March, 1932
pliment the establishment on the valued service it
renders the people."
George Ramsey's Music House, at Pella, Iowa, has
moved to a location adjoining the Pella Motor Garage.
A noted character who was identified with a man-
ufacturer of stringed instruments, Mr. Joseph Ke-
kuku, passed away last month at Dover, N. J., at the
age of 57. Mr. Kekuku is said to be the originator
of the Hawaiian steel guitar and was an internation-
ally known vaudeville actor.
The Oscar Tellison Music Store, noted in the daily
papers as having gone into bankruptcy at Chicago,
111.; the location of this concern should be Aurora,
111., and not Chicago.
H. S. Wright of Wausau, Wise, has purchased the
derringer Music Store at Marshfield, Wise, and will
take charge of same himself, while his son. Dewey
Wright, will manage the Wright Music Company
store at Wausau.
John Turner, Miami, Fla., in advertising the Bald-
win piano names a long list of well-known families
to whom he has sold with a heading, "List of Dis-
tinguished Patrons Reads Like a Social Register."
The Bevan Piano Company, 100 South Main street,
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has been carrying on a special
sales under the heading, "Auction," at which pianos,
radios, washing machines and band instruments were
offered.
The Knight-Campbell Music Company branch store
at Trinidad, Colo., is now located in its new store on
East Main street, that city. The Trinidad store is
under the management of Harold J. Reed.
George M. Cline, who for several years had been
connected with the music house of A. Hospe Com-
pany, Omaha, prior to severing his connection with
the linn a few years ago, is now back on his old job
as manager of the piano department of the Hospe
Company.
The Jenkins Music Company has recently opened
a branch store at Holdenville, Okla., which is re-
garded as an excellent location for another Jenkins
branch. Mr. Wyatt Scott will have charge of the
new store. The Holdenville store, like all Jenkins
stores, will carry the Steinway as its leader and re-
cently the Lancaster piano, from the Settergren fac-
tory at Bluffton, Ind.. has been added.
The Wurlitzer Stores at Cincinnati, Ohio, are push-
ing in their advertising the Melville Clark piano, one
of the units in the product of the Wurlitzer factories
at De Kail). 111.
The Frederickson-Kroh Music Company, Okla-
homa City, Okla., are making a special run on the
Chickering, Knabe and Fisher pianos. This house
also is the agency in that section of the Mason &
llamlin and the Kimball pianos.
The Crawford-Willette Music Co., Rhinelander.
Wise, is now established in its new location brought
about by the destruction of their store some weeks
ago.
The Robelen Piano Company, 710 Market street,
Wilmington. Del., head their Mason & Hamlin dis-
play advertisement in the Wilmington papers: "The
Finest Piano in the W r orld."
The Boone Music Store at Estherville, Iowa, has
added sheet music to its regular line of musical in-
struments.
The Howard Corporation, listed as at 134 South La
Salle street, Chicago, which is the office of their attor-
neys, has been incorporated with a capital stock of
$200.(100 preferred stock and 3,000 shares of non-par
value common stock, to carry on a general radio and
electrical business.
Mrs. G. H. Findlay has opened a music store for
the sale of sheet music, musical merchandise, etc., in
Spencer"s Harmony Hall, 15 South Dubuque street.
Iowa City. Iowa.
The Benedict Piano Company's store at Shenan-
doah, Iowa, has been enlarged and rearranged for
additional lines of goods. The business is now man-
aged by Mrs. W. W. Benedict.
Pearson's Music Store. La Grange. 111., is now lo-
cated in its own building at 36 West Calendar avenue.
This was the original location of the Pearson Music
Company and are now back to their former home.
The Salida Music Store, at Salida, Colo., is now
ready for a special sale of damaged goods caused by
a broken water pipe.
11
PRESTO-TIMES
Campbell Music Company at Pueblo, Colo., has re-
signed intending to engage in another line of busi-
ness.
