Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
258
It is indeed a notable example of creative genius, and
has done much to render necessary the increase of
A FIRM WHOSE PIANOS HAVE ATTAINED THE HIGHEST
manufacturing facilities recently effected, and in con-
HONORS FURTHER PROGRESS AND IMPROVE-
nection with which the alterations and improvements
MENTS TO BE LOOKED FOR—RENOV-
above referred to have been made.
ATION OF THEIR FACTORY AND
As superintendent of works, Messrs. Behr Bros. &
OFFICES.
Co. have secured the services of a gentleman qualified
EHR BROS. & CO. have shown, in the most in every respect to fill with credit and honor the respon-
thorough and unmistakable manner, that they sible position to which he has been appointed. He is a
appreciate the virtue of consistency. The fact pianoforte maker of vast practical and theoretical knowl-
that they knew how to construct a piano of the highest edge, and one whose inventive powers will assuredly add
order, whether in point of style, tone, or durability, to the great name and fame of this distinguished firm.
was admitted long ago. Further, the numerous and
That the future course of the house of Behr will be
valuable patented improvements for which the trade one of ever-increasing prosperity and popularity, it re-
and the public are indebted to this eminent firm are quires no great power of prophecy to predict. Their
not likely to be soon forgotten. The fame of the new present success is based upon pure merit, a rock whose
Behr grand has already gone out into all lands, and its foundations will but become the more firm and secure
music to the ends of the world.
as the triumphs of the house become more numerous.
Up to a week or two ago, however, the headquarters
and offices of this great house, situated at twenty-ninth
street and Eleventh avenue, were not by any means A RISING CHICAGO PIANO STOOL HOUSE.
commensurate, either in style or arrangement, with
DISTINGUISHED SUCCESS OF THE GARDEN CITY STOOL
their enormous trade operations. An important change
CO.—THEIR NEW CATALOGUE AND IMPROVEMENTS.
has now been effected, and instead of the old, inadequate
premises there is now a new, commodious, and well-
HE year 1888 was a prosperous one with the
ordered establishment.
Garden City Stool Co., of Chicago, 111.; and the
The general business offices now face Eleventh ave-
rewards of this excellent corporation's industry,
nue. Leading out of them is the private office of Mr. honesty, energy, and inventiveness bid fair to show
Henry Behr, from which the sanctum of Mr. Edward even more profitable results at the conclusion of 1889.
Behr is entered. All these offices are floored with yel- The prospects of a greatly increased output are re-
low pine, the floors of the private apartments being markably clear.
covered with sumptuous body Brussels carpets. The
Various novelties, advancements and improvements
decorations and fittings are appropriate in every respect, made by this Co. in their products have rendered
and impart an exceedingly handsome appearance to the necessary a new catalogue, which will be pre-
renovated interior. All the woodwork, with the excep- sented to the trade about the 15th of April next. Mr.
tion of that of the floors, is of fine hard ash. Walls Geo. Fuertsch, the. versatile manager of the concern, is
and ceilings are embellished with gold leaf, in patterns devoting his spare time to the new publication, which
exquisitely chaste, neat and artistic.
under his hawk-like attention will be sure to assume
Adjoining the business offices is the stock room, with a complete and interesting form. In it will be described
flooring like that of the former, and arranged, fitted and and illustrated several new designs of stools, and par-
stocked in such manner as to make it one of the most ticularly a new piano ottoman stool or bench with
complete and convenient store-rooms to be found in patent device for raising and lowering the seal. This
any factory in the country.
contrivance is constructed upon an absolutely new
The varnishing department has also been remodeled principle, and effectually demonstrates the superior
and provided with a new floor. On the whole, it would mechanical ingenuity of the patentees.
seem difficult to plan a better-arranged, better-fitted, or
We are not surprised to learn that the Garden City
better lighted series of offices and workrooms than Stool Co.'s business is rapidly outgrowing their present
those in the completion of which Behr Bros. & Co. now factory facilities in Blue Island avenue, and that their
take so just a pride.
early removal to much larger quarters is under serious
It has ever been the object of this house to manufac- consideration. Their operations in piano covers and
ture a piano whose intrinsic merits should of themselves spreads, and in piano and organ instruction books, are
attract the admiring attention of the trade. Great skill, increasing in the same ratio as is their trade in piano,
much time, profound application, and a vast expendi- organ and store stools. All of their lines of excellent
ture of money, have been put into operation in the ef- goods are well worthy of inspection by dealers and the
fort to attain a worthy ideal. Construction upon thor- community generally.
oughly scientific principles has been the basic idea of
the firm. To this idea they have steadily, patiently,
WILLIAM B. LEIGH.
and perseveringly adhered, with what success is proven
by the verdict of our most notable musicians and our
URING the last nine years visitors at the piano
best-reputed dealers.
rooms of Decker Bros., Union Square, New
By virtue of deep and careful study, combined with
York city, have been familiar with the stalwart
the employment of the most accurate and intelligent
figure
and
amiable manners of William B. Leigh. Those
workmanship obtainable, the tone of the Behr pianos
has been improved to a degree which has excited the who wish to keep up their acquaintance with this mag-
unaffected admiration and astonishment of modern mu- nificent specimen of the Anglo-Saxon race must in
sicians, but which even yet falls short of the ideal set future hie them to the warerooms of Messrs. J. & C.
