Music Trade Review
Issue: 1894 Vol. 19 N. 10 - Page 11
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
Strolling Musicians.
J
T is not the street musician who remains
in the city during the summer who gathers
the largest crop of pennies and dimes, but his
wiser brother, who leaves New York in May,
and spends the summer and early fall in trudg-
ing over the hills and through the valleys of
New York State and New England. There are a
few such wise ones who claim a residence in New
York for its distinction, but pass their summers
in the country at the North, and the winter and
early spring months in Florida and other resorts
of the South.
Two of this latter class of musicians recently
returned from an extended tour of about 600
miles. They are Italian brothers, who came to
America about two years ago, and so successful
have they been in what might be termed 4 'play-
ing in the provinces '' that they have each year
netted about $800 above their expenses, and
hope in a few years to amass the meagre com-
petence on which a frugal Italian can always
live without work in his native country.
They do not, like their city brothers, trust
to the hand-organs and resonant '' hurdy-
gurdies '' to please persons for whom they play.
Their music is that of a flageolet and a so-called
4<
Italian bag-pipe." The latter's wind is sup-
plied entirely by the mouth, and has no bellows
attachment, such as forms an essential part of
most of the Scotch bagpipes. To the ordinary
individual, the idea of an Italian playing a bag-
pipe is somewhat incongruous, and Antonio
Castelli, the elder of the two travelling musi-
cians, acknowledges that their listeners were
frequently so amused at the sight of a bronzed,
smooth-faced 4 ' dago '' puffing away at an air
from " Trovatore " or " Addio Neapoli " on a
bag-pipe, that the humor of the situation fre-
quently made their audience extra generous.
One reason why these men who play in the
country prefer the bag-pipe and the flageolet is
their evident advantage over a '' hurdy-gurdy ''
in portability. The baggage of those who walk
600 miles in a summer must be as light as pos-
sible. These two brother musicians left New
York the first of May and went up the valley of
the Housatonic River, through the Berkshire
hills. Thence they went to Lake George and
Lake Champlain, and after a short trip into
Canada, they walked across Vermont and over to
the White Mountains. Thence they tramped
down the State, playing at farmhouses and sum-
mer hotels, and came through Massachusetts by
way of Northampton and Springfield.
It is a pleasant life, they say, this tramping
through the most beautiful parts of the country
in the North, and the exceptional dryness of the
last four months made their journeying pleas-
anter than usual. In almost every case they
were warmly welcomed by farmers along their
route, and nowhere did they note the proverbial
savageness of the country watch-dog toward
travelling musicians. In many cases they
furnished the only music which the farmers had
heard during the summer, and often their ex-
penses were lessened by a musically inclined
farmer in giving them their board and lodging
over night in return for an hour of melody in
the evening. It was rarely that they played at
a farmhouse where there were children without
receiving money.
Their daily earnings averaged between $4 and
$6. It was in the Berkshire Hills and in New
" T V Hi§Kest Type."
* *
RUSSELL
i5
Hampshire where their day-to-day recompense
was the best, owing probably to the greater pro-
portion of summer boarders. At one farmhouse
in upper New Hampshire, miles from the
nearest railway station, they surprised a com-
pany of navy officers and New York men, who
showed their appreciation of such an unusual
treat and display of enterprise by making up a
purse of $5 for the musicians. The latter felt
that such generosity should be paid in musical
quantity, and for two hours gave such a medley
of airs that in very despair their benefactors had
to induce them to leave the place. But the
farmers were never equally generous; so that,
with this one exception, the pride of these musi-
cians had no fall.—Evening Post.
(Successors to STARK & STRACK.)
Ivory Supply.
PIANOS
MANUFACTURED BY
Nos. 171 and 173 South Canal Street,
CHICAGO.
THE
Sterling Company,
^j
is not obtained from the elephant
^
alone, as the majority of people imagine.
The great canine teeth of the hippopotamus fur-
nish an ivory which is harder and whiter than
that of the elephant, and less prone to turn yel-
low ; among the Northern nations the tusks of
the walrus have long been used as a source of
ivory; and the spirally-twisted tusk of the nar-
whal, the ear bones of whales and the teeth of
the sperm whale also furnish good ivory. The
tusks of the elephant, which are a pair of upper
incisor teeth, are prized more highly than those
of other animals on account of their size and
shape. The African species of elephants are
said to possess the largest and finests tusks,
some weighing 160 pounds. However, author-
ities on the subject state that from twenty to
fifty pounds is a good weight. Both the male
and female African elephants are furnished with
large tusks, while in the Indian species, al-
though those of the male attain the greatest
size, they are by no means as large as the Afri-
can species.
