PRESTO-TIMES
THE MUSIC TRADES AND INDUS-
TRIES AND THE N. I. R. ACT
Codes Accepted and Others Being
Prepared.
The Executive Committee of the National Piano
Manufacturers Association of America have been ac-
tively engaged of late in considering numerous mat-
ters that have demanded their attention, particularly
such relating to the National Industrial Recovery
Act, and its provisions as applied to the music indus-
try.
While many retail music houses of the country
have either accepted the President's general code or
found one more adaptable to retail business the manu-
facturers, as a whole, have been slower in formulat-
ing one entirely satisfactory to all. Many leading in-
dustries of the country have been able to proceed
in a satisfactory way but piano manufacturing has
been in such a condition: under such a strain during
the past few years that its revival must come about
in a way peculiar to this industry and in a trade great-
ly diversified in selling methods.
However, it is understood that the code prepared
will be submitted about August tenth.
In Chicago, where Presto-Times at this moment
is in more immediate contact, the leading deal-
ers, the retail music trade, has accepted its code.
Word just reaches Presto-Times office from North
Tonawanda, N. V., the factory town of the Rud.
Wurlitzer Mfg. Co. that the Rudolph Wurlitzer Com-
pany has signed the President's General Code as far
as the operation of its retail stores is concerned and
that, quoting from Mr. Farny Wurlitzer's announce-
ment, "The Wurlitzer Grand Piano Company and the
Rudolph Wurlitzer Mfg. Company will come under
the respective codes of the lines they are in and
just as soon as these codes are accepted at Washing-
ton they will both be operating under the respective
codes. Due to the variety of our products at North
Tonawanda, we will probably come under five dif-
ferent codes."
A message replying to our inquiry just received
from Mr. C. L. Farny, vice-president and general
manager of the Wurlitzer Grand Piano Co. at De
Kalb, 111., reiterates the statement of Mr. Wurlitzer
sent out from North Tonawanda and says that his
house will subscribe to the code soon to be sub-
mitted and that the De Kalb factory and office is
now working on a 40 hour basis and an increase in
factory pay of approximately 11 per cent.
Advices to Presto-Times from an occasional cor-
respondent at Cincinnati say that the Baldwin Piano
Company gives its hearty support to President
Roosevelt in his efforts to stimulate and restore in-
dustrial activity, but as no authority has come to this
office from Mr. Wulsin, the president of the Baldwin
Piano Co. or any of his officials, any definite state-
ment as to Baldwin accepting or signing a code for
any division of its business cannot be made here
at this time.
The trade must prepare for the inevitable increase
in prices just as the manufacturer is meeting the
new conditions that confront him in added cost of all
material and every component that enters into the
construction of instruments.
BECKER BROTHERS' ACTIVITY
The reliable and conservative house of Becker Bros.,
manufacturers of the Becker Bros, line of grand and
upright pianos at 52nd Street and 10th Avenue, New
York, is showing especial activity these days. They
are coming out within the next thirty clays with an
entirely new line of grands and holding to their most
popular uprights. An order for eight grands has just
been entered for the Amalgamated Broadcasting
Company of 501 Madison Avenue, New York City.
As most of our readers are aware, this is the busi-
ness headed by Ed Wyiin and associated with this
eminent humorist and radio favorite is Curtis Dall,
son-in-law of President Roosevelt, who is chairman
of the board of directors. Another very eminent gen-
tleman on the board of directors is Edsel Ford, of
Detroit, of the Ford motor interests. Undoubtedly
using the Becker pianos as intended this new broad-
casting company headed by Ed Wynn will let it be
known "over the air" that the Becker piano is the
instrument of their choice and the piano used in their
studios for all broadcasting purposes. This is cer-
tainly quite a "feather in the cap."
The various recitals, concerts, lectures and the like
l : sted at the Watkins Recital Hall owned and con-
trolled by the Watkius Music Company would indi-
cate that Watkins is the center of things musical at
Dallas, Texas.
W. J. Augustine, bond
has been interested in the music business in that lo-
cality for several years, has opened up a store under
his own name at 10 Soath Main street, that city.
July-August, 1933
THE APOLLO IN AMERICA
McMACKIN GETS MORE BUSINESS AND
SEES MORE COMING
The establishment of the Apollo piano in America;
the taking over of the name, patterns, scales, and
some of the case designs from Europe where the in-
strument had been manufactured for many years is
an interesting record in piano history.
As the story goes, Mr. Melville Clark, one of the
founders of the Story & Clark Company, Chicago,
who used to make frequent visits to Europe, became
acquainted with the Apollo piano and the men who
were making the instrument and marketing it over
there. He was on the lookout for a piano scale that
would meet his requirements of perfection; some-
thing that he believed might be better than anything
he could produce himself. In due time the Apollo
rights were secured and he gave the patterns and
scale drawings to a famous piano technician of
Europe, a gentleman noted as an expert scale drafts-
man, to study and to perfect where changes for the
better might be made.
So. when, in 1900, Mr. Clark established his piano
manufacturing business at Chicago, under the cor-
porate name Melville Clark Piano Company, he was
equipped with scale drawings, specifications and every-
thing necessary to aid him in producing the magnifi-
cent instrument which came from his establishment and
was placed on the market later on that year. I he
Apollo was then nurtured, so to speak, and brought
to a state of remarkable musical quality. Mr. Clark
kept on improving, as improvements coald be made,
so that when the plant was moved to DeKalb, Illi-
nois, seventy-live miles west of Chicago, in 1905 a
"glorious" instrument was on the market the "glorious
Apollo," and a business had been established which
covered not only every part of the United States but
many foreign countries as well.
Then, later on, when the Melville Clark corpora-
tion was taken over by the newly incorporated Apollo
Piano Company, Apollo business grew apace; certain
changes in finish and construction to conform to pres-
ent day conditions and American methods, as well as
in musical qualities, as far as possible to improve,
were made and, now, the Apollo is seen in its full
glory: a piano of delight; beautiful to hear, beautiful
to listen to, beautiful to play upon and beautiful in
appearance.
The following extract from the 1933 issue of the
BUYER'S GUIDE FOR AMERICAN PIANOS is
a condensed estimate of the Apollo piano of today:
"Through Mr. Clark's negotiations the Apollo was
brought to America and became the main spring in
Mr. Clark's piano manufacturing enterprise which he
established in Chicago in 1900. From that day to the
present time the Apollo has continued to increase in
popularity and no opportunity has been lost to im-
prove the instrument musically and in every way pos-
sible. * * * Mr. Clark brought to this country wood
carvers and piano workmen of the old school and he
was ameng the first in America to make popular the
smaller grand piano; the so-called baby grand. The
Apollo became a special favorite with artists and with
many musical societies and clubs and it has continued
to hold a large and constantly increasing clientele
among artists and amateurs."
The affiliation of the Apollo Piano Corporation with
Wurlitzer in production and marketing as a division
of the Wurlitzer plant at DeKalb will be found to be
an association of interest that will add to Apollo dis-
tribution. Active, representative dealers will find
Apollo representation an agency well worth securing;
a distributing center that means profitable business.
McMackin, the piano service man at Des Moines,
Iowa; the man who does piano key recovering, finish-
ing and polishing of piano keys, says that "trade is
getting better." He says in a recent communication
that the last writeup of his business in Presto-Times
brought him some good business. Mr. McMackin in
this same letter speaking of his specialties in piano
key work writes; "We have just installed a new de-
partment which is the introduction of a special whiten-
er for yellow ivory key boards. This process brings
them back to original whiteness and beauty and they
wear better than ivory. W r e have also perfected a
celluloid key by a certain process of refinishing that
changes it into synthetic ivory and has the looks and
feel of a number one white ivory. Every one who
has seen this on a keyboard has taken it to be an
ivory job. It requires about one hour to change and
process this job to a porcelain-like finish, so we call
it our POR-CE-LAK composition (synthetic ivory).
We expect a lot of jobs as we get this new process
before the dealers."
Mr. McMackin has an interesting price on piano
key work and it would be well to get in touch with
this practical and scientific key man of the piano
trade. Write him to 1710 Mondamiu avenue, Des
Moines, Iowa.
CHANGE OF CHICAGO CONN AGENCY
Lyon & Healy announce the consummation of their
agency for the C. G. Conn, Ltd. line of band and
orchestral instruments. This agency makes them ex-
clusive selling agents for Conn in the metropolitan
Chicago district. In announceing this Lyon & Healy,
say:
This event marks an additional step forward in our
plan to offer to the music-buying public of Chicago
and adjacent territory, the best quality and value
obtainable in merchandise offered by our various de-
partments. Conn instruments are used the world
over, and are the recognized leaders both in quality
and value.
PICK-UPS
The Treister Piano Co., Newark, N. J.. has been in-
corporated with capital stock of $100,000.
Fred S. Hilliard formerly of the Cable Piano Com-
pany store of Lansing. Michigan, is now associated
with an electrical supply house at Lansing.
Soriano's Music Store, has been incorporated at
\ T iles, Ohio with Philip Fusco, Mary F. Soriano, Isa-
bella Giuliano and P. N. Fusco as incorporators.
The newly acquired space of the Bissell Weisert
Piano Co., 540 North Michigan avenue, Chicago, on
the ground floor of that building gives them an op
portunity for more prominent display. They are mak-
ing good use of this newly acquired addition.
THUMB NAIL SKETCH OF A GREAT
MAN IN TEXAS
A correspondent at Dallas, Texas sends to Presto-
Times this "big little" story; a story of one of the
great dealers of the Lone Star State, Mr. Will A.
Watkin. of Dallas, whose business slogan reads
"Fifty Years in Texas." Here is the story:
"With a wealth of dreams and ideals, a young man
set forth from Kentucky and journeyed to Texas, in
the early autumn of 1882.
He came to a struggling western town, muddy un-
ordered, small, but filled with the unconquerable spirit
of progress. Here he established the W I L L A.
WATKIN COMPANY.
The ideals of the founder are tenaciously preserved.
Each year has seen them strengthened. The 50th
year in the history of the firm, shows it to be still in
control of the descendants of the founder, the oldest
and best Music House in North Texas. They guar-
antee their products against all defects in workman-
ship and materials."
A good many people in the music business find that
the Eighteenth Amendment proposition has already
helped their trade and particularly in the line of pianos
for amusement places, restaurants and the like.
Illl
Presto-Times Recommends
A Leading Music Print-
ing and Engraving
Establishment
Composers and arrangers of music, as
well as music publishing houses generally,
are interested in the mechanical produc-
tion and appearance of their composi-
tions and publications. So, it is quite
essential in placing musical compositions
on the market that first-class work be
done. First-class work, coupled with
liberal rates and prices, are essential
requisites in the production of sheet
music, music books, and other publications
of music.
In this connection Presto-Times takes
pleasure in referring parties interested in
placing music before the public, or ar-
rangers of music for bands and orches-
tras, to communicate with the great music
printing and engraving establishment of
Otto Zimmerman & Son, Cincinnati,
Ohio, America's leading house in this line
of work, whose advertisement appears on
another page of this issue.
The Headquarters of the Otto Zimmerman
Son Company are at Cincinnati, Ohio.
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/