Presto

Nov.-Dec, 1934
three leaders have become famous and brought to
world-wide attention through radio broadcasting as
going on today. And, while only a few years ago
neither one of them received over "fifty per,"' their
present salaries will reach many times the pay of
those days. However, broadcasting has brought out
talent which formerly was ly^ng dormant and un-
known.
* * *
The late H. C. Dickinson, who passed away only
a few days ago at his winter home in Florida, was a
man so true and efficient, so faithful to the interests
of every trust and duty imposed upon him that he
was cherished by every one with whom he came
in contact, and through these estimable traits in char-
acter he rose to the highest station in the life and
existence of his interests and business career.
* * *
Contrary to radio manufacturers generally and
others the Phijco company name their product as "a
musical instrument." The radio is an instrument
through which music passes, but it could hardly be
called a maker or producer of music. It transfers
music originating somewhere e'se than in the radio
instrument, delivering it to listeners. This seems to
be the purpose and extent of the radio as "a musical
instrument."
* * *
Liquidation of business in the radio manufacturing
field, which has been going on for some time past,
indicates that the troubles for the manufacturers in
this line of industry have been even more severe than
in the piano and general musical instrument business.
But while the number of radio factories is now limited
to comparatively few, nevertheless the scores of radio
selling places scattered here and there, pell-mell and
almost everywhere, indicates the vast quantities in
receiving set units are turned out by these few fac-
tories making a very large output in units centered in
the few factories but at cut-throat prices which may
indicate further liquidation.
Buffalo seemed for many years destined to become
super-important as a manufacturing center for pianos
and other production allied to the music industries
The Kurtzmann piano manufacturing enterprise held
sway there a long time and the recent purchase of
Kurtzmann by Wurlitzer interests indicates that the
long established trade in Kurtzmann pianos through-
out the country will be cultivated assiduously by the
new owners. Several years after Louis Kurtzmann,
son of the founder of the business, severed his con-
nection with C. Kurtzmann & Company he tried to
get back into piano manufacturing. He secured a
controlling interest in a piano factory at Brockport.
New York, but that venture was not successful and
he again confined his activities to the retail business.
In July, 1890, Staderman & Fox bought the Buffalo
Piano Manufacturing Company, a concern which had
been started a few years before, but they, too, gave
up before they were fairly under way. Then came
the Chase & Baker outfit to manufacture player-
pianos and attachments for mechanical piano playing.
This business ended long before the decline of the
player-piano. In the days of reed organ manufactur-
ing George A. Prince & Company was one of the
leading concerns, a business which did much to ad-
vertise Buffalo.
Today the fame and glory of this Buffalo-Niagara
district in musical instrument production is centered
in the Wurlitzer group of factories at North Tona-
wanda, about midway between Buffalo and Niagara
Falls, where are grouped in harmonious array the
piano factories, the pipe organ and grand organ build-
ing plant and the various smaller shops, studios,
laboratories and the like for the production of the
other instruments made by Wurlitzer.
The output of the Wurlitzer piano factories at
De Kalb, 111., has shown steady increases month by
month for a considerable length of time. September,
for instance, made the remarkable showing of 100
per cent over September of 1933 and October a like
increase over a year ago. November continued the
improvement. Sales in the Wurlitzer stores through-
out the country have been showing very great per-
centages of increase this year as over a year ago and
the piano departments in the Wurlitzer stores have
exceeded in sales all other lines.
The late William A. Eisenbrandt, who was presi-
dent of the music house bearing his name at Balti-
more, Md., became president of this business over
lifty years ago. The house of Eisenbrandt W;H
founded in 1812 by his grandfather, Christian H.
Eisenbrandt, and has remained in the Eisenbrandt
family ever since its establishment.
The new home of the Stuber Terry Piano Company
at 83 Monroe street, Memphis, Tenn., is said to be
one of the finest music houses in the West. The build-
ing, furnishings and entire outfit have been entirely
remodeled and Memphis now has a new music estab-
lishment rated as second to none in the country.
PRESTO-TIMES
MUSIC TRADE PICK-UPS
Mr. Grosvenor, who was replaced as head of the
piano department of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Com-
pany's Chicago store by J. M. Daugherty, has located
in New York City where he formerly resided and
where he has many acquaintances. Mr. Daugherty,
the new manager of the piano department, has been
with the Wurlitzer Chicago store for a long time and
more recently was head of the collection division in
which department he won the W'urlitzer national con-
test prize put on among the non-production help ot
the Wurlitzer Chicago store. More recently Mr.
