Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
FROM PENNSYLVANIA^JVIUSICAL CENTER.
Trade for October is Running Ahead of the Same Period of Last Year—Local Piano Dealers Do
Not Attend Monthly Meeting—Estey Business
Expanding—Some
Distinguished
Visi-
tors—Strawbridge & Clothier's Big Trade—The Sale of Lyric
Grands—The
Baldwin
Piano in the Quaker City—Heppe Piano Co. and Auto-Manual Co. Elect Officers.
(Special to The Review.)
C. J. Heppe & Son are turning out rapidly new
pianos from their Philadelphia factory. They
Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 18, 1905.
The piano business in Philadelphia is continu- have more than a hundred of these instruments
ing to be very good. The first two weeks of Oc- well on toward completion, and they are very
tober have been considerably ahead of last year, well satisfied with the work that is being done
and there is every indication that the month is there. In the auto-manual department the orders
going to be a banner one. The dealers general- are far exceeding the output, and manufacturers
ly are very well satisfied with the results so far, are clamoring for more interior attachments. So
and are urging orders from the factories and are extensively has this part of the business grown
pushing Philadelphia factories to their limit in that the auto-manual expect shortly to have a
order that there may be no lack of stock. The building entirely for their work and one that
New York factories must be in pretty good shape, will be adequate for their requirements.
judging by the way the Philadelphia dealers are
Strawbridge & Clothier are beginning to get a
able to fill up, and it is a pity that the same can- goodly supply of the fine Steck-Pianolas, and
not be said of the Philadelphia factories. This they are ready sellers. The Steck piano, next to
city does not cut a very big figure in the piano the Steinway, has a reputation in Philadelphia
manufacturing world, which is due largely to that is very high, and the same can be said
the fact that the local manufacturers are not ag- of the Pianola, and with the two combined, this
gressive enough, and do not care to take chances. instrument is invincible. The Weber is a piano
They are able to make a certain number of pianos of great merit, but hardly as well known in
at their own factories, and when those run out, Philadelphia as the Steck, but both the Steck
why, all that is necessary, they think, is to Pianolas and Weber Pianolas are being purchased
call on some outside factory to supply them for at a remarkably rapid rate by Philadelphia music
the rest of their tfade, instead of building and
lovers, when the price is considered.
enlarging their factory to meet all their require-
"A Lyric Grand a day!" is a record that the
ments.
Millers started out to accomplish during the
The Philadelphia Piano Dealers' Association month of October, and thus far have succeeded.
held their monthly meeting—the first one this It is amazing the popularity of the Henry F.
fall—on Tuesday evening of last week at the Miller Lyric Grand in Philadelphia, and there
warerooms of the Estey Piano Co. At. least, it are certainly as many of these little grands sold
was there that the members were requested to in Philadelphia as of all the other grands com-
assemble by the president, D. E. Woolley. bined at the present time. Their price and their
The only person to respond was Patrick Cun- quality is the reason.
ningham, and the business accomplished was a
Charles E. Doddridge reports that he is very
heart-to-heart talk between the president and Pat well satisfied with the outlook so far in his rep-
on the latter's trouble with the piano movers resentation of the Baldwin piano in Philadel-
with whom he has been in conflict for some time, phia, and he expects to win out, although it was
owing to the fact that he employs at times generally prophesied that he would have a very
non-union movers. The Philadelphia piano men hard row to hoe. He has already succeeded in
are very remiss in their duty to so neglect their
disposing of some of these pianos at most sat-
association, is one comment to be made, or they
isfactory propositions. He expects to secure the
do not see the need of such an association, rec- services of two or three good men to help him
ognizing that there is nothing to be done by on the outside.
such a body, if the latter is the case, why not
The annual meeting of the Heppe Piano Co.
disband? If carelessness is the trouble, then the and the Auto-Manual Action Co. was held in
Philadelphia dealers show a very narrow view Camden, N. J., on Monday last. A dividend of
tc take of how to accomplish anything.
6 per cent, was declared, and the company was
D. E. Woolley reports that business is very in excellent financial condition. The following
good at the Estey store, and that they are in officers and directors were elected for the ensu-
much better shape to handle it ever since they ing year of the Heppe Piano Co.: President, C. J.
removed their repair department to another Heppe; vice-president and treasurer, F. J. Heppe:
building. They have removed their pedal and secretary, John G. Stratton, and directors, John
double-bank organs from the first floor to a D. Pease, George W. Whitney and William P. H.
room upstairs arranged for them. S. A.' Gould
Bacon. The following gentlemen were elected di-
was a visitor to the Estey house this week. He rectors of the Auto-Manual Co.: Arthur E. Paige,
is well-known throughout the trade, having been
Esq., Philip Wuest, Jr., William C. Harper, M. C.
connected with several of the largest houses dur- Campbell and Rudolph L. Fackler.
ing his piano career. A few years ago he left
the trade and engaged in the manufacturing busi-
ASSOCIATION HAPPENINGS.
ness in Boston, which he recently disposed of,
Clean Out Offending Advertisers—Boston Asso-
and will very shortly re-enter the piano trade.
ciation Sets Good Example for Other Mem-
The new small grand Estey, recently brought
bers of the National Association—President
out by that company, continues to attract and
Werlein Will Entertain President Roosevelt.
command the attention of musicians and all lov-
ers of grand pianos, who desire an instrument to
(Supplied by Chairman Press Committee.)
accommodate itself to small quarters so preva-
Benefits of Association work have again been
lent in this city of small homes.
exemplified by the excellent work recently ac-
Mr. Lemkuhl, head salesman for Lyon & complished by the Boston Music Trade Associa-
Healy's piano department, was here this week, tion in effectually suppressing a line of objec-
also Mr. Coloney and Mr. Patterson, of the Den- tionable advertising carried on by a storage
ver Music Co. Mr. Coloney was taken sick warehouse in that city. The methods of the
shortly after his arriva 1 , and was compelled to concern were to advertise standard makes of
return home. The Blasius firm have been selling pianos at prices less than $100. Customers re-
quite a few of the large Mason & Hamlin organs, sponding to the delusive announcements were
but the demand for Mason & Hamlin pianos has shown very old instruments named in the ad-
been quiet. They are entirely sold out of the vertisement, but all out of condition, and abso-
Krell Auto-Grands. This week a prominent lutely worthless, as far as obtaining musical re-
Philadelphian dropped into the store and pur- sults. Before leaving, the prospective customer
chased two of these instruments, ordering one was shown new pianos of the stencil growth, and
sent to his daughter and the other to his own many sales were in this way consummated, the
home. So lively has been the demand for these purchaser paying abnormally high prices for the
instruments, that the Blasius house will give a new inferior stenciled pianos.
much better space to their exhibition, and will
The advertising committee, of which Chandler
increase their library facilities,
W. Smith was chairman, took up a line of inves-
9
tigation, and by the assistance of some of the
newspapers of the city of Boston succeeded in
exposing the methods of the storage house in
question and suppressing in all the Boston news-
papers the misleading announcements.
This is merely mentioned as an example of
what may be accomplished through Association
work in bettering conditions. The practice is
unquestionably in vogue in nearly all large cities,
and can only be successfully eradicated through
association work.
The Grievance Committee of the National As-
sociation of Piano Dealers of America is always
ready to accept service in this line of work wher-
ever attention may be called to the existence of
the pest, although where local associations exist
the obnoxious evil can probably be more prompt-
ly effaced through the efforts of the members of
the local association.
The Boston Association is doing excellent mis-
sionary work by having the result of its labors
published in pamphlet form for distribution. I t
would be well for all of the members of the Na-
tional Association who may have trouble with
competition of this sort to write to Mr. Chandler
W. Smith, 120 Boylston street, Boston, Mass.,
for copies of his committee's report.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND PRESIDENT WERLEIN.
President Werlein, of the National Association
of Piano Dealers of America, will be closely as-
sociated with President Roosevelt during his
visit, to New Orleans, Mr. Werlein having been
appointed on the Reception Committee. On this
occasion Mr. Werlein will have the opportunity
of making President Roosevelt's personal ac-
quaintance, and as both gentlemen are deeply in-
terested in the matter of freight rate?, the work
already accomplished by the Freight Bureau of
the National Association of Piano Dealers of
America, will be presented to the attention of
President Roosevelt, and undoubtedly the fact
that the next annual convention of the National
Association of Piano Dealers of America is to be
held at Washington, D. C, will also be brought
to President Roosevelt's attention, thus ensuring
his personal interest in the event.
COMPENSATING ORGAN CO.'S AGENTS
Important Agencies Covered by Leading Firms
—R. B, Andrews Resigns—Other News.
Among the recent important agencies placed
by the Compensating Pipe Organ Co., of Battle
Creek, Mich., are the following: Carstensen &
Ansen Co., Salt Lake City, who will control the
territory of Utah; Clark, Wise & Co., San Fran-
cisco, whose territory will be Northern Cali-
fornia; Philip Werlein, I Ad., New Orleans,
whose territory will be Louisiana and part of
Mississippi, and D. H. Baldwin & Co., Denver,
Col., who will control Colorado, Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming and northern New Mexico.
A large two-manual compensating organ was
purchased last week by R. E. Olds, of automobile
fame, for presentation to the First Baptist
Church of Lansing, Mich.
R. B. Andrews has resigned as secretary of the
Compensating Organ Co., but continues a share-
holder in that institution.
CLOSING OUT HOYT STOCK.
The executors of the estate of the late John
Hoyt, the pioneer piano dealer of Davenport, la.,
have decided to close out the estate, and an ad-
ministrator's sale of the entire stock of musical
instruments is now under way.
DEATH OF L. G. BLOOMINGDALE.
Lyman G. Bloomingdale, founder of the depart-
ment store of Bloomingdale Bros., and president
and director of the Walters Piano Co., New York,
died last Saturday at his summer home in El-
beron, N. J. He was born in this city in 1841.
He was a member of the Lafayette Post, G. A. R.,
a number of art societies, and a generous con-
tributor to charities. A widow, three sons and
a daughter survive him.
The building a t 22V 2 North Pennsylvania
street, Indianapolis, Ind., is being remodeled for
the use of the Baldwin Piano Co.