10
March-April, 1935
P R E S T O-T I M E S
REVIVAL OF A
PROMINENT PIANO
One year ago an announcement was made to the
trade that The Rudolph VVurlitzer Company had ac-
quired the scales and patterns of the Kurtzmann piano
and would henceforth manufacture this instrument.
Since that time the plant of the Wurlitzer Grand
Piano Company at Dekalh, Illinois, has been hum-
ming with activity, and at last the new and better
Kurtzmann has become an actuality.
The new Kurtzmann is a lineal descendant of the
distinguished Kurtzmann line—but in tone and ac-
tion today's Kurtzmann is the most remarkable since
1848.
Now that shipments are being made, the new Kurtz-
mann is an accomplished fact and this distinguished
piano will soon be on display by representative deal-
ers throughout the United States.
In a statement to Presto-Times. Mr. Rudolph Wur-
litzer explained the reasons for his company's acqui-
sition of the Kurtzmann as follows: "The Kurtzmann
tone and ease of action of any moderate-priced piano
they have ever touched."
The standardization of the Kurtzmann price, Mr.
Wurlitzer said, was in accordance with the new VVur-
litzer policy of giving the public nationally advertised
merchandise in all lines at nationally advertised prices.
"The trade has been quick to express its complete
satisfaction with our prices and price policy,'' he
added, "and the advance orders for the new Kurtz-
mann are very gratfying."
As to the construction features of the Kurtzmann,
Cyril Farny, vice-president in charge of production
at the Wurlitzer plant, DeKalb, Illinois, said to a
representative of Presto-Times "in many w r ays the
Kurtzmann is different from the average piano of-
fered today. The craftsmen who build the instru-
ment by hand from 9,000 individual parts work to a
CVU1L FAIiNY
Vice-President and General Manager. Wurlitzer Grand
Piano Company
RUDOLPH H. WURLITZER
Chairman of the Board, The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.,
Cincinnati, Ohio
piano was sold in our Cincinnati store as early as
1864. For over a half century we have been entirely
familiar with its excellent quality. During that long-
period of time, we have always considered the Kurtz-
mann one of the best toned and most durably con-
structed pianos in the country. Thoroughly familiar
with Kurtzmann quality, we wanted not only to main-
tain that excellence, but to build, if we could, a bet-
ter instrument, with even greater care in manufac-
ture. Consequently, although we acquired the Kurtz-
mann nearly a year ago, the first pianos manufac-
tured by Wurlitzer are only now being shipped."
Mr. VVurlitzer further said, "Artists who have
played the new Kurtzmann pronounce it the finest in
standard that assures long life. Its perfected mech-
anism permits evenness of touch, flash repetition, in-
stantaneous response and an extremely quiet action.
Correct lengths and sizes for the 227 treble and bass
strings were determined by hundreds of comparative
tests. The pure character of tone in the bass section
is attained by using a special hexagonal core wire.
The tone of the bass string is not only greatly im-
proved, but has been made permanent and not sub-
ject to the changes only too prevalent in the older
type winding."
Mr. Farny further pointed out special features of
excellence such as simplicity of case design in ma-
hogany veneer; the beautifully beveled keys worked
out from highest grade of genuine ivory. He stated
further the interesting fact that experts who determine
the proper heights for treble and bass bridges on the
Kurtzmann are responsible for the volume of tone,
clarity and volume possessed by the Kurtzmann and
that every Kurtzmann is most carefully tone-regulated
and tone-tested by means of the entirely new electro-
magnetic tone analyzer used in construction.
In the May issue of the magazine, "Fortune," a
select publication to the tune of $10.00 a year sub-
scription price, there appears a page advertise-
ment in three colors showing a present day model of
the Kurtzmann, with an announcement that "Since
1848 Every Kurtzmann Has Been Built Slowly, Care-
fully by Master Craftsmen."
C. L. Carlson, head of the Carlson Music Company,
Great Falls, Montana, is highly pleased with the
W r urlitzer line of pianos which they handle. They
are also having remarkable success with the Wuriit-
itzer accordions and are expecting an especially good
trade in this branch of their business.
PERSONAL MENTION
R. B. Oslund, proprietor of the Oslund Music
House, Spokane, Wash., a "hustler" and salesman
extraordinary, is rapidly extending his business in
pianos, radios and accordions. Air. Oslund is work-
ing out a proposition that interests buyers far away
from Spokane with the result that he makes frequent
deliveries 100 to 150 miles in all directions from his
headquarters at Spokane.
Anton Maresh, of the Maresh Music House, Cleve-
land, Ohio, is a leader in the organization of Cleve-
land Merchants for a drive on burglary, banditism
and outlawry generally, which exists in and about
that city. Mr. Maresh's activity in trying to rid
Cleveland of hoodlums makes him a very popular
character of the day at Cleveland.
Arthur Cable, son of H. D. Cable, founder of The
Cable Piano Co., who is an active promoter of music,
is often heard by radio in behalf of the Chicago
Symphony orchestra and his talks are intently lis-
tened to.
E. J. Joosten of the Joosten Piano Company, Peoria,
111., says that trade in his locality has considerably
improved over a few months ago and is much better
than a year ago. However, he does not coincide with
some of the glowing trade paper reports about how
easy it is to get business for, as he says, "It requires
a good deal of effort and planning to keep a business
moving profitably and successfully."
J. M. Wylie, general representative in the north-
west of the Baldwin Piano Company line, a gentle-
man very much alive in the interest of the house he
represents and one who keeps in remarkably close
touch with his trade, cites the case of a dealer whe
said that so many of his prospects wanted to buy
pianos at very low prices; many of them did not want
to pay over $125 for a small upright. Mr. Wylie
replied to this dealer and told him of a case of a pros-
pect in another section of his territory who had told a
dealer that if he could fnrnish a small upright for
from $125 to $150 he would buy, whereupon the fol-
lowing conversation took place between the dealer
and the customer:
Mr. Dealer: "Did your folks have a piano in their
home when you were there?" "Oh, yes," was the
reply, "they had a tine piano." The dealer then asks:
"What did your father pay for that piano?" To which
the customer replies that it cost him about $600.00.
The dealer then goes on to say that he can sell him
just as good or a better piano than the one which the
prospect's folks had at half the price they paid for
theirs.
Mr. Wylie then takes up the psychological aspect
of the situation by showing how the dealer had
changed the customer's view of values and compara-
tive worth which he had had when he first came to
him that a piano instead of having only a small value
had a three hundred dollar value.
This nice piece of psychology enabled Mr. Wylie
to make a good customer.
Mr. Wylie, visiting with friends in Chicago some-
time ago, voiced numerous of his philosophies. One
thought in particular was expressed in these words:
"We have tried this out many times," said Mr.
Wylie, "and know that it works. This incident was
just another case of changing the prospect's mind
from what he thought he wanted to what the dealer
knew he needed."
Arthur Williams is the new manager of the Rudolph
VVurlitzer store at Youngstown, Ohio. Mr. Williams,
a United States ex-service man, having served in the
United States Navy, is transferred to Springfield,
Ohio, where he had been located two years as man-
ager of the Wurlitzer store there.
The VVitzel Music Company, formerly located at
3051 Lincoln avenue, Chicago, has located at 4716
Lincoln avenue, where they have better facilities for
carrying on present-day business. Alfred Witzel has
charge of this store.
STEINWAY & SONS
MAKERS OF THE WORLD'S STANDARD PIANOS
First choice of the most famous artists.
Indispensable to musicians who appreciate fine tone.
General Offices, Steinway Hall
109-113West 57th Street,
New York
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