Daugherty has been doing some excellent piano work.
He is a tireless worker and an upright and honest
piano salesman. Mr. Daugherty was in charge of
the Cleveland Rudolph Wurlitzer store for about two
years.
A piano tuner at Fort Worth, Texas, Mr. Price
Kiker shows himself to be a genius in other ways
than in piano tuning, having invented a unique clock
considerably different and more elaborate than the
several other clock inventions that have been invented
from tune to time, a clock which tells not only the
time of day but the day of the week, the month and
the phases of the moon. The clock works with such
accuracy that it is calculated it will not vary more
than a day in forty-eight years. As the story goes,
Mr. Kiker spent five-years in figuring out the plan
for the many-units timepiece but required only about
five days to put it together and complete the job.
The present proprietors of the Bush & Lane Piano
Company, Holland, Mich., C. L. Beach and William F.
Clevey, are pleased by the success of the new Bush &
Lane product and the trade which has been coming
to them largely from former dealers who handle the
Bush & Lane products. Speaking of their new instru-
ments Mr. Beach says: "We are offering beautiful in-
struments both in appearance and from the standpoint
of musical quality."
J. H. Everett is a well-recommended piano tuner
and repairer whose headquarters are now at Bulls
(jap, Tenn. He is a graduate in piano tuning and
repairing and has most excellent recommendations in
New York City and other important centers where
he has studied and received instruction.
The H. C. Schultz Company has been incorporated
for business at 452 East Lafayette street, Detroit.
Capital stock, $5,000.
A new Jenkins Music Store is being opened at 211
East Cleveland avenue, Ponca City, Oklahoma, with
I\. L. McCormick as manager, who comes to Ponca
from Wichita, Kansas, where he was associated with
the Jenkins house for about twelve years.
Wayne Middleton has leased a store in the Princess
Theater building. Eagle Grove, Iowa, where he will
carry on a general music business.
Mayme Jardine, who had been in business at Red
Oak, Iowa, for a dozen years or more, has located
in Omaha and given up her store at Red Oak.
H. K. Deere, who formerly resided at Sherman,
Montana, has established a piano and radio business
at 310 East 11th street. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Mr.
Deere worked at the Steger Piano Factory several
years ago and is well fitted to carry on a successful
piano business.
The Carmi Music Shop, Carmi. Illinois, has taken
space in the Neeley Bros, store on Main street in
that city where it has a more advantageous location
for business than its former location.
The Halle Bros. Company, Cleveland, Ohio, refers
to one of its agencies, the Story & Clark, as a piano
that "for years has had an enviable reputation for
durability and dependability."
Herman Daniels, recently appointed supervisor of
music in the Hempstead and Freeport schools, Long
Island, is an accomplished violinist and teacher. He
was a pupil of the late Leopold Auer and he is a
member of the Nassau Philharmonic Orchestra.
Cluett & Sons, Steinway representatives, from their
Albany, New York, store say in their advertising that
"a musical education is just as important to your child
as his A. B. C's."
E. C. Whipple has returned to the employ of the
Grinnell Bros, and resumed management of the Ann
Arbor, Mich., branch store. Mr. Whipple has been
with the Grinnell organization for nearly thirty years.
At one time he had charge of the Chatham, Ontario,
Canada, store.
A school for violin making has been started by
L. F. Geiger at 14 East Jackson boulevard, Room
1209, Lytton building, Chicago. Instruction is in-
tended for musicians and amateur craftsmen who wish
to learn of the workmanship required in making
violins.
The Dover Music House, Hancock, Michigan, has
been organized with a paid in capital stock of $5,000
The W. W. Kimball Chicago store announce their
present "clearance sale" as the "greatest month-end
clearance sale during our seventy-seven years."
Jack Campbell, who recently took charge of the
Wurlitzer Conservatory of Music at Youngstown,
Ohio, has had an extensive experience in the music
business, having been store manager in Philadelph.a
and salesman in Boston, New York and Cincinnati.
Mr. Campbell had been formerly associated with the
Youngstown store.