Elmer McCabe, who has been engaged in the
music business in Middleton, Ohio, for several years
past, has joined the Finley Davidson Music Company
of that city. Speaking of this change, Mr. Davidson,
manager of the company, says: "The addition of
Mr. McCabe to our sales force makes it possible for
us to better care for the prospective purchasers of
pianos, radios and small instruments. Mr. McCabe's
years of experience and intimate knowledge of musi-
cal instruments should make him a valuable addition
to our organization."
A SATISFACTORY SALE "ON A DIME"
DEPOSIT
"I was just passing your display window," he ex-
plained to the salesman in the wareroom of the Story
& Clark Piano Company, "and as I am about to be
married, I am interested in purchasing a piano for
my home." The not overly impressed salesman pro-
ceeded to show his prospective customer the line of
pianos then manufactured, and soon a mutual feeling
of friendship arose between the two men. "I am not
favored with a great deal of money," explained the
would-be purchaser, whereupon the salesman assured
The Harding & Miller Music Co., 518 Main street, him that his credit was good for the purchase of any-
Evansville, Ind., known as "The House for Every- thing in the house. "Yes, but at the moment all that
thing Musical," says in its late advertising matter: I have with me is one dime," continued the stranger.
"A piano in the home is the tie that binds together
It w y as arranged that the dime be accepted as de-
the members of the family."
posit, the purchase contract was drawn and the piano
The Wurlitzer Music Store at Dayton, Ohio, had was delivered. The payments soon followed with
a "Red Tag Day" last Saturday which is an annual calendar regularity and the salesman to this day
speaks of the transaction as one of the "cleanest" and
event at the Dayton store.
best sales that he ever made. The customer, who has
The Pearson Piano Company, Indianapolis, Ind., since become a very prominent divine, still has the
known as one of the leading music houses of the piano and often speaks of how he purchased it "on
country, is advertising the Wegman Art model piano, a dime."
one of the Settergren line of instruments. The Indian-
The purpose of this little tale is not to urge piano
apolis "Star" recently published a handsome illustra-
manufacturers to sell their pianos "on a dime," but
tion of the new Wegman Art model.
it does illustrate the advantages of correctly placed
In the Cable Piano Company's daily paper display confidence. It seems that present-day credit men and
advertising at Minneapolis the Lancaster piano is personnel men might well take lessons from this
placed as one of the instruments to which they, as master analyzer of character of many years ago.
they announce, they invite "the critical buyer who
buys with discrimination and judgment, to see what
A REAL PIANO SALES STORY
this sale has to offer them."
Piano sales stories, stories of easy sales and hard,
The Dahners-Tavis Music Company, Bismarck, X.
Dak., has moved to its location in the Nicola Build- sales, and all kinds of sales, are interesting to the
ing at Fifth avenue and Broadway, that city. They average piano man. Some of them are easy, some
sell the Majestic radios, a line of pianos, and Frigid- are difficult, and some experiences result in no sale
aire products.
at all.
Al G. Farquharson, secretary of the Radio and
An interesting one is told by Mr. Klock of the Pub-
Music Trades Association of Southern California,
licity
Department of Lyon & Healy. The incident he
with headquarters at Los Angeles, is announcing a
relates is of the sale of a Steinway piano in the Lyon
forthcoming convention of dealers. Mr. Farquhar-
son declares that in order to get results from meet-
& Healy warerooms.
ings of dealers it is absolutely essential that the at-
A plainly dressed woman presented herself to the
tendance be 90 to 100 per cent and that those attend-
piano section and asked to be shown some of their
ing be principals or executives with authority to de- pianos. The salesman, in sizing up his prospect, fig-
clare the policy of their respective houses.
ured that the woman would be most interested in a mod-
The western representative for the Mathushek erate priced upright, but was quickly informed that
piano, Mr. Ben Strub, whose successes are often re- she wanted a grand, when he led her to the upright
ferred to in Presto-Times, reported an excellent busi- section. After showing her a few of the grands the
ness through 1931 and so far this year having made salesman was greatly surprised when the woman
many new and valuable contacts and establishing per- pointed to a fine Steinway and said that she would
manent and profitable agencies. Handling a fine line take that one. He then asked her as to the amount
of instruments, as he does, he is much encouraged she would pay down and the terms she would desire
for the year 1932, which so far has come along satis- for the balance. Imagine the salesman's surprise
factorily.
when his customer said that she did not want any
Of four fire alarms within an hour at St. Charles, terms and that she would pay cash, whereupon she
111., the Globe Music Company, located in the east produced two thousand dollars in one hundred and
end of that city, was the second, but the loss in the five hundred dollar bills and asked for a receipt in
full. Naturally the salesman was interested in such
blaze was not great.
