmen for
Art's sake. Some day when we' are sitting down
together I'll tell you about them. I know you will
be interested."
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/