Music Trade Review

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THE
REVFW
flUJIC TIRADE
VOL. XLI. No. 1 9 . Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at I Madison Ave., New York, Nov. J I J 905.
REGARDING GERMAN TRADE-MARKS.
A Recent Ruling of Importance to American
Manufacturers Doing Business in Germany.
The American exporters of musical instruments
will be interested in a ruling which was recently
made by the Imperial Court of Germany to the
effect that foreign goods bearing a trade-mark
protected in Germany, no matter how long the
foreign firm may have used that mark, are liable
to seizure on importation into Germany. An
American house shipped to Hamburg, on the or-
der of a German buyer, a consignment of goods
bearing their old trade-marK, but as this particu-
lar mark happened to have been protected in Ger-
many by a German firm two years prior to the
importation, the goods were seized by the Ham-
burg customs officials—of course, at the instance
of the German who had registered the mark.
The American firm's answer was an action for
wrongful seizure and a claim for damages. In
the Strafkammer the seizure was upheld and the
Imperial Court, to which the American firm ap-
pealed, took the same view of the case. Section
17, of the German Trade-marks Act of May 12,
1894, gives a German court power to uphold such
a seizure in the interest of German traders
against foreigners. It is thus open to any un-
scrupulous German firm to register in Germany
the trade-mark of a reputable foreign house,
work it at home for all it is worth, and also get
the goods of the foreign house seized should
they be imported into Germany. Americans
should take notice.
THE CROSBY = BROWN COLLECTION
Of Musical Instruments One of the Finest in
the World—How Many Piano Men Have
Seen It?
Only few piano men have seen and only few
know that the Crosby-Brown collection of musi-
cal instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, is perhaps the most comprehen-
sive, best classified and best lighted and housed
museum of musical instruments in the world.
Other collections are richer, doubtless, in certain
particulars or along certain lines. That at Ken-
sington Museum, London, has many originals of
great interest and value, but in the above named
points the Crosby-Brown is still much superior.
The collection of M. Mahillon at Brussels is rich
in European instruments, but it, too, is inferior
to the Manhattan collection in Oriental speci-
mens and those of savage tribes. The Berlin
Museum is one of the largest; the Paris Conser-
vatoire has precious possessions, and there is at
Washington a collection which, when it is prop-
erly housed, will be very valuable and interest-
ing. The Crosby-Brown is arranged with rare
regard to its usefulness to students, because spe-
cial effort has been bestowed upon assembling
complete families of instruments; then, too, the
popular instruments, like the piano, organ and
violin, etc., are shown.as to all the processes of
construction.
J. W. Scott has opened piano warerooms in
Lexington, 111.
FAILURES AT A MINIMUM
For the Month of
High Because of
Suspensions.
October—Liabilities Are
a Few Large Financial
Business failures were at a low minimum, so
far as number is concerned, during October, but
a few large financial suspensions, notably at
Pittsburg, Cleveland and Peoria, were responsi-
ble for swelling the aggregate of liabilities be-
yond the totals of recent months and above the
record for October, 1904. Three such failures, in
fact, account for over one-third of all the liabili-
ties reported. The showing as a whole, there-
fore, is a good one, and, aside from the exposi-
tion of a few bad spots, due to foolish or worse
methods in banking, the exhibit is in keeping
with the extraordinarily good year which the
business community generally has enjoyed.
There were 804 failures reported to Brad-
street's by telegraph for the calendar month of
October, a decrease of 4.4 per cent, in number,
but an increase of 21 per cent, in liabilities from
October a year ago. Compared with October,
1903, there is a decrease shown of 1.6 per cent, in
number and of 63 per cent, in liabilities. Com-
pared with September, 1905, the number of fail-
ures shows an increase of 11.5 per cent., and
there is a gain shown of 37 per cent, in liabili-
ties. It might be noted that the month of May
this year alone shows a larger total of liabilities
than does October, but it might be added that, so
far as the number is concerned, October, 1902,
alone in the past thirteen years, shows a smaller
total than does October, 1905.
A STERLING NOVELTY.
Brooklynites Cannot Now Overlook the Sterling
Company.
The Sterling Piano Co., 518-520 Fulton street,
Brooklyn, are always to be counted upon for
something novel in an advertising way. They
have made arrangements with twenty-four stores,
principally drug stores, located in different parts
of the city, whereby any person desiring to get
news regarding pianos, or repairs, can communi-
cate with the Sterling Piano Co., using the 'phone
free of charge. In these various stores suitable
advertising matter regarding the Sterling pianos,
as well as other information, will be found.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
AGAINST DISHONEST CUSTOMERS.
Details of the Arrangement Entered Into by
the Piano Dealers of Winnipeg Will Doubt-
less be Interesting to Our Readers.