Spratt Music Company, Inc., has started business an unusual transaction and inquired, "How comes it?"
The lady explained that she was chary of putting her
at 695 Madison avenue, Toledo, Ohio.
savings in a bank and felt that the best investment
The Durden Bros. Music Co. of Athens, Ga., has she could make would be the purchase of a piano
opened a store at 56 Pryor St., N. E., Atlanta, Ga. which would be a blessing and delight to herself, her
C. Durden will locate in Atlanta and manage the children, and the children's children. To put her de-
business there.
cision in her own words: "If I put this money in a
piano, not only myself but my children's children can
enjoy it." From an investment standpoint she could
STRONG BACKING FOR JESSE FRENCH
not have made a more wise decision.
PIANO
The Aeolian Company, from its Olive street store.
St. Louis, Mo., is doing some special advertising on
the Jesse French grand piano, an instrument which MARION MUSIC COMPANY HAS AN INTER-
ESTING NUNNS & CLARK ON
they qualify in this language:
EXHIBITION
"There is no question as to the quality and stand-
The Marion Music Company, Indianapolis, Ind..
ing of the Jesse French as one of the world's most
dependable instruments . . . many thousands are in has on display at its salesrooms an interesting old
the finer St. Louis homes. For more than 57 years square piano made by Nunns & Clark over a hundred
Jesse French pianos have been made under the super- years ago. It is a six octave instrument (73 keys)
vision of the Jesse French family . . . they are abso- and it bears a comparatively low number, indicating
a rather early period of manufacture.
lutely guaranteed by Jesse French and by us."
NEW MUSIC TRANSCRIBING MACHINE
Presto-Times is in receipt of a communication from
the manufacturers of a new music writing machine
manufactured at Slikkerveer, near Rotterdam, Hol-
land. The name of the firm is "Klavarskribo, Ltd."
Mrs. Nevada Benson of Tulsa, Okla., is the owner Persons interested in securing rights or purchasing
of three old and valuable violins, bearing the inscrip- machines for transcribing music as played by the
tion of Jacobus Stainer, Nikolaus Amatus and An- former at the keyboard of the piano may get full
tonius Stradivarius.
particulars by writing the manufacturers as named
P. L. Parker of Dallas, Tex., has opened a music above.
salesroom at 114 East Wall street, F"ort Scott, Kan.
The Weidelman Music Company of Calumet. Mich., STURGEON BAY WANTS A MUSIC STORE
has opened a store in Manistique, Mich., at the corner
The one and only music store at Sturgeon Bay,
of Fifth and Oak streets, that city.
Wis., the establishment of W^m. Feuerstein, has dis-
Harry Mitchell, who has been engaged in the music continued business. A correspondent says a music
business for upwards of thirty years and for the last store at Sturgeon Bay will be missed and it is hoped
fifteen years has been the manager of the Knight- another one will open.
MR. LEONARD'S PRESENT ADDRESS
The present address of Hermann Leonard, former
piano supply man and bon vivant in music trade cir-
cles generally, is at Hotel Park Plaza, 50 West 77th
street, New York, N. Y. Mr. Leonard's former resi-
dence was in 78th street, but since the first of the
year has been at the Park Plaza Hotel, as above
stated.
R. B. WAITE'S NEW ADDRESS
Ralph B. W'aite, who for many years has been iden-
tified with music trade interests of Chicago and else-
where, has issued a card which reads as follows:
"Ralph B. Waite desires to announce his new loca-
tion at 120 South La Salle street, Chicago, where
he would like to see or hear from his friends, clients
and customers."
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