22
June-July, 1937
P R E S T O-T I M E S
Half-Century Piano Agencies
with \\ . G. Metzerott & Company, at that time re-
garded as the leading music dealers of Washington.
Being musical he occasionally sold a piano on llie
floor and it was not long until he became a regular
piano salesman and Mr. Metzerott's chief salesman
and confident.
The first Steinway piano shipped to Washington
went to the Metzerott Music House, in April, 1660.
This piano was number 2,986. Mr. Droop immedi-
ately "fell" for that instrument and at his suggestion
more Steinways were ordered. This was the beginning
«f Steinway in Washington and the starting of Droop
with Steinway, for from that time on the name Droop
was constantly associated in the sale of Steinway
pianos in Washington and in the District of Colum-
bia, a tie that has been uninterrupted all these years.
A little later on Mr. Droop became the partner of
Mr. Metzerott and, upon the latter's death, owner of
the business, and the name of the Metzerott Music
House was changed to Edward F. Droop and then
to E. F. Droop & Sons. When this change in the
affairs of Metzerott took place William Steinway
"decreed," as Eddie H. Droop now says, "that the
Steinway piano agency is to remain exclusively with
my friend, Edward F. Droop." It should be borne
in mind that in the first few years of Steinway growth
most of their sales were in New York City and nearby
points and that their dealer trade was entirely limited.
Dealer trade and agencies soon started to grow
rapidly.
At the meeting of Steinway dealers at the Stein-
way factory January 6th last year, Mr. Theodore
Steinway, president of Steinway & Sons, introduced
E. H. Droop as the dean of Steinway dealers, for
since the autumn of 1884, when he started with Otto
Sutro, Baltimore Steinway dealer, he has been
"hitched" with the Steinway wagon, a circumstance
which gives him personally a record of 53 years con-
tinuously with Steinway. "I doubt," says Eddie, "if
any Steinway dealer in this country has ever seen
longer service as a Steinway adherent and booster
than mvself."
realized $4,655 from the sale of the assets, which con-
sisted of, beside the name and good will of the busi-
ness, unfinished pianos, about twenty in process of
construction, thirty piano cases unassembled, and va-
rious supplies of finished and unfinished materials and
parts used in the construction of pianos, along with
piano strings and wire and other parts for piano man-
ufacturing.
Mr. Kline's experiences in his manifold piano sell-
ing operations have comprised manufacturing, man-
agerial and all-around piano selling operations. Some
of these, the King Piano Company enterprise, the Rex
Piano Company business and numerous of other as-
sociations have tended to make his name widely
known by buyers, makers and others of the trade.
There are a goodly number of half-century piano
men, individuals and firms who have been selling
pianos for fifty years and longer, but who and where
arc the half-century ones that have not only been in
the piano business this length of time but are today
selling any make of piano they sold forty, fifty or
more years ago?
A remark by Edmund Gram, who is priding him-
self and celebrating this year as a representative of
the Steinway piano at Milwaukee for many years,
suggests this "half-century" piano inquiry.
Here are several other fifty years and more Stein-
way houses named in alphabetical order by Steinway
NOT JESSE FRENCH CORP. BUSINESS
& Sons: Cluett & Sons, Troy, N, Y.; Denton, Cottier
An item has been running through some of the
& Daniels, Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.; E. F. Droop & Sons.
trade papers to the effect that the Jesse French Com-
Washington, D. C ; W. J. Dyer & Bro., St. Paul;
pany had leased premises in Atlanta, Ga., to open
L. Gruenwald Co., Inc., New Orleans; Lyon & Healy,
a branch store in that city.
Inc., Chicago; M. Steinert & Sons Co., Inc., Boston;
This is a branch of the Jesse French III business
Watkins Brothers, Inc. (formerly William Wander &
of Mobile, Ala., who is establishing a branch store
Sons), Hartford, Conn.
in Atlanta. Jesse French III deals mainly in i'.ie
I'resto-Times would like to publish the names of
Kimball line and not in the Jesse French Corpora-
anyone, individual or dealer, who has been selling one
tion pianos of New Castle, Ind.
certain piano which instrument he now represents, as
long as half a century.
