Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
D. H. Baldwin & Co
The Mason & Hamlin Organs.
ONE OF THE GREAT INSTITUTIONS OF THE WEST
INTERESTED IN FOUR FACTORIES.
Talking over the merits of the Mason &
Hamlin products with The Review before
leaving on his vacation, W. P. Daniels, of
the retail department, pointed out some
reasons for the firm's present superiority in
the manufacture of organs.
"Much as the Mason & Hamlin Co.
value the unprecedented mass of testimony
to the superiority of their organs," said he,
"their chief reliance is upon the intrinsic
superiority of their work, which msut be
evident to every competent judge. This
is comparatively greater to-day than it
ever has been before. The more thorough
and searching the comparisons, the more
considerable it will appear. Matured skill,
trained and perfected by the manufacture
of one hundred and ninety thousand instru-
ments, and by accumulated facilities for
manufacture collected in the mostextensive
and completely furnished factories in the
world, enabledthe company to produce the
finest organs, combining the best results of
inventive genius and experienced work-
manship. In true musical quality of tone;
in variety of combination and solo effect;
in proportion, uniformity of scale, conven-
ience of mechanical arrangements, and
other excellences, these organs now possess
in a higher degree than ever that superior-
ity which has given them their pre-eminent
reputation. Every instrument, in every
part, interior as well as exterior, is made
in the most thorough and workmanlike
manner, from choicest material, insuring
the greatest possible durability and free-
dom from liability to get out of order. "
Cincinnati has long been recognized as
the leading musical center of the West,
and this is true both with reference to the
artistic and commercial interests that are
connected with music, says the Commercial
Tribune. An especially prominent enter-
prise of this kind is the house of D. H.
Baldwin & Co., who are manufacturers of
and dealers in pianos and organs, conduct-
ing their business with headquarters at 142
and 144 West Fourth street. The business
dates its inception back to 1862, when Mr.
D. H. Baldwin established in business
after having been a teacher of music for
several years, and in 1873 took into partner-
ship Mr. Lucien Wulsin, under the name
of D. H. Baldwin & Co. In 1872 a house
was established at Indianapolis, and in
1878 another branch was started at Louis-
ville, and subsequently Messrs. A. A. Van
Buren, of Louisville, and Geo. W. Arm-
strong, Jr., of Cincinnati, were also ad-
mitted to the firm. The company conduct
four factories, one at Gilbert avenue,
where they manufacture the Baldwin
piano; one at Baymiller and Poplar
streets, where they manufacture the El-
lington piano; one on Baymiller street,
where they manufacture the Valley Gem
piano, and one on West Fourteenth place,
where they manufacture the Hamilton
organ. The Baldwin pianos are scientific-
ally designed and constructed with special
features, patented, which insure remark-
able volume, exquisite quality and beauty
of tone, with greatest durability and cap-
acity for standing in tune, and they are
made in grand and upright styles, and are
in quality unsurpassed by any in the
market. The firm give employment to a
force of over 200 persons, and have a large
trade in all parts of the United States and
also in Europe, and from their stores in
Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville
they control an especially large business in
the Ohio Valley States. They also control a
number of stores throughout the South and
West. As a consequence of the superior
quality of their products, the firm has estab-
lished for itself a representative position
in the piano and organ trade. Mr. D. H.
Baldwin, the executive head of the busi-
ness, gives a close and efficient atten-
tion to its general management, and Mr.
Lucien Wulsin, his partner, is also Vice
President of the Central Trust and Safe
Deposit Co. Mr. A. A. Van Buren effici-
ently looks after the affairs of the Louis-
ville house, while Mr. George W. Arm-
strong, Jr., is located at headquarters in
Cincinnati.
Curious Things About Sound.
It is sometimes difficult for us to judge
by the power of hearing when a sound has
ceased to stimulate the ear. When, for
example, a bell has been ringing for some
time, and then stops, the sound gradually
dies away, and it is almost impossible for
us to tell the exact moment when it has
ceased. It may seem to have died away
entirely, and we cease to strain the ear to
catch its faint tone. Yet, if we listen
again we seem to hear it faintly. This
may be due to different causes. It may be
that the ear has become fatigued for the
special sound, and that the momentary
withdrawal of the attention has rested the
ear, so that it can respond to tones pre-
viously inaudible. On the other hand, it
may be due to a vivid form of auditory
memory. There is no doubt that there is
some physical change in the auditory cen-
ter when the sensation of sound is ex.
cited, and that when the center has once
acted in a particular way, it does so more
easily when similar circumstances again
arise, or even as the result of a mental
effort.
Sometimes it may require re-
peated attempts before we are able to
recollect a sound, as when, after hearing
a new song, we fail for a day or so to re-
member the music of it, but gradually
note by note and line by line it returns,
often without conscious effort, until we
are able to place it all together again more
or less correctly, according to acuteness
of ear and receptivity for musical impres-
sion. The power of receiving sounds
varies much with the state of the mind and
the nature of our environment. As a rule,
we pay no attention to and do not con-
sciously hear such customary sounds as
the ticking of a clock, the noise of street
traffic and the like, although they must be
constantly beating upon the ear. They
constitute our basis of silence, so to speak,
for if the clock should stop, or if we pass
to the solitude of the country, we seem
to hear the silence which ensues. Again,
just as some people are color blind, so
others may be deaf to the pitch of sound.
Some ears are adapted only for sounds of
comparatively low pitch; others for those
of high pitch; they are deaf to all the
rest. If we take the lowest limit for pitch
at sixteen vibrations a second, and the
highest at about 40,000, we have in all a
range of about eleven octaves. The ear
has thus a much wider range for pitch than
the eye for color, for it will be remem-
bered that the lowest red rays of the spec-
trum have a vibrational frequency of four
hundred and thirty-five millions of millions
a second, while those of the ultra violet
vibrate at the rate of seven hundred and
sixty-four millions of millions, that is to
say, less than twice the number at the
lower end of the spectrum, or less than
one complete octave. Nevertheless, the
power of distinguishing tones of varying
pitch is with some persons so slight that
they are unable to discriminate one tune
from another, and others who can recognize
the difference are unable to sing more than
one or two notes of different pitch.
A New Harp.
A new harp has recently been devised
by a Parisian instrument builder. The
new harp is in point of outward appearance
practically identical with the old, save
that the set of pedals have been done away
with, the sharps being obtained by means
of extra strings. There are seventy-eight in
string in all this instrument, and they are
strung crosswise—after the fashion of an
upright piano—and colored, the one set
white, the other red. It is said to be a
great improvement on the traditional in-
strument played by King David.
The BRAUHULLER PIANO is a KLONDIKE for every progressive dealer. NEW STYLES are now
ready. 5end for new Illustrated Catalogue, BRAUflULLER COHPANY, 402-410 W. 14th St., N. Y.