NEWS AND NOTE
Sam J. Davis
with sonic
of liis
new
creations
MAHOGANY VIOLINS WIN CONTEST
Sam J. Davis, for many years a fruit fanner near Homestead,
Florida, has at the age of 65 found an answer to his desire for a
"hobby" in the making of fine violins. It was in 1936 that he
first turned his attention to violin construction, chiefly because of
the activities of his wife who decided she would like to become a
musician. He is now working on "Violin No. 32" but explains
that it is only the 31st because he refused to make "Violin No.
13," the "little violin that isn't there."
Davis terms all of his instruments violins but in reality one is
a 'cello and three are violas.
Most of his instruments are made of native mahogany and im-
ported spruce from Czechoslovakia where Stradivari obtained
the wood lor his almost priceless violins. However he also uses
some Florida curly maple for a few of the violin bottoms.
The imported spruce is used for the tops of the violins and the
native mahogany for most of the bottoms.
Four instruments which Davis has built are now being used in
the University of Miami orchestra.
Davis now is constructing a violin on approval for a nation-
ally famous orchestra leader but he asked that the name of the
orchestra leader not be used until he has accepted the instrument.
This season he had a good avocado crop on his 20 acres and
was well pleased with the fruit as well as the price he obtained
for them. In fact, he said: "I make tnv living off of my avocados,"
but he has a 'cello which he says an expert estimated might be
worth $5,000 some day.
TWO WrULlTZEU
ACCORDIONS
STOLEN
Two Wnrlitzer Accordions were recently stolen from
liraman's Music Co., Superior, Wisconsin. Both were
white, model 122 instruments and their serial numbers
were No. 43865 and Xo. 42341. Anyone who may locate
these accordions is asked to get in touch with Branian's.
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
J IT L T V S BRFCK-
WOI.DT, President of
I n 1 i n s Breckwoldt &
Son, Inc., manufacturers
of s o u n d i n g boards,
backs, bridges, b o x e s.
bars, and special wood-
working, passed away at
his home in Daytona
Beach. Fla. at 1 :00
o'clock on the morning
of April 23rd after an
illness of but a very few
days.
Mis son, William A.
Breckwoldt, flew to Day-
The late Julius Breckwoldt
tona Beach and was at
his father's side during the two days before his death. The re-
mainder of the family, including his son Julius K. Breckwoldt were
already at Daytona Beach.
Mr. Breckwoldt was born on August 31, 1S56, and came to
Doldgeville, New York, to establish the piano supply business
in the year 1877. He has made a remarkable success of the business
and the name Breckwoldt stands for integrity and quality through-
out the entire piano industry.
Presto Music Times desires to express its sincerest sympathy
to the members of the family and to the business associates for the
loss of this outstanding man.
"STOP THE CIIISELEKS"
L
This communication from Bob Stahr of the Martin Band In-
strument Co., is so forceful that 1 shall not attempt to edit it.^
(Editor's note).
^
.
"The greater the prestige and pdpulkrity of a given name-line
of merchandise, the more 'attention' it gets from the 'chiseling'
fraternity. Among the 'off-beat' practices of the music store chisler
is to so thoroughly overhaul and refinish a used horn or an old
model that they can represent it as a new, current model instru-
ment and sell it at a 'reduced' price to their unsuspecting cus-
tomers—offer an excessively high allowance credit for a trade-in—
or just give the customers a 'confidential price.'
"As one means of
counteracting and pre-
venting such practices,
and both to protect
their customers and to
help their authorized
d e a l e r s 'Stop the
C hiselers", M a r t i n
Band of Flkhart, Tn-
diana, have just issued
You can legitimately buy a
to each of their au-
new Martin from a regular-
ly appointed Martin dealer
thorized dealers a spe-
only.
cial window, counter,
and wall card warning
If any other dealer offers
the prospective buyers
you a cut price on a Martin,
oi a Martin horn or
it may be an old instrument
saxaphone to make his
that has been overhauled
and renovated.
purchase onlv from
the duly appointed
Get the Serial Number then
Martin dealer, and to
check this against current
Beware of offers of
models on display here —
others to c u t -1 h e -
or drop a card to the factory.
price."
BUYER
BEWARE
MARTINS . c , WORTH THE DIFFERENCE
PRESTO MUSIC TIMES
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