Presto

July-August, 1934
ORIGIN AND EARLY DATA ON THE
CHICAGO PIANO AND ORGAN
ASSOCIATION
The Start and Activities on Through the Columbian
Exposition Period.
With a banquet of the Chicago Piano and Organ
Association scheduled for some time in October this
year to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its exist-
ence, a few lines about the formation of the associa-
tion and its early-day activities is interesting music
trade matter just now.
After the formation of the association in 1884 by
leading manufacturers and dealers of Chicago, when
I. N. Camp was selected as its first president, meet-
ings and "get-togethers" were not kept up very regu-
larly after about two years but in 1891 and 1892,
anticipating important affairs in musical matters and
the music trades and industries that would take place
during the World's Columbian Exposition, then close
at hand, the association was revived under lively con-
ditions.
Commenting upon the formation of an association
the Presto of February 14, 1891, said: "A short time
ago several prominent men of the Chicago Music
Trade were dining together when the question arose,
'why should not our little association he revived and
the entire music trade of the city join and have a good
big dinner of its own.' " Acting upon this proposition
I. N. Camp sent out a circular letter asking coopera-
tion of the trade in having a dinner to take place at
the Wellington Hotel Tuesday evening, February 10,
1891. Everyone was urged to come as "matters of
great importance to the trade would be discussed."
There were about fifty present at this first banquet;
43 regular Chicago dealers, the others guests. Among
them George F. Root, the eminent composer of war
songs.
Before the evening was over officers for a re-
juvenated association were named. I. N. Camp was
chosen president; E. S. Conway and E. A. Potter,
vice-presidents; H. D. Cable, treasurer, and at the
suggestion of Adam Schneider who had been the sec-
retary pro tern, of the meeting, that a permanent sec-
retary be selected. Robert B. Gregory was elected
secretary.
The music trade paper guests of the evening were
the Indicator, represented by O. L. Fox and C. B.
Harger, and The Presto, by Frank D. Abbott and
A. L. Ebbels. Thus the rehabilitated Chicago Piano
& Organ Association was set in motion under the
name Chicago Music Trade Association.
Another dinner was held in June that year and then
Saturday evening, November 15, at the Auditorium
Hotel was the third dinner of the reorganized asso-
ciation. There were thirty-two members present,
all of Chicago. The five special guests were seated
at the speakers' table: J. Frank Conover and Harry E.
Freund, of New York; M. A. Paulson of the Century
Piano Company, Minneapolis; Charles C. Sisson of
the Farrand & Votey Organ Company. Detroit, and
G. A. Campbell of the Knight-Campbell Music Com-
pany. Denver. Representatives of The Indicator and
The Presto were also guests of the association.
A set of by-laws was brought in for approval by
E. V. Church, chairman of the committee on organ-
ization. Articles one and two of these by-laws were:
Art. I. "The name of this association shall be The
Chicago Music Trade Association." Art. II. "The
object of the association shall be the cultivation of
more intimate social and business acquaintance among
the members thereof and discussions of general in-
terest in the music trade." Various and interesting
suggestions were made before the nine articles were
finally adopted.
The first dinner in 1892 was at the Grand Pacific
Hotel on February 18. Thirty-two members attended
this dinner and there were thirteen guests including
three music trade papers. The nominating committee,
E. V. Church, C. N. Post and Platt P. Gibbs, brought
in the following nominations for the ensuing year:
E. S. Conway, for president; P. J. Healy and G. K.
Barnes, vice-presidents; Charles H. MacDonald, sec-
retary; E. H. Story, treasurer.
The next dinner that year was on Juno 8 at the
Union League Club, and which, as President Con-
way announced, was entirely social and no business
whatever was to be introduced. His statement was
that, "Business questions are laid on the shelf." There
were forty-three members present, made up out of
twenty-two Chicago houses as follows: W. W. Kim-
ball Company (2), Story & Clark Company (3),
Pease Piano Company (3), Smith & Barnes Piano
Company (1), Estey & Camp (4). Lyon & Healy
(2), Chicago Music Company (1), Safford & Sons
(2), Conover Piano Company (1), Manufacturers
Piano Company (3 1 ), Chickering-Chase Bros. Com-
pany (1), Thompson Music Company (1), Newman
Bros. Company (1), J. O. Twichell (1), Steger Piano
Company (3), Root & Sons Music Company (3), A.
Reed & Sons (2), Freeborn G. Smith (1). S.
Brainard's Sons Company (2), Haines Bros. (1), Rice-
Macey Piano Company (1), Schaff Bros. (1), New
PRESTO-TIMES
England Piano Company (1). Columbian Organ Com-
pany (2).