Mr. H. E. French, Jr., of French's, Inc., Mont-
Other individuals and firms and other pianos now
gomery, Ala., and who by the way has recently opened
manufactured besides the Steinway, which is primarily
quite an elaborate store at Atlanta, Ga., is very much
referred to here because of Mr. Gram's news item
elated over the success of the piano trailer as a means
concerning his record selling the Steinway, can be
of presenting pianos to the rural district, and, in fact.
named in this category of long service piano selling.
as he says, "up to the front door of any home any-
Among such manufacturers are Boardman & Gray,
where." Mr. French was one of the first to put on
Jacob Bros., The Cable Company (now Schiller-Cable
the piano trailer of the piano display sort and he
Piano Mfg. Co.), Mathushek, Sohmer & Co., Weser
intends
to continue trailer selling. "We find that we
Bros., Kranich & Bach, Ivers & Pond, Krakauer
can work the rural territory just as easily and more
Bros., Hardman, Peck & Co., W. W. Kimball Co.,
economically with a trailer as with a truck, and when
Vose & Sons, Stieff, Starr, The Aeolian American
the trailer is left standing in a town it is like a bill-
controlled Chickering, Mason & Hamlin, Knabe,
board for the dealer." Mr. French further says that
Haines Bros., J. & C. Fischer Steck, made at the
business is steadily improving and to keep in the
West Rochester, N. Y., Aeolian American factory,
swim it takes every new idea that is good and avail-
are in part included in this category and there are still
able in order to get one share of this new business.
other pianos established 50 years and more that con-
"The general public seems to be piano conscious
tinue to be made, but the owners of which have either
The Straube Sale and Start Over
again," he says, "and are in a buying mood. We
discontinued to manufacture or have turned their
expect 1937 to be far ahead of last year in number
Again
manufacture over to other factories for production
of sales and amount per capita. Our main leaders,"
and, in part at least, for marketing. These names are
After the receiver's sale of the late Straube Piano he says again, "are the flat-tops and the new Jesse
not included in this record.
Company at Hammond, Ind., last March it was said
French verticals."
As for Kranich & Bach, records show that Herz- that the purchasers might cause the business to be
berg & Son, Philadelphia; Keller's, Inc., Easton, Pa.; started up again at some other locality than at Ham-
The new piano display trailer recently started out
Otto Grau's, Inc., Cincinnati; Shattinger, St. Louis; mond, possibly at Whiting, Ind., or thereabouts. through Indiana by the Wilking Music Company of
Birkel, Los Angeles; Dyer, St. Paul; Wood Bros.. However, the business still remains at the location in Indianapolis has been attracting a lot of attention.
Pittsfield, Mass.; Gressett Music House, Meridian,
Hammond where it was carried on before the failure One dealer Presto-Times has just heard from re-
Miss.; L. E. Lines Music Horse, Springfield, Mo., and with Mr. Lem Kline still continuing as manager, marked, as the Wilking trailer passed his store, "Well,
Julius Music House, York, Pa., are among the ones as he had been before the change. No indications of
boys, we've got to get a trailer." The rapid change
who were Kranich & Bach dealers fifty years or more dividends to creditors in this last failure have yet been in piano selling methods has brought about a neces-
ago as they are today.
announced. The first Straube failure paid about one sity for new methods in showing and distributing in-
And of Ivers & Pond Piano Company, Bailey's and one-half per cent. The receiver's sale of tht
struments. The Wilking trailer has been in charge
Music House, Burlington, Vt., was the first Ivers & effects of the Straube Piano Company last March of Rav Coverdill on its Indiana circuits and tours.
Pond dealer fifty years ago, immediately followed by
Dyer, St. Paul, and Chandler Piano Co., Brooklyn.
Incidentally, it is said that Bailey's Music House
bought the first Ivers & Pond piano that went to a
dealer.
The Jenkins Music House, Kansas City, carry now
just one piano that they handled fifty years ago, the
\ ose & Sons, which they have been selling continual-
ly since 1886. They haye been selling the Steinway
in like manner since 1898. Other fifty-year Vose
dealers and still dealing in them are J. J. F. Griffen
Harmon Piano Co., Bar Harbor, Me.; Wilson Music
Co., Oshkosh. VVis.; Grinnell Bros., Detroit.
Although the Weaver Piano Co., York. Pa., do not
quite line up to the fifty year period of piano manu-
facture, yet they started manufacturing reed organs
in 1870 and turned out over 60.000 instruments. Their
piano manufacturing business was started in 1900
and they have made over 40,000 instruments besides
jobbing about an equal number purchased from other
manufacturers.
It just so happens, say Pearson Company, Inc.;
Indianapolis, that they have not earned any one in-
dividual piano agency for a period of quite fifty years,
yet they have been in business sixty-four years, "a
record of which we are truly proud," says Charles
H. Meredith, sales manager of piano department and
Hammond organs.
There are several houses "among the first" Stein-
way piano dealers, in which classification the house
Originators and Mannjucturcrs of i'ei/etable and Coldide (Hues.
of E. F. Droop & Sons, Washington, D. C., is promi-
Manufacturers of Casein Glue.
nent. Mr. E. F. Droop, the founder of the business
came to America in the spring of 1857, the year, by
the way, in which the firm of Steinway & Sons was
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