The Grinnell Bros.' Toledo, Ohio, store carried on
a removal sale for quite a while. The Grinnell Bros,
are leaving their location at 603-605 Adams street
for a new and enlarged store, a condition which brings
about a "mammoth removal sale."
The Van Zeeland Music Store has been opened in
the Bayergeon building, West Wisconsin avenue, Ap-
pleton, Wis.
Roanoke's (Va.) newest music store, which has been
opened at 416 Second street, S. VV., and is known as
Melody Haven, Inc., is under the management of
Charles A. Rowe.
Clyde Knapp is now the manager of the Chillicothe
store of the Summers & Sons Music Co.
F. E. McArthur, who has been well known in the
piano trade for a long time, passed away at St. Peters-
burg, Fla., recently. Mr. McArthur had been engaged
in the music business at Nashville, Tenn., for a long'
time.
The top floor of the building at 723 East 136th
street. New York, has been leased to Imperial In-
dustrial Corporation, music roll manufacturers of thar
city.
Mrs. F. B. Ingram, noted in musical circles of
Texas and who passed away at Dallas recently, was
the daughter of the late Will A. Watkin and a sister
of Robert N. Watkin, now head of the Watkin Music
House. The deceased was a prominent musician and
prominent in many musical activities.
In a Reorganization Sale of the B. W. Kauffman
& Sons Music Store, Bellefonte, Pa., a Kurtzmann
player piano is advertised at the "special" price of
$249.50, a price that speaks well for Kurtzmann qual-
ity.
Lon Frederick Stafford & Company, Inc., is the
name of a new music business started at 211 Slocum
avenue, Syracuse, N. Y.
The Grinnell Bros. Music House at Grand Rapids,
Michigan, has changed location moving to the four-
story building at 204 Monroe Avenue, that city.
George O. Thain Music House at Fort Wayne.
Indiana, has added an extensive line of sheet music
and musical publications generally. They will carry
a full line of the Carl Fischer, G. Schirmer and
Theodore Presser publications.
J. P. Collins, dealer in re-made pianos, 100 Summer
St., Boston, Mass., says that a properly "re-made
piano is the nearest thing you can buy to a new in-
strument."
Click's Furniture Store, Columbus, Ohio, solicits
old pianos in exchange for furniture, rugs, etc. It is
said that this store makes some good deals in this
way of trading by putting the trade-in-pianos, mostly
uprights, in good salable condition.
INTERESTING PIANO TRUCK
STORY
The Self Lifting Piano Truck Company of Findlay,
Ohio, recently sent out a circular letter to the trade in
general and to their former customers in particular,
making an interesting proposition to them. Here-
with are extracts from that circular letter to the trade
which is addressed to "Any Old Piano Customer,
Any Place in the World."
Gentlemen:
Do you have the oldest Self Lifting Piano Truck in
service? If you have we will give you a new one with-
out charge. Send the number to us. The oldest trucks
in service reported by January 1, 1935, will receive
the latest model of that style truck.
If your trucks are badly worn, send them to us, we
will give you an estimate on the cost of complete
overhauling. We give two-day service on repairing
Look for the number on your oldest trucks and at
the same time make a note of the repairs you need.
Is your truck the oldest truck in service?
Trade has been satisfactory with the Self Lifting
Piano Truck Company for several months past, and
with their various new models and equipment they
find considerable activity. An interesting letter was
received by them recently from B. F. Garst of the
B. F. Garst Music Company, Guyman, Okla., telling
story of a Self Lifting truck model 550, which bears
the number 2151. Mr. Garst goes on to relate that
when he came into possession of the truck he was
selling pianos at McPherson, Kans. In the year 1504
with a few other personal belongings he loaded the
truck in a covered wagon and driving a span of mules
wound up at Guyman, where he filed a claim for a
piece of land. Finding that there was no piano busi-
ness in that part of Oklahoma and Guyman being
the nearest railroad point he started to get up a little
piano enthusiasm. His deliveries were from sixty-
five to a hundred miles away from Guyman. He has
worn out two piano wagons in delivering instruments,
"but," as he puts it, "I am still in possession of the
old piano truck, having, however, purchased another
one since my first purchase more than forty-five
years ago."
It looks a good deal like Mr. Garst will be the win-
ner of the latest model offer now made to dealers.
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