Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
The term small grand has now replaced the clumsy appella-
EGULAR piano dealers might ask, how are we going to do
all this in our limited trade?
tion of baby grand which was applied to the earlier grand product
Well, if the question were an easy one to answer, it would be
no problem.
REVIEW
of diminished size.
But certainly the progressive spirit should impress
itself more and more upon the retail department of trade.
Take the new Aeolian Building on Fifth Avenue.
A number of firms, however, have given special appellation
to their small grands, thus adding to piano nomenclature.
Stein-
Could we
way & Sons have called their smaller product the Miniature grand,
imagine a more inviting music temple than that now presents?
Knabe & Co. the Mignon grand, and d i c k e r i n g & Sons the Quarter
There is an air of refinement which attracts one the moment the
grand.
outer door is passed, and still to a large degree the element of pure
and have been used by them in the exploitation of the small grands.
These names were specially selected by the various houses
commerciality is lacking, at least it does not impress itself upon one
as the various floors are visited.
Aeolian Hall is the culmination of many years of successful
I
T has been somewhat difficult of late for manufacturers to settle
upon some special appellation by which to designate their small
work, yet the directors of that great enterprise had definite plans
pianos in grand form.
The old advertised name will remain. It
in view years ago, and they have striven hard to bring those plans
is, however, not easy to select a name which will be applicable to a
to successful issue.
small grand piano any more than it is to select a name for a new
piano player. Since the piano player has come in such general use,
A N element, however, which was noticeable years ago in this
*•
enterprise, was the fact that attractions were gotten up to
interest the public. The directors realized, too, the beneficial effect
of a handsome store and costly equipments.
Other successful music trade establishments over America have
found that store attractiveness has paid. It is well to have a place
in some out of the way corner, provided it is not desirable to give
the habit seems to be now to give it the name of the firm who manu-
facture it.
Most of the special names applied to grand pianos have been
copyrighted and are the property of the users. The name "Quarter
grand" has become associated with the Chickering product through
widespread advertising, and at once the small Chickering grand
up an entire room, where there can be comfortable settees and easy
comes to mind when the word "quarter" is used in connection with
chairs, with writing tables, where letters can be written on station-
pianos.
ery supplied by the firm, free of charge.
/"~\N February i the Weber piano will pass under the control pf
In this way a music store
ore
Q
Lyon & Healy for Chicago and adjacent territory.
This
could be made a convenient rendezvous for people to meet while on
on
v_x
shopping tours.
move, which was reported in The Review last week, has not excited
/
great comment because there has been a general belief existing that
"T~*O again refer to the Aeolian Co., it will be recalled that this
*
concern first inaugurated a series of public entertainments
at which the Aeolian formed the chief attraction.
Then pianola
recitals began to be in vogue, and all the while the people were
becoming more and more interested in the special inventions and
innovations of this concern.
Now the piano player, itself, if properly exploited can be used
as a powerful selling adjunct to every music trade wareroom in
America. A good many dealers have overlooked the importance of
this new trade factor. They have wrongly figured that it was a fad
whose stay would be fleeting. And some have claimed that it was
a sort of mechanical toy which would play an unimportant part in
trade life.
They have not given to the player the attention which
such a condition would come to pass shortly after the beginning of
the new year.
defined plans of this great music trade organization.
which will affect various localized interests of the big corporation.
One thing is certain that every play upon the trade chess board made
by the Aeolian-Weber Co. will be watched with exceeding interest,
because there are many points involved which will give accentuated
interest to the play.
A ten million dollar corporation officered by men whose past
successes insure operations of a colossal magnitude is well calcu-
lated to have in store some interesting moves in this good old trade
of ours.
"What is the latest from the Aeolian-Weber people" will be
XT O one who has examined the up-to-date piano player, with its
it.
wonderful musical possibilities can fail to be impressed with
Its possibilities are almost boundless and as a musical educator
its influence cannot be well estimated.
Probably this
is one of several changes which may occur within the near future
it rightly deserves.
*• ^
The move seemed a logical sequence to the clearly
As a means of direct pub-
an oft propounded query in days to come.
A
ND so green-eyed jealousy is corroding the sweet serenity of
the paretic egotist's temper, and in his unintelligible pigeon
English he tries to express his feelings on the subject of trade
licity there is no better medium to call attention to pianos, and to
papers. His decaying mentality will not permit of his realizing his
musical wares generally than to use the player along the legitimate
true
lines of publicity. It is in the broadest sense the most helpful ad-
junct to the piano business.
.
a
A S predicted by The Review some years ago, the small grand is
already playing an important part in piano sales. This year
has seen the advent of a number of new small grands under various
&
tate
n of vanta
e s o that
a s
He im-
Ile c a n
dic
8
£
"
to
individuals as in days agone.
Those days are now past, and the incoherent ravings of the
embittered paretic fail to arouse the slightest interest.
They count
naught, whether in praise or in denunciation of an individual, a
special brand of pianos, or some successful journalist,
names, and as time rolls on there will be a steady increase in this
special product.
position in the estimation of the men of the industry.
ines t h a t h e stiU h o l d s t h e c o i
It is obvious that the paretic egotist does not improve under
t he
usage he is receiving.