Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Piano flaking in Baltimore.
Baltimore, Md., Oct. 23, 1899.
There is great activity in the piano trade-
Not for several years has there been such
a demand for high-grade instruments.
Orders have been so numerous of late that
the two large Baltimore factories—William
Knabe & Co. and Charles M. Stieff—are
rushed to their fullest capacity.
With the increased demand for pianos
the manufacturers have been confronted
with the scarcity of skilled labor for that
class of work. The firm of William Knabe
& Co. advertised recently in local papers
for 30 polishers and rubbers.
The demand for pianos naturally at-
tracts attention to this industry, which is
one of Baltimore's oldest and largest.
Pianos were first manufactured in Balti-
more in the early part of the century.
The business did not take permanent root,
however, until 1837, when William Knabe
the first came to this city from Germany
and began the manufacture of pianos on
Liberty street, near Lexington.
About 1847 Mr. Knabe removed his
place of business to Hopkins place and
German street. Five years afterward he
removed to Eutaw and Baltimore streets,
and in 1861 purchased the first of the pres-
ent group of buildings at Eutaw and West
streets, now occupying four and a-half
acres. The business has been conducted
by the same family for 62 years uninter-
ruptedly.
Charles M. Stieff, the other large Balti-
more manufacturer, has been in business a
half century, and his plant, like that of
William Knabe & Co., has grown to large
proportions.
In the course of a long article in a local
paper, interesting facts in connection with
the industry are emphasized, notably the
contributions of William Knabe the first,
to the perfection of the American piano.
Of the marked change from the clumsy
and unpretentious architectural designs of
the past to the magnificent array of chaste
creations in fancy woods, which are to be
seen to-day, it says: "A case for a piano
now being manufactured by Wm. Knabe
& Co. is being decorated with scenes from
'Romeo and Juliet.'"
Speaking of the manufacture of the ac-
tion, keyboard and sounding-board, we
read: "The waste in the making of the
keyboard is said to be about forty per cent.
while in that of the sounding-board is sixty
per cent."
Tuning is an important item in the
manufacture of a high grade piano, for
" each instrument receives ten tunings be-
fore shipment in addition to three ' chip-
pings ' and two fine tunings, making in all
fifteen times the piano is tuned before
reaching the purchaser. A piano when
finished has passed through one hundred
and eight hands and has been in course of
manufacture five months."
Speaking of the cost of pianos, it says:
"Pianos have decreased
in cost, which is due
largely to the introduc-
tion of machinery and
improved factory me-
thods. One Baltimore
manufacturer,has sold a
piano as high as $7,000.
The business of this
firm has grown from six
pianos a year to more
than 3,000 a year, rep-
resenting annual re-
ceipts of $1,500,000.
Frequent shipments are
made to Europe by this
same firm, and not long
ago three pianos were
sent to Chile and four
to Hawaii. The firm
had an agency at Ma-
drid, Spain, which did
a good business until
the o u t b r e a k of the
Spanish -American
War, when it became
necessary to close for lack of trade. A
catalogue in the Spanish language for
use in the South American republics is
issued regularly by this firm.
"Employed in the manufacture of pianos
in this city are more than 1,000 men. One
firm alone employs 575 men. The wages
paid them average about $15 a week.
Regulators receive about $30 a week;
finishers, between $15 and $20; polishers,
about $14, and tuners, from $25 to $50 for
the same period. The men are given
work all the year round, because in the
spring and summer preparations must be
made for the fall and winter trade. In
fact, 50 per cent, of the piano business is
done during the three fall months, while
the remaining 50 percent, is scattered over
the balance of the year.
"That the Baltimore piano manufactur-
ers are fair employers is best evidenced by
the fact that they have men working for
them who have been in their service for a
long term of years. One of the employes
of William Knabe & Co. has been with the
firm for 43 years."
A Behr Trade Winner.
Behr Bros. Style C, Colonial, Upright
Grand, 1899-1900, is an admirable creation
in every respect, and has found favor
among Behr patrons and their friends. It
embraces all of the Behr specialities of con-
struction and tone. Every detail is perfect
in finish. Style C is being made in ma-
hogany and walnut. The height is 4 feet
Sj4 inches; length, 5 feet 4 inches; depth,
2 feet 3^4 inches.
Useful War Souvenirs.
Don't waste a moment! Turn immedi-
ately to page 16. The information con-
tained there will interest you, because
everyone is interested in useful war relics.
It will tell you, too, how we have secured
more than five hundred new subscribers
to The Review.
R. O. Burgess, of the Wegman Piano
Co , who recently returned from a trip
West, is enthusiastic over conditions in
that section of the country.
Gain Knowledge
Of the *'innards" of a piano by a little reading. Yon may ha\«
been a dealer for many years, yon may have been a tnner for a
like period, you may have played a little—maybe more; bnt is
it not well to get a little more practical knowledge?
Some-
thing to bank on—an authority on all matters relating to tun-
ing, repairing, toning and regulating, scientific instructions—
everything? Written by that eminent authority, Daniel Spillane.
The cost is only a trifle-a dollar.
The book is illustrated,
cloth bound, over a hundred pages- It is called " The Piano."
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Publisher, 3 East 14th 5treet, New York