The Oldest Piano.
Said to be in a Show Window on Chest-
nut Street, Philadelphia.
t
MANUFACTURERS OF
Pianos and Organs,
FACTORY:
DERBY, CONN.
It Is admitted by all that no piano ever put upon the
market has met with such success as THE STERLING
and thousands will testify to their superiority of work-
manship and durability. Why ? Because they are made
just as perfect as a piano can be made.
THE STERLING ORGAN has always taken the lead, and
the improvements made this year puts it far ahead ol
all others. JB^~ Send for Catalogue.
Hallet £ Davis Pianos
ROBABI/Y the oldest piano in existence is
displayed in the window of a Chestnut
street, Philadelphia, establishment, bearing an
inscription as interesting as the unique old in-
strument itself.
The placard reads as follows :
4 4
John Jacob Astor sold this piano to one of
the first families of New York more than a cen-
tury ago. Mr. Astor is believed to have been
the first piano dealer in the United States."
Then follows an advertisement which appeared
in a New York paper dated January 10, 1789,
which would make interesting reading for the
present generation of Astors.
The advertisement reads—
"J. Jacob Astor, at 81 Queen street, next door
but one to the Friends' Meeting-house, has for
sale an assortment of pianofortes of the newest
construction, made by the best makers of Lon-
don, which he will sell on reasonable terms. He
gives cash for all kinds of furs, and has for sale
a quantity of Canadian beaver and Canada coat-
ings, raccoon skins, muskrat skins, etc."
The old piano has attracted a great deal of
attention. It is a diminutive affair, and above
the yellow ivory key-board is stamped the Astor
trade-mark. The original Astor retired from
the piano business in 1802.
GRAND, SQUARE AND UPRIGHT.
Indorsed by Liszt, Gottschalk, Wehli, Bendel, Straus, Soro, Abt,
Paulus, Titiens, Heilbron and Germany's Greatest Masters.
Established over Half a Century.
BOSTON, MASS.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
Strolling Musicians.
J
T is not the street musician who remains
in the city during the summer who gathers
the largest crop of pennies and dimes, but his
wiser brother, who leaves New York in May,
and spends the summer and early fall in trudg-
ing over the hills and through the valleys of
New York State and New England. There are a
few such wise ones who claim a residence in New
York for its distinction, but pass their summers
in the country at the North, and the winter and
early spring months in Florida and other resorts
of the South.
Two of this latter class of musicians recently
returned from an extended tour of about 600
miles. They are Italian brothers, who came to
America about two years ago, and so successful
have they been in what might be termed 4 'play-
ing in the provinces '' that they have each year
netted about $800 above their expenses, and
hope in a few years to amass the meagre com-
petence on which a frugal Italian can always
live without work in his native country.
They do not, like their city brothers, trust
to the hand-organs and resonant '' hurdy-
gurdies '' to please persons for whom they play.
Their music is that of a flageolet and a so-called
4<
Italian bag-pipe." The latter's wind is sup-
plied entirely by the mouth, and has no bellows
attachment, such as forms an essential part of
most of the Scotch bagpipes. To the ordinary
individual, the idea of an Italian playing a bag-
pipe is somewhat incongruous, and Antonio
Castelli, the elder of the two travelling musi-
cians, acknowledges that their listeners were
frequently so amused at the sight of a bronzed,
smooth-faced 4 ' dago '' puffing away at an air
from " Trovatore " or " Addio Neapoli " on a
bag-pipe, that the humor of the situation fre-
quently made their audience extra generous.
One reason why these men who play in the
country prefer the bag-pipe and the flageolet is
their evident advantage over a '' hurdy-gurdy ''
in portability. The baggage of those who walk
600 miles in a summer must be as light as pos-
sible. These two brother musicians left New
York the first of May and went up the valley of
the Housatonic River, through the Berkshire
hills. Thence they went to Lake George and
Lake Champlain, and after a short trip into
Canada, they walked across Vermont and over to
the White Mountains. Thence they tramped
down the State, playing at farmhouses and sum-
mer hotels, and came through Massachusetts by
way of Northampton and Springfield.
