Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
n
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ods and its instruments, but to subtle in-
nuendos and darkly suggestive hints, and
There are successful pianists who are not have been given the full benefit of elo-
artists, but the successful piano salesman quent shrugs and raisings of the eyebrows.
must bean artist, inasmuch as he is master So they come into the presence of this par-
of that which in itself is an art, and which ticular salesman clad in an armor of dis-
is daily becoming- a more exacting accom- trust and wrapped in a cloud of doubt.
plishment also. The builder may put forth The salesman must find the weak point
his most able and cunning efforts; the in the first and dispel the latter. If he
skilled artisan may embody his best work cannot do both and make a sale, he is un-
in the instrument whose part he labors worthy of his high standing in his busi-
upon; the dealer may fill a gorgeous sales- ness—his art, rather. He does this, and
room with the most perfect specimens of to see him do it is to witness a series of
the pianomaker's calling; but if the tact character sketches and a display of elo-
and patience of the salesman is lacking, quence and ability that can not often
those pianos will not depart from the gor- be enjoyed on or off the stage. The
geous salesroom to the customer's parlor, salesman cannot afford to lose his tem-
and in the fullness of time the red flag of per for an instant; must meet cold disbe-
commercial disaster will flutter from that lief and chill silence with a smile and mien
dealer's door, and some one who knows as full of sunshine as a June morning, and,
how to sell a piano will reign in his while he is swearing at an allegretto rate
place. There is so little difference in the to himself, he is rattling off a Strauss
relative merits of the best pianos ; there is waltz, or holding a fair customer entranced
such fierce competition between dealers in with the "Lohengrin" Wedding March.
the same city, and there are so many He lays bare the viscera of the piano to
causes tending to estrange these rivals, display the workmanship and the beauty
that the modern piano salesman must needs of the "action," and he never fails to talk
be a Talleyrand or a Richelieu for diplo- when he should talk, or to preserve a dis-
macy and a Demosthenes for eloquence in creet and respectful silence when silence is
order to retain supremacy in his art and be necessary to gain his end. The expert,
known to the trade as a first-class man. well-trained salesman can, as it were, say
To specify all of such a man's attainments, more when he is silent than other men can
or to outline all the requisites necessary in say when they talk. He is not a man to
his mental and physical make-up would waste speech, but to make every word and
require a column of fine type. It must glance and gesture do its work. Such men
suffice to outline a few traits that shine are absolutely indispensable in every large
conspicuously in the daily career of the first- piano-selling establishment. They should
class salesmen in a leading establishment have big salaries and liberal commissions,
for they are of the kind that are born, not
of a large city.
made.
In the first place, he must be a good
performer with a repertoire at his finger-
Just Like the Emerson Co.
tips that would startle Adele Aus der Ohe.
He must be a reservoir of piano music
The following clipping from the Chicago
that is ready to flow at an instant's notice, Interocean throws a strong light on the
and which must possess every variety of straight-forward business methods of the
style, from grave to gay, from lively to Emerson Piano Co. and their resident
severe. This storehouse he must utilize partner, John W. Northrop. This action of
with a discretion and tact that dare not be theirs, however, is not surprising to any
at fault.
At a glance he must decide, member of the trade who has had dealings
from the manner and appearance of his with this renowned Boston institution:
customers, whether "The Maiden's Prayer"
"Several insurance men were forcibly
—with a series of pyrotechnics of his own impressed with the fact that there are still
improvising—or the "Dead March" from men who are honest enough to refund
Saul, will best chain the attention and ar- money to an insurance company when
they find that they are not entitled to it.
ouse the interest of the visitor and possi- They received letters, accompanied by
ble purchaser. In the event of a "com- checks for a refund of $3,850 on a total in-
mittee" calling to buy a piano—a half surance of $21,500 paid to the Emerson
dozen of self-important men sent forth to Piano Co. for their fire of March 16, 1898.
choose something which not one of them It was explained that the claim was set-
tled satisfactorily and paid soon after the
knows anything about—then does the tact fire, but some time after the company ac-
and diplomacy of the salesman shine re- cidentally learned that at least one piano
splendent. He sells the half-dozen one of which they had supposed was in stock had
the costliest instruments in the store, and been in the hands of outside parties. All
sends the visitors away with but one re- the books having been destroyed by the
fire, it was very difficult to trace the mat-
gret, and that is that they had not author- ter, but finally it was all cleared up and it
ity to buy six pianos.
was found that stock to the value of $3,-
The first-class sales.nan, every working 850 had been paid for by mistake. The
companies receiving the 18 per cent, re-
day of his life, is brought into contact with fund were the Commonwealth, Pennsyl-
absolute strangers. These have, in all vania, Imperial, Palatine, Thuringia,
probability, made the tour of the rival Phoenix of England, Niagara, and State of
dealers in the same city, and as a conse- Pennsylvania. They said it was like find-
quence they have been filled, above the ing money."
collar-buttons, with doubts and suspicions.
The strike at the Harvard piano factory,
They have listened, not perhaps to abso- Dayton, Ky., was this week formally de*
lute denunciation of this firm and its meth- clared off by. the Union,
The Piano Salesman.
A REVIEW
" SPECIAL"
•METIMES, twice a year, we have
special offers to make to our sub-
scribers. This time our ** special ** is
in the form of a match box—out of
the ordinary, of course,—made of
gun metal, so much in vogue in up-to-date
jewelry.
The accompanying illustration gives a com-
prehensive idea of the box. It is of rich dark
blue color, beautifully chased, with burnished
edge, as shown in illustration. A handsome
EXACT SIZE OF BOX.
and useful equipment for the twentieth century
man.
A certificate accompanies each box.
The regular stores sell them as hi6h as a couple
of dollars each.
"We have bought them in large numbers for
a purpose,—that purpose, to provide every
reader of T H E REVIEW who pays for his
paper with a valuable, useful and interesting
souvenir.
"We will agree to send one box, postpaid, to all
subscribers whose check for $2 reaches us by Feb.
1st, 1901. This offer includes old subscribers as
well as new, for we may as well give the old
guard the same opportunity as the newer
element.
If we could send one of these boxes for per-
sonal inspection we are confident that it would
win many subscribers, but we cannot. How-
ever, you may take our word for it that it is a
superb gift to anybody and will come in handy
three hundred and sixty-five days in the year.
Here is an opportunity which should be speedily
embraced.
We will agree to supply them as long as our
present stock remains.
SUBSCRIPTION DEPT.:
THE REVIEW,
3 E. 14th St.,
NEW YORK.