There were lour out-of-town guests and three music
trade paper men at this "entirely social event."
The last dinner in 1892 took place at the Union
League Club the evening of November 23 and was
labeled a "Thanksgiving Feast." There were seventy-
one seated at the tables, a bakers dozen of which
were visitors and special guests.
The first dinner in 1893 was on Saturday evening,
February 18, at the Union League Club. It was an
event that presaged great activities and momentous
doings at the World's Columbian Exposition so near
at hand. At the speakers' table sat the officers of
the past year: E. S. Conway, I. N. Camp, E. H.
Story, C. H. MacDonald, P. j . Healy, G. K. Barnes.
At the two tables stretching out from either end of
the speakers' table, forming the letter "U," were the
regular association members and their guests; twenty-
seven members and over thirty guests of these mem-
bers, besides seven trade paper representatives; more
than seventy all together partaking of the dinner and
deliberations and entertainment. At this meeting the
following gentlemen were placed in nomination for
the ensuing year: president, C. N. Post; first and sec-
ond vice-presidents, J. O. Twitchell and George P.
Bent; secretary, Platt P. Gibbs, and treasurer, C. C.
Curtis, and all of these were unanimously elected.
Two special dinners, events of great importance,
followed this annual dinner of February 18th. The
first was at the Union League Club, Wednesday eve-
ning, June 7th, referred to at the time as "the most
important meeting since the organization of the as-
sociation." Many notable men of the music trades
and industries were there. The great leaders of the
Chicago trade and others from New York, Boston,
and Cincinnati helped to make it a great event. There
were pianists, composers, exposition officials, and
others in this group of notables.
Incidentally, during this season, an exclusive
"Columbian Exposition Music Trade Association" was
formed. W. Dalliba Dutton, who was in charge of
the Hardman Peck & Company exhibit at the Ex-
position, was the president and Ed. N. Camp, younger
son of Deacon I. N. Camp, was the secretary. Other
officers were P. J. Healy and E. S. Conway.
Then the last and most important gathering of the
year; the ninth dinner of the association was at
Kinsley's restaurant Saturday evening, October 14.
1893. Many noted visitors were there as also were
at the June 7th last meeting; among them, the Hon-
orable T. B. Bryan, World's Fair Commissioner; S.
H. Peabody, director of Liberal Arts; Dr. Florenz
Ziegfeld, and E. P. Carpenter, members of the Jury
of Awards of the Columbian Exposition; Emil Lieb-
ling and William H. Sherwood, John C. Haynes,
Ernest Knabe, Gen. Julius J. Estey, W. W. Kimball,
Otto Sutro, E. W. Furbush and George J. Dowling,
Albert Strauch, R. S. Howard, W. J. Gray, A. J.
Clemmer, L. W. Cook, W. N. Mclntyre, Major C. F.
Howes, C. G. Cheney, Daniel F. Treacy, Col. William
Moore, Hampton L. Story, Harry J. Raymore, R. M.
Summers and W. B. Stevens.
In his opening speech at this dinner President
Charles N. Post remarked that,
"Since our last meeting the financial panic has burst
upon the country in its greatest fury, and the music
trade has escaped none of its consequences. For the
past three months nearly all of our heretofore busy
manufactories have been silent, and our leading deal-
ers have been waiting for orders that did not come.
It has seemed .convenient to cross the street when
one's banker hove in sight, and the only meeting
necessary with that usually amiable gentleman was
to ask for a little larger line of discount, or to re-
quest him to extend that annoying piece of paper that
was due and should be taken up.
"I think it should be a matter of congratulation that
thus far such a small number of our craft have failed
to stem the tide of adversity, and that an industry-
having an invested capital of nearly a hundred and
fifty million dollars has suffered a loss of not over a
dozen firms, representing not to exceed two per cent
of the investment. In Chicago we have had but a
single failure that I now call to mind, and that a small
one. and from the present outlook, with business
slowly but surely returning, it is almost certain that
all will weather the storm."
Among those present at this gathering and the two
other dinners earlier this year, now living and "carry-
ing on," are the following names and their present
addresses so far as present information goes: Walter
S. Jenkins, now of Detroit; W. N. Van Matre, Rock-
ford and Lake Bluff, Illinois; E. H. Story. Pasadena,
California, and Louis Dederick, San Bruno, California;
Charles Stanley, Grand Haven, Michigan; F. G.