It is a pleasant life, they say, this tramping
through the most beautiful parts of the country
in the North, and the exceptional dryness of the
last four months made their journeying pleas-
anter than usual. In almost every case they
were warmly welcomed by farmers along their
route, and nowhere did they note the proverbial
savageness of the country watch-dog toward
travelling musicians. In many cases they
furnished the only music which the farmers had
heard during the summer, and often their ex-
penses were lessened by a musically inclined
farmer in giving them their board and lodging
over night in return for an hour of melody in
the evening. It was rarely that they played at
a farmhouse where there were children without
receiving money.
Their daily earnings averaged between $4 and
$6. It was in the Berkshire Hills and in New
" T V Hi§Kest Type."
* *
RUSSELL
i5
Hampshire where their day-to-day recompense
was the best, owing probably to the greater pro-
portion of summer boarders. At one farmhouse
in upper New Hampshire, miles from the
nearest railway station, they surprised a com-
pany of navy officers and New York men, who
showed their appreciation of such an unusual
treat and display of enterprise by making up a
purse of $5 for the musicians. The latter felt
that such generosity should be paid in musical
quantity, and for two hours gave such a medley
of airs that in very despair their benefactors had
to induce them to leave the place. But the
farmers were never equally generous; so that,
with this one exception, the pride of these musi-
cians had no fall.—Evening Post.
(Successors to STARK & STRACK.)
Ivory Supply.
PIANOS
MANUFACTURED BY
Nos. 171 and 173 South Canal Street,
CHICAGO.
THE
Sterling Company,
^j
is not obtained from the elephant
^
alone, as the majority of people imagine.
The great canine teeth of the hippopotamus fur-
nish an ivory which is harder and whiter than
that of the elephant, and less prone to turn yel-
low ; among the Northern nations the tusks of
the walrus have long been used as a source of
ivory; and the spirally-twisted tusk of the nar-
whal, the ear bones of whales and the teeth of
the sperm whale also furnish good ivory. The
tusks of the elephant, which are a pair of upper
incisor teeth, are prized more highly than those
of other animals on account of their size and
shape. The African species of elephants are
said to possess the largest and finests tusks,
some weighing 160 pounds. However, author-
ities on the subject state that from twenty to
fifty pounds is a good weight. Both the male
and female African elephants are furnished with
large tusks, while in the Indian species, al-
though those of the male attain the greatest
size, they are by no means as large as the Afri-
can species.
The Oldest Piano.
Said to be in a Show Window on Chest-
nut Street, Philadelphia.
t
MANUFACTURERS OF
Pianos and Organs,
FACTORY:
DERBY, CONN.
It Is admitted by all that no piano ever put upon the
market has met with such success as THE STERLING
and thousands will testify to their superiority of work-
manship and durability. Why ? Because they are made
just as perfect as a piano can be made.
THE STERLING ORGAN has always taken the lead, and
the improvements made this year puts it far ahead ol
all others. JB^~ Send for Catalogue.
Hallet £ Davis Pianos
ROBABI/Y the oldest piano in existence is
displayed in the window of a Chestnut
street, Philadelphia, establishment, bearing an
inscription as interesting as the unique old in-
strument itself.
The placard reads as follows :
4 4
John Jacob Astor sold this piano to one of
the first families of New York more than a cen-
tury ago. Mr. Astor is believed to have been
the first piano dealer in the United States."
Then follows an advertisement which appeared
in a New York paper dated January 10, 1789,
which would make interesting reading for the
present generation of Astors.
The advertisement reads—
"J. Jacob Astor, at 81 Queen street, next door
but one to the Friends' Meeting-house, has for
sale an assortment of pianofortes of the newest
construction, made by the best makers of Lon-
don, which he will sell on reasonable terms. He
gives cash for all kinds of furs, and has for sale
a quantity of Canadian beaver and Canada coat-
ings, raccoon skins, muskrat skins, etc."
The old piano has attracted a great deal of
attention. It is a diminutive affair, and above
the yellow ivory key-board is stamped the Astor
trade-mark. The original Astor retired from
the piano business in 1802.
GRAND, SQUARE AND UPRIGHT.
Indorsed by Liszt, Gottschalk, Wehli, Bendel, Straus, Soro, Abt,
Paulus, Titiens, Heilbron and Germany's Greatest Masters.
Established over Half a Century.
BOSTON, MASS.
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