Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
11
LATEST NEWS FROM J H E QUAKER CITY.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TOPICS.
Good Spring Weather Is Helping Business—The Bauer Co. Have a Phenomenal Trade in Their
Specialties—Wanamaker's Sixth Anniversary—The House That Heppe B u i l t — C . H. Fischer
Co. Open Piano Department in T r e n t o n — F a r r a n d Co.'s Success—Mr. Brambach a Visitor.
Strong Words in Favor of Membership from
F. A. Leland.
a jury. Never directly or indirectly has an at-
Philadelphia, Pa., April 12, 1905.
tempt been made to influence my judgment. If
With the advent of fine spring weather, piano
I come across a piano that does not appeal to me
selling has assumed its normal activity, and
as in perfect register or of improperly adjusted
spring stock seems to be moving out a little
action, that piano is immediately sent back to the
faster than last year. General business condi-
factory."
tions here are very much better this spring than
Henry Gordon Thunder, another expert on the
last, and for that reason the piano men are most
jury, has this to say: "During the past four
encouraged.
years, as a member of the tone jury, 1 have per-
sonally tested upwards of a thousand pianos for
This activity has extended to the dealers in
the Heppes. The fact that my signature appears
small goods, and the manufacturers of the same,
on the certificates which have been sealed to the
who feel that they see an outlook of more busi-
backs of the pianos, should be sufficient evidence
ness than for several years. The Bauer Co., at
of my approval of giving the public the benefit of
1410 North Sixth street, have made double the
expert knowledge. I have exercised absolute lib-
number of instruments during the first three
erty in passing judgment upon any piano I have
months of the present year that they did last
been asked to test."
year. This was because they have almost doubled
their capacity. In their show rooms at present
To this testimony has also been added the testi-
the cases are piled with fine specimens of the
mony of Dr. Gilchrist, William Stoll, Jr., and
various styles of banjos, mandolins and guitars
Samuel L. Herrman, other members of the tone
they make, but these are being shipped as rapid-
jury.
ly as possible. Large shipments have started,
The Charles H. Fischer Co. have shown the
within the past ten days, for their foreign agents
progress they are making in the opening of a
in London, who reship them to all parts of the
piano department in one of the leading depart-
Eastern Continent, many of them reaching to the
ment stores of Trenton, N. J., this week. M. F.
cities in the Orient. Shipments have also been
Connor has been placed in charge, and in this
going to Sherman, Clay & Co., who supply the
department they will sell not only the Kimball
Stewart instrument among the people of the pianos, of all the different styles, but also the
coast, while the cities nearer home have also been
Kimball organs and Kimball self-players. There
ordering in a most satisfactory way.
is floor space for the display of about seventy in-
struments. The Heppes have also been doing
The coming week the Wanamaker store will
good work in some of the neighboring towns, hav-
celebrate the sixth anniversary of the opening of
ing recently worked successfully Wilmington,
their piano department. The department was
Del., and are now running a store in Chester.
opened on April 15, 1899, the same day
H. R. Boyd, the vice-president of the Fischer Co.,
that Gimbel Brothers opened their depart
is in charge. William G. Fischer is making his
ment.
At the time the Wanamaker firm
annual visit to Jacksonville, Florida, where he
started in the piano business, their customers had
is the guest of his old friend, A. B. Campbell.
the Chickering, Vose & Sons and Krell and Royal
pianos to select from. They still have the Chick-
The Farrand Company, having met with much
ering and Vose, but the Krell and Royal pianos success here in the Cecilian business, has
are handled by the firm of Strawbridge & Cloth-
branched out since they have secured the agency
ier. Later the Wanamaker house took the Crown,
for the Sohmer, in which the Cecilian player
Campbell, Haines Brothers, Merrill, Mason &
•will be placed, and they have also taken the
Hamlin, Emerson and Gramer agencies. They
agency for the McPhail piano, and will go into
continue to have all these agencies with the ex- the piano business. The McPhail has been
ception of the Mason & Hamlin and the Crown.
handled in this city for a number of years by
To these agencies they will add, about the first
the Hughes Brothers, whose warerooms are lo-
of July the Knabe agency. This will give them
cated at Tenth and Spring Garden streets.
a very fine line, although their line at present is
Alois Brambach, of the Brambach Piano Co.,
better than that handled by any other firm in
was a recent visitor to Philadelphia. He ex-
this city. Th'at the Wanamaker firm has, in these
pressed himself as very well pleased with the
six years, demonstrated that department stores
way the Estey Co. are handling his piano. He
can successfully handle pianos, is best evident
was on his way home from the South and West,
in the fact that they control here such a fine
where he says things are looking up very well,
line of big names. J. B. Woodford is still at San
with the prospects of a very large business this
Antonio, Texas, where he expects to remain until
spring.
the first of May.
