Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
From a Traveler's Note Book.
Baldwin piano is a distinct success archi-
tecturally and musically.
*
kIPPLES ON THE TRADE SURFACE THE TIMES THAT TRY MEN'S SOULS AND POCKETBOOKS —
CAMPAIGN SENTIMENT AND FACTS A TOUR OF THE BALDWIN FACTORY ORIGINAL
FEATURES FROM CELLAR TO ROOF—MAKING A PIANO THAT CONTAINS
MANY IMPROVEMENTS OF VALUE THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE
ARE NOTED
FOR
THEIR ENTERPRISE
THE
C. G. CONN
ESTABLISHMENT THE LEADING BAND INSTRU-
MENT MANUFACTORY
THE CONN
PRODUCTS IN DEMAND.
RAVEL during- the past week
has failed to bring to light
any news of startling import-
ance. A careful gleaner for
this commodity meets with
many disappointments, and it
would require a comb of exceeding fineness
to bring to the surface anything of interest
which would cause even more than an ordi-
nary ripple to disturb the placid surface of
the trade.
The Briggs failure was one of the
"ripples" that excited but little comment,
for, it seems, by many it was not unex-
pected. I have heard, however, on every
side feelings of regret expressed for the
members of the concern. The Briggses-—
father and son-—are piano makers of repute,
and their long and untarnished commercial
career entitles them to the sympathy of the
trade just at the present time.
These are the times which not only try
men's souls, but their pocketbooks as well,
and if the latter is not plethoric they are
exceedingly liable to be caught in the whirl.
I recollect the old campaign song of
"Four years more of Grover,
Then we'll be in clover."
Most of us for the past three years have
been browsing outside these flower-
decked fields of which the campaign orator
sang. The succulent clover rich in emerald
hues, and crowned with the sweet scented
rose-tinted blossom, has been somewhat
separated from the daily walks of most of
us. When the campaign orators were mak-
ing the welkin ring with their wordy pyro-
technics containing windy arguments of
how much a dollar would buy they failed to
make clear just where the dollar was com-
ing from.
There may be a mighty big purchasing
power to a dollar in these tines, but unless
one has the dollar what does the purchasing
power amount to?
While in Cincinnati it was my gcod for-
tune to make a complete tour of the Bald-
win factory. After having for years visited
nearly every factory of repute in the United
States, I was under the impression that
there was but little in store for me in the
matter of surprises in a piano factory. In
this I was disappointed—agreeably so.
Throughout the Baldwin factory is
evidenced an originality which is at once
convincing, and to one interested in me-
chanics, entertaining. The entire arrange-
ment from the lower story to the uppermost
is on original lines, and from the time one
passes through the imposing entrance to
the time he has reached the upper tier there
are surprises innumerable.
Any one interested in the factory facili-
ties, the placing and arranging of all detail
work, the introduction and utilization of
machinery of original and advanced
patterns, as applied to the production of
high grade pianos, will pass an instructive
period under the roof of the Baldwin piano
factory.
It seems that nothing has been overlooked
in the production of instruments which
meet with the most exacting demands made
upon them by people of musical culture.
I dwell upon the factory arrangement,
because I saw here much to think about for
a long time.
One must also be impressed, in making
the rounds, with the excellence of material,
the thoroughness of workmanship, the
originality of construction, all of which
united in one instrument make the Bald-
win piano. The acoustic rim is one of the
most remarkable features of the Baldwin
piano. It is built of many thicknesses of
veneer, glued together polygonal in form,
and a wooden frame supports the sounding-
board, to which the edges are continually
glued. This, as the company very clearly
state, is to form "a conducting circle for
the reinforcement of tone, whereby vibra-
tions starting from one part of the sound-
ing-board are not dispersed, but are taken
up by the rim and re-distributed through
the entire board and to the vibratory sys-
tem as a whole, thereby enhancing the
power and beauty of the tone."
Then if we study the acoustic disk, the
bridge, the fixed bridge plate and many
other patented improvements.we will better
understand why all of the innovations
and inventions embodied in the Baldwin
piano give it a strength and individuality
which is all its own.
What has made and still continues to
make it a great success as time advances,
is the fact that the members of the company
are imbued with a spirit of enterprise.
They are not satisfied, nor have they been,
that a musical instrument was not capable
of greater musical development. They
have been investigators in the sphere of
acoustics as app'ied to piano mechanics and
their investigations have brought forth good
fruit. They are not loitering by the wny-
side even now; they are ever investigating,
ever seeking to improve; that is why the
Another factory, of an entirely different
type, which interested me greatly, was the
C. G. Conn establishment in Elkhart, Ind.
Mr. Conn has built up an enterprise which
has won fame in all parts of the world
where brass instruments are used. To fol-
low the metal through its various stages un-
til it arrives at the point where it is fully
polished and ready for the musician, is a
matter of exceeding interest. There is,
however, one thing in an instrument fac-
tory which is in direct contrast with piano
factories, and that is the absence of machi-
nery in certain parts. Nearly all of the
work done upon the horns must of neces-
sity be performed by hand labor—highly
skilled labor at that.
Mr. Conn has raised men from the ground
up. so to speak. They have perfected
themselves in the particular branches to
which they were assigned, and by the em-
ployment of skilled labor he has been en-
abled to produce the "Wonder" instru-
ments, which have won for themselves the
wide-spread encomiums of the most cele-
brated band leaders. The Conn work is
thorough in every department.
During the absence of Mr. Conn at Wash-
ington the entire business is superintended
by Mr. W. J. Gronert, a gentleman of wide
experience and splendid adaptability to
his special field. While business in other
lines has failed owing to the depression of
the times, the Conn factor)' seems to have
been singularly favored. There has been
with them no dull times. A full comple-
ment of men in every department has been
and is steadily employed, working frequent-
ly over time. Thus we find a practical
illustration of the steadily augmenting fame
of the C. G. Conn instruments.
Jacob Doll
REPORTS BRISK BUSINESS —NEW STYLES AND
NEW CATALOGUE TO MAKE THEIR
APPEARANCE.
terse greeting on Tuesday morning
last. "We've just finished our last bottle—
off the ice—sorry you"re a little late; try
and get here in time next trip."
In response to the somewhat hackneyed
query as to the condition of business, Mr.
Doll stated that they had received an order
the first of the week, from a prominent
dealer, for forty pianos, and that "things
were moving nicely."
"Yes, I think we are getting quite our
share of trade. F. M. Hulett, one of our
road men, now in Indianapolis, is sending
in some nice orders—guess he'll find time
to call on ex-President Harrison pnd his
handsome bride," remarked Mr. Doll, face-
tiously.
"We shall bring out three new styles
next week, and our new catalogue will be
ready very shortly."