Smith, Jr., New York and California; James S. Gray,
Albany, N. Y.; A. M. Sweetland, South Bend, In-
diana; Charles Mehlin, Charles Jacob and Herman
Leonard, New York; H. L. Mason and A. M. Wright,
Boston; E. P. Carpenter, now residing in England;
Max Schiedmayer, Stuttgart, Germany; Mr. Grotrian
and M. F. Rachals, piano manufacturers of Brunswick,
Germany, who had displays; Albert Krell, Cincinnati,
Ohio; R. O. Burgess, recently residing in Texas;
and the following, now residents of Chicago: Harry
E. Fround, Will L. Bush, H. C. Dickinson, C. C. Rus-
sell. Plait P. Gibbs, George J. Dowling. E. B. Rart-
lett, Harry Schaaf, Adam Schneider, William M.
Bauer, C. N. Kimball, A. G. Gulbratiscn. Julius N.
Brown, F. D. Abbott.
No definite information is at hand in this connec-
titon concerning Ed. N. Cam]), Harry J. Raymore,
late carrying on business at a point on Long Island,
New York; Ion Arnold, who was with the Chicago
Cottage Organ Company; E. W. Furbush, late re-
siding at Hot Springs, Arkansas; W. C. Howland,
who went back to Boston, his former home, a few
years ago.
When Adam Schneider gets back to Chicago from
his summer vacation at Lake Beulah, Wisconsin, he
will be able to furnish the balance of the story of the
early activities of the Association and bring events
and official records down to the present day as Mr.
Schneider has these records so that the officers since
1900 can be named by him and probably will be in
the interesting story which he will be able to relate
at the October Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee Gather-
ing and Dinner when that interesting event is taking
place. Adam Schneider is the sage, mentor and wit
of the association as well as its treasurer everlasting
and oracle of ante and post helium days. So, of
course, he knows everything.
WAINWRIGHT AND PARTY VISIT CHICAGO
VV. E. \\ ainvvright, head of the Wainwright Music
Company, Marietta, Ohio, accompanied by Mrs. Wain-
wright and a party of friends and associates in busi-
ness, were Chicago visitors several days during July.
The party was on an outing trip and away from home
nearly two weeks. They visited the Furniture Mart
Show and A Century of Progress Exposition, alter-
nating these strenuous activities in calling upon
numerous friends in and about Chicago. Others in
the party besides Mr. and Mrs. Wainwright were
Miss Edna M. Gray and Mr. and Mrs. R. O. Sager.
Of the Century of Progress Exposition they consid-
ered it much better than last year and far more in-
teresting.
The Wainwright Music Company at the present
time is having a big "removal sale" in preparation for
occupying their new store some time during August.
This building is a large four-story brick structure
25x175 feet with stone front and large basement and
perfectly fitted to the Wainwright business. Tin-
building will house the new furniture department and
be their new music home. A large elevator has been
installed to accommodate several pianos and large
pieces of furniture. To use Mr. Wainwright's own
estimate of his new place of business is, quoting him,
"a one hundred per cent location and the building
and general equipment one of the finest in southern
Ohio. It is equipped with a modern steam heating
plant and is electrically wired throughout. There is
a loading platform in the rear and all in all it is just
about a perfect building for our growing furniture and
music business."
Probably an announcement will soon be made giv-
ing the date of a grand opening, an affair which
primises to be a memorable event.
It will be recalled that a disastrous fire occurred in
the old Wainwright building several weeks ago with
a loss of about $20,000, but fully covered by insur-
ance. Since the fire the Wainwright Company has
been using several shops temporarily and the new
building which they are now soon to occupy puts the
Wainwright Music Company again in first-class posi-
tion for carrying on business.
THE STEINWAY RELIC EXHIBIT
AT LYON & HEALY'S
The exhibit of notable old Steinway pianos at Lyon
& Healy's is a showing well worth visiting. Here
arc exhibited the first square piano made by Henry
E. Steinway, in the year 1833. It is a small instru-
ment of six-octave keyboard, rosewood veneer case,
and is surprisingly well preserved. Near this old
piano is the workbench of Henry E. Steinway which,
it is said, he used in Europe and afterward in the shop
and factory which he started after arriving in New
York City. There is also one of the first grands made
by Steinway & Sons, in 1857, and others in years
following. An exceedingly interesting piano in this
collection is the Paderewski piano and the Steinway
grand played by Paderewski on his first concert tour
in the United States the seasons of 1891 and 1892
Notwithstanding the forty-three years or more that
this notable piano has been in existence it would be an
ideal medium of interpretation for any piano virtuoso
today. The factory number of this Paderewski in-
strument is 71227, while today Steinway factory pro-
duction shows, probably, well along toward the 300,000
mark.
Robert Watkin, vice-president of Will A. Watkin
Company, is now vice-chairman of the committee of
Y. M. C. A. schools and educational interests at Dallas,
Texas.
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