Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
THE "SMALL GOODS" TRADE
Wm. R. Gratz & Co.
T
HE musical instrument herewith repre-
sented is a style 154 Symphonion
music box, the fame of which may possibly
have reached our readers. The instrument
is conceded to be the most powerful music
box manufactured. It contains a twenty-
seven inch disc and plays for thirty min-
utes, with one winding.
chased it from them, and also received from
them certificates of the authenticity of the
violin.
The Tuscan Stradivarius was made for
Cosima de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany,
for which Mr. White, of London, paid $10,-
000 cash. It and the Lyon & Healy Stradi-
varius were made in the same year, and the
only difference is that the Tuscan has re-
ceived better treatment, as the certificate
says:
Inside the violin is the Stradivari stamp label
with the date 1690. It is fourteen inches in the
length of the body, and is of the long Strad type.
The back is a whole one of pretty wood of small
curl. The instrument is well preserved. The var-
nish is an orange red color and is somewhat worn.
There is an erroneous idea among most
people that Stradivarius seldom made two
violins alike, but this is not the case, as,
for instance, take the Le Messie, one of his
greatest violins, which he made in 1716, in
comparison to the Tuscan and Lyon &
Healy Strad, which were made twenty-six
years earlier, and their only difference is
one-eighth of an inch in the upper pouch.
Another very fine instrument which Lyon
& Healy have obtained from the same
source was made by Nicholas Luper of
Paris, whose genuine label, dated 1805, the
instrument bears. The back is in one
piece, the figure of the wood running up
from left to right. There is no perceptible
crack. The varnish is of a crimson color, a
good deal worn, especially on the back. It
is a representative specimen of the maker's
best epoch.
The " Unexcelled " Violin Strings.
Of the merits of the Symphonion instru-
ments it is almost impossible to speak too
highly.
It should be borne in mind that the Sym-
phonion is manufactured in seventy differ-
ent styles, the music catalogue containing
over 5,000 popular and sacred airs.
Wm. R. Gratz & Co., of this city, sole
agents for these goods, report a heavy de-
mand for same.
AMILTON S. GORDON is experienc-
ing a good demand for his celebrated
"Unexcelled" violin strings, made also for
banjos and guitars. They are manufac-
tured by a well-known European maker,
each string is carefully selected from the
broken bundle, they are wrapped .in oil
paper and foil, carefully enveloped and
boxed. They are supplied, according to
the taste of the buyer, in either the
"smooth" or "rough" and are said to in-
variably give every satisfaction.
H
A Famous Stradivarius.
C. G. Conn.
YON & HEALY have lately become
the possessors of a very fine Stradi-
varius, which they value at $5,000. Its
former owner was D. J. Partello, of Sonne-
berg, Germany. The violin is dated 1690,
and was purchased in Venice in 1801 by a
Mr. Pybus, of Bond street, who brought
it to England. It became the property of
the late Viscount Arbuthnot in the year
1817. He gave it to a Mr. Ogilvie, his first
cousin, a representative of one of the old
Scottish county families, who sold it to W.
E. Hill & Sons, West Bond street, London,
dealers in old violins. Mr. Partello pur-
L
AN ILLUSTRATION
c
OF YANKEE PLUCK AND
ENERGY.
G. CONN, who has created quite a
sensation by offering in his paper,
published at Washington, D. C., to give
$2,500 to Mr. Bryan or any other free silver-
ite who will answer certain pertinent cur-
rency questions which he propounds, is a
fine illustration of what indefatigable
Yankee pluck and energy will do fora man
who improves his opportunities in this free
republic, says the Chicago"Times-Herald."
Mr. Conn now owns at Elkhart, Ind., the
9
largest band instrument factory in the
world, employing hundreds of skilled work-
men, a fine monument to his peerless pluck
and his industrial prowess.
But Mr. Conn has not confined his ener-
gies to building up this magnificent
property. He has been "blowing his horn"
in other ways. He has contributed to the
gayeties of politics by distributing some of
his big profits on gold and silver instru-
ments in various journalistic enterprises.
He is owner and editor of the Washington
(D. C.) "Daily Times," a labor organ with
a big circulation; also owner and editor of
the Elkhart "Daily Truth."
He runs his big factory on the co-opera-
tive plan, dividing the profits each year
with the employees. This policy has made
him very strong with the labor element,
whenever he took a notion to divert himself
with incursions into politics. Although a
Democrat, he was twice elected Mayor of
Elkhart, and was elected to Congress as a
Democrat from the thirteenth congressional
district, a district that has been represented
by such Republicans as Schuyler Colfax
and Major William H. Calkins.
But Mr. Conn is for McKinley and sound
money this year, and being a good horn
blower, a tireless agitator and a dauntless
champion of the rights of labor, his attitude
in this campaign is invested with great sig-
nificance.
Novel Wood-Wind Instrument.
D
R. SHOHE TANAKA, a clever Eu-
ropean inventor, has now, it is said,
produced a novel wood-wind instrument
with a keyboard corresponding exactly
with that of the piano, without in any
other way altering the form or construction
of the instrument, and, it is stated, without
modifying the tone color. This, if practi-
cable, should render certain instruments of
the wood-wind family less awesome to the
amateur.
The Martin Guitar.
HE Martin guitars, for which C. A.;
Zoebisch & Sons are the factors, con-
tinue to enjoy their old-time popularity.
New houses and new instruments have
become prominent in the trade during the
sixty years the Martin guitars have been
before the public, but they still maintain
their place among the reliable instruments
recommended and used by eminent teachers
and soloists.
T
FRANK BURNS, the scarf and cover man,
will be on the road again right after election.
THE Dayton Autoharp Club, composed
of twelve young ladies, played before the
Cash Register Convention at Dayton, O.,
this week and made a big "hit."