Music Trade Review

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THE MU3IC TRADE REVIEW
is produced. Smaller quantities are exported to
Continental Europe. Nearly all is shipped from
Our Consui at Calcutta Throws Some Light on Calcutta.
"During the last fifteen years there have been
the Raise in Prices.
remarkable fluctuations in the amount exported.
Advances in the price of shellac have been Since 1895 there has been a gradual reduction in
noted in The Review from time to time, and the prices, but during the past two years the product
causes therefore. A shortage in the supply of has been comparatively small, while the demand
raw material has also been referred to in its has largely increased. This increased demand
commercial bearings. Manufacturers of wood fin- is mainly due to the use of shellac in electrical
ishing materials and shellac specialties have like- works and in a minor degree for making gramo-
wise proffered explanations of the unprecedented phone records. This increased demand, the small
increase in cost, ranging from 18 cents a pound production of the past two years, and the scarcity
of stock have attracted speculators, which no
lo 55 cents, the present wholesale figure.
Now, R. F. Patterson, United States Consul doubt has tended to further advance prices. An-
General at Calcutta, India, the world's shipping other reason for the recent advance in prices is
point for shellac, adds his testimony, a super- the fact that the lac dye, which formerly repre-
ficial opinion, to say the least, anent the "cause sented the manufacturer's profits, has been re-
of the great advance in price" in the appended placed by aniline dyes, and the price of the lac
has been increased to make up for the losses due
official report, under date of May 26:
"In response to letters recently received from to this falling off in the demands for dye.
"The present high price may stimulate produc-
consumers of shellac asking the cause or causes
of the advance in prices, I submit the following tion and reduce the prices, or the increasing de-
facts: Lac is produced in almost every province mand may cause a further advance in prices.
in mdia, but principally in the Central Provinces, High prices may lead to the adulteration of shel-
Bengal and Assam, from which the largest lac with rosin, which has frequently been done,
amounts exported are obtained. That produced but can be detected by the smell."
in other districts is chiefly consumed in local
manufactures of bracelets, rings, beads, and other
STEPHEN S. MAPES' BIG OUTPUT.
trinkets worn as ornaments by the women of the
poorer classes, and in the manufacture of wood
lacquer work, which seems to have been begun
Stephen S. Mapes, piano strings, 511-513 East
in very remote times. Some very artistic work 137th street, whose output was considerably im-
is now done in this line.
peded several weeks ago by the collapse of power
"Lac is the incrustation deposited by the lac machinery in the factory building occupied by
insects on the branches of certain trees, and is him, is now producing the famous Mapes strings
collected, as a rule, by the jungle tribes, who with as much speed, regularity and precision as
break off the branches on which it is deposited. before the accident. The Mapes' constituency is
In this state it is called stick lac, and is sold by one of the largest in the United States. The
the gatherers to local dealers, who sell it to the demand averages well all the year round, thus
manufacturers of shellac or button lac, who put necessitating the almost continuous working at
it through various processes until it becomes the full pressure of the entire plant and a big staft
lac of commerce. The United States and the of string-making experts, all of whom are en-
United Kingdom furnish the principal markets thusiasts in their work and firm believers in the
for lac, taking by far the larger part of all that superiority of the Mapes' products.
SHELLAC ADVANCES IN PRICE.
33
WILL BUILD IN NASSAU.
Site for Grubb & Kosegarten Factory Selected
Near the Station.
The new piano action factory of Grubb & Kose>
garten will not be built on the old site at Bunker
Hill, but in the town of Nassau, N. Y. This was
definitely agreed upon this week at a conference
between members of the firm and a committee of
the citizens of Nassau. As an inducement to lo-
cate in the town, the manufacturers were given
a large site owned by Mr. Valkenburgh, situated
convenient to the railroad station. I t is a most
desirable location; convenient for the receipt of
raw material, and the shipment of finished goods.
Work on the new factory will be begun next
week, and it will be ready for occupancy late
in the fall. The new building will be very much
larger than the plant recently destroyed by fire,
and, of course, more hands will be employed.
CALIFORNIA'S WONDER TOWN.
The New Town of Dolgeville, the Home of
Sounding Boards and Felts, Going to Be a
Great Manufacturing Center.
Among business men and those who are ob-
serving the progress of southern California and
the creation of manufacturing centers, the prog-
ress and development of Dolgeville is regarded as
phenomenal, says the Los Angeles Herald. The
most important enterprise in the south half of
California is the complete installation of the
great felt manufacturing plant by the Alfred
Dolge Mfg. Co., which immense undertaking has
been accomplished within a year. After investi-
gating what has been done by Alfred Dolge and
his expert assistants, mechanical and otherwise,
in this short time, the work seems marvelous.
There was a vast amount of work in remodeling
and refitting the large winery buildings for fac-
tory pvfcrposes. Plans were also prepared for
many of the machines, which had to be built.
Everything had to be brought across the conti-
nent and then set up under the supervision of
Alfred Dolge and his expert mechanical engineer,
Charles Millett, assisted by other skilled work-
men in various departments. Much of the ma-
chinery is original is design and all of the vast
machinery is of the best to be seen in the world.
For several months much of the machinery has.
been in motion, but recently the mills commenced
running at their full capacity in all departments
and the quantity of fine felt turned out was large-
ly increased. The manufacture of felt shoes and
slippers is also increasing to meet the demands
from all parts of the country. The number of
skilled workmen employed in the Dolge mills has
been increased.
NEW BRITAIN HARDWARE CO. CHANGE.
THIS VARNISH WILL NOT CHECK OR CRACK
AND WILL SAVE YOU HALF THE TIME
IN FINISHING PIANOS.
THE GLIDDEN VARNISH CO.,
(Special to The Review.)
New Britain, Conn., July 27, 1904.
The New Britain Hardware Manufacturing Co.
have decided to discontinue the manufacture of
its general line of piano and organ hardware and
other special goods, and have sold their real
estate and buildings to Landers, Frary & Clark.
It is the intention of the hardware company to
devote their energies to the perfection and manu-
facturing of a patented spring motor, controlled
by it and largely used by the piano and organ
trade.
CLEVELAND, OHIO.
MONTANA'S BIG YIELD OF WOOL.
Make comparative zero weather test with
SKIN-COTE and the varnish you are
now using and watch the results.
Sheep shearing is virtually completed through-
out Montana, and from the best figures obtain-
able the season's yield will be about 40,000,000
pounds, an increase of nearly 10 per cent, over
last year. An unusual feature has been the pur-
chase of fleeces on sheeps' backs, so anxious have
Eastern buyers been to secure the wool. The
prices obtained show a substantial increase over
last year, ranging from 12 to 24% cents a pound,
the latter being paid for a choice Choteau county
clip.