before themselves by these remarkable manufacturers, Fischer, now located in twenty-eighth street, but
Probably no other house has sprung, with more rapidity, shortly to be removed to the new fudge building, cor-
into the very van of inventive improvement in the con- ner of Sixteenth street and Fifth avenue. Though
struction of the pianoforte, or has acquired a more fully born under the stars and stripes, Mr. Leigh is of Eng-
and firmly established reputation in this especial field. lish extraction, his parents having immigrated from the
Among the most notable improvements introduced historic county of Warwick, for generations the home
into their upright piano by Behr Bros. & Co. is their of the noble family of Leigh, and of that Sir Thomas
new patent muffler. This ingenious and masterly device Lucy whose lineal ancestor caused the arrest of the im-
renders entirely unnecessary the knob or stop formerly mortal Shakespeare, when a boy, for deerstealing_
used. It is worked by the third or center pedal, by a Messrs. Fischer are doubly fortunate. In the first place
slight pressure of which the muffler is thrown against their pianos are in constant demand by the very best
the strings, from contact with which it is removed by class of dealers, and, secondly, they have a salesman
pressure of the soft pedal. The muffler is constructed who conjoins great business tact and ability with a
entirely of wood and felt, and all possibility of squeak- polite and engaging demeanor.
ing is consequently avoided.
The Behr Grand Piano marks one of the greatest
DISSOLUTION NOTICE.
triumphs in piano manufacture. Long and wearying
CHICAGO, Feb. 20, 1889.
stages of experimentation were gone through ere this
The co-partnership heretofore existing under the firm
wondrous instrument was brought to the point of devel-
opment at which its constructors began to feel rewarded name of Andrus & Church is this day, by mutual con-
for their months of mental and manual labor. Now, sent, dissolved, Mr. V. R. Andrus continuing and hold-
however, it is impossible to meet with an honest and ing himself responsible for the debts of Andrus &
competent critic who is not charmed with its brilliancy, Church and collection of notes and accounts due said
V. R. ANDRUS,
power, and sweetness of tone, its evenly constructed firm,
E. V. CHURCH,
scale, and the marvelous responsiveness of its action*
BEHR BROS. & CO.
B
T
D
THE AUTOMATIC CALLIOPE,
A DEVELOPMENT OF PAN'S ORIGINAL SCHEME FOR BAN-
ISHING MELANCHOLY.
W
HAT was he doing, the great god Pan, down in
the reeds by the river ? Tooting his pipes to
the fishes and snipes, with a free, merry heart
and pure liver. Nowadays, however, Pan makes regu-
lar expeditions into the abodes of men. In the shape of
the automatic wooden calliope a modern form of the old
god's favorite horn is now heard in our streets, which for
the past three weeks have resounded with the music
produced from small instruments somewhat resembling
the original Pan's pipe. Pan lent his pipe to Moses,
from whom it was stolen by the Egyptians, who lost it
when they received that celebrated check on the bank
of the Red Sea. The name of the man who recovered
it i c not known. But he was a man of inventive genius.
He added to it a patent automatic scale and sold the
thing to a Western novelty manufacturing firm. Lately,
says a contemporary, they have been turned out by the
tens of thousands and have been sold in the streets of
Chicago for a month or two. This is the real secret of
Chicago's rapidly decreasing importance as a trade
centre. The dry goods men who have heard the '' cal-
liope" (as it is now called) in Chicago now come to New
York to buy their goods. The Chicago middlemen
have just found this out, and the appearance of the cal-
liopes on the streets of Gotham is the result of their
machinations. It would be impossible to convey to
even the most imaginative reader any idea of the sound
emitted by an automatic wooden calliope. It must be
heard to be appreciated. The nearest approach to its
notes is a combination of an asthmatic locomotive
whistle, a ccratchy slate pencil, a cat serenade, ard a
kazoo band. This remarkable affair is sold for the ab-
surd price of 10 cents. " Dey vas now selling very
well," said one of the venders of the calliopes this morn-
ing. " De beoples vas getting tired mit dem tings
alretty, don'd it ? Dey don'd haf some ears for moosic
in dis gountry." The disgusted fakir directed the in-
quirer to Mr. J. Boiler's store, at 24 Ann street. Mr_
Boiler supplies the calliopes to the street venders, and
he put on a bold front and tried to justify his course.
Close questioning elicited the information that Mr.
Boiler has lately sold fifty gross of the calliopes for ex-
port trade. He was very guarded in his answers but
gave the reporter to understand that they were to be
shipped to Legitime in Hayti. Whether Legitime will
arm all his soldiers with them or not is not known, but
it is probably a shrewd move of his own to make the
country too hot to hold Hyppolite. Mr. Boiler has
composed a little song about the calliopes. It runs as
follows :
MUSIC IN A SINNER'S EAR.
Of all the musical gems on earth
To which talent and genius ever gave birth,
The credit is due, 'twixt you and me,
To that latest invention, the calliopee ;
And sweeter by far than the singing of hope
Are the notes which come out of the gay callioap.
Among the many beauties of the calliope may be men-
tioned its power of amusing children, demolishing
spooks, and scaring mothers-in-law.
PROGRESS OF SOHMER & CO.
HE business enterprise of Sohmer & Co., and the
superior quality of the pianos manufactured by
them, have increased the demand for those instru-
ments to such an extent that their present warerooms
have become entirely inadequate for purposes of proper
display. Consequently this firm are fitting up new
warerooms on the second floor of the building at Third
avenue and Fourteenth street, to occupy the same
amount of space as their present warerooms on the
ground floor, with which they will be connected by a
stairway in the rear. The new and spacious apartment
is being handsomely decorated, and the two floors will
admit of the exhibition of an enormous number of the
renowned and pure-toned Sohmer pianos.
T
NOTICE.
On and after this date, February 15, 1889, the Piano
Covered String business, formerly conducted under the
name of the Wessell Metal Co., will be continued under
the name of CHAS. A. WESSELL.
Soliciting a continuance of your patronage, I remain.
Yours respectfully,
CHAS. A. WESSELL.