For some months there has been no one in Phil-
While on the subject of anniversaries, it was adelphia manufacturing piano strings, and the
interesting to read the past week a long article
local men have gotten together and have per-
on the history of the forty years of the "House
suaded William J. Lockhart, of Boston, to settle
that Heppe Built." The most striking thing about
in this city to make strings. He will open a fac-
this article was the long and explanatory inter-
tory here shortly.
views with the gentlemen who constitute the
tone jury of the Heppe house. This tone jury, MME. FRITZI SCHEFF AND THE WEBER.
when it was started some few years ago, was
Mme. Fritzi Scheff, formerly of the Metropoli-
looked upon, by other dealers, as a fake scheme
tan Opera Co., and more recently so popular in
to attract buyers. To anyone who carefully reads
comic opera, is a great admirer of the Weber
the interviews with these gentlemen, they will
piano, of which she spoke as follows recently:
at once be convinced of their sincerity, and no
"For
the past five years, or since my first Ameri-
one questions their honesty in the matter. Dr.
Hugh A. Clarke, practically the dean of the musi- can engagement, I have had a Weber piano,
cal fraternity of Philedelphia, says the following either upright or a grand, in my apartments,
about the work of the jury: "From the institu- using them constantly, and to-day 1 am free to
tion of this jury and ever since, I have been im- confess that there is no piano the tone of which
pressed with the great protection it gives, not appeals to me more or whose artistic value I
only to the piano purchaser, but to the piano esteem more highly than the Weber. ,This is es-
manufacturer as well. The best evidence of its pecially true of the little grand which has graced
success is the large number of pianos sold bear- my salon during the past season. This instru-
ing these certificates. The public understands ment is an ideal pianoforte."
the value of an expert's opinion over his signa-
H. S. PRAETORIUS RESIGNS.
ture attached to the back of the piano, and a very
large number of persons will buy no other. I
H. S. Praetorius, who for a long period of years
have refused to certify to certain pianos, for as has been connected with Anderson & Co.. of
a judge i have always been given perfect liberty Brooklyn, has resigned. He has not yet an-
to do so, otherwise I would not have gone on such nounced his future plans.
Third Vice-President F. A. Iceland, head of tho
well-known house of F. A. Leland & Son, Worces-
ter, Mass., who has always been an enthusiastic
association worker and known as the father of
the idea of indicating affiliation with the asso-
ciation on all letterheads and printed matter is-
sued by its members, has sent the Press Commit-
tee the following short, yet. forceful, argument in
favor of membership in the association. It was
prepared by Mr. Leland shortly after the Phila-
delphia meeting, and serves to indicate the gen-
eral feeling which existed among all the officers
who attended that session. It is hoped every
member of the Association, as well as every repu-
table piano and organ dealer, though he may not
be favored with a membership in our association,
will read and thoroughly digest Mr. Iceland's
remarks. Mr. Leland says:
"One thing which impressed me forcibly at our
Philadelphia meeting was the great interest
shown by each of the officers present. It was
strictly business; no extensive, long-drawn-out
speeches. Offences against, our by-laws and trade
ethics were not condoned, but dealt with vigor-
ously. They felt they had the power and that,
that power should be wielded against dishonest
methods and practices. They were strong in ac-
tion. I felt that could each individual member
be present, they would have more abiding faith
in the association; that it was not for play, not to
glorify ourselves it was formed, but for earnest,
idealistic, active work; to be a power for good;
to remedy evil; to be a support and bulwark to
every member; to be mutually helpful; to be ac-
tive, not passive, in our support. We want strong
men of vigorous ideas, with a membership of a
few hundred rather than a weak, vascillating or-
ganization of five hundred. Dead lumber has no
vitality, no resistance. Our association was not
formed with dictatorial powers, yet the hands
that guide it may be strong in policy, sincere in
eflort, helpful in action, and thus make it a
power, not alone by its membership, but by more
than that—its influence. Let it mean something
to be on its rolls. The membership badge should
mean a badge of character, of honest, of upright
dealing, and the confidence of those whose trade
we tesk should be ours."
President Miller and the members of his Topics
Committee have received such a variety of sub-
jects for discussion at the next convention that
it will require a considerable amount of discre-
tion to determine these to be used. It will b3 the
object o? the committee to select topics having
rational importance and an influence on the trade
in general, rather than subjects applcable to
merely local conditions. Many of the suggestions
offered have been in a meisure of only local in-
terest, and to these who have made these sugges-
tions President Miller so'icits others bro2d~r in
scope. The time is giowng short, ami he desires
to have the topics finally selecte:! not later than
the first week in May, and if any member still
has a suggestion to offer he will appreciate its
prompt submission.
(Special to The Review.)
(Supplied by Chairman uf Press Committee.)
KNIGHT-CAMPBELL CO. INCORPORATED.
The Knight-Campbell Music Co. havo been in-
corporated with the Secretary of the State of
Colorado, with a capital of $300,000. The in-
corpoiators are: Geo. H. Campbell. Albert
GicKcke, Chas. E. Wells and Edgar A. Cox.
NEW CONCERN IN CAMDEN.
H. W. Most,-who has been identified with the
piano business in Camden, N. J., for the pa?t fif-
teen years, has opened piano anrl organ ware-
rooms at 529 Market street.
The Driessen Music Store in Part Chester,
N. Y., had a narrow escape last weok from de
eduction by a fire which was discovered in the
Harper hardware store, adjoining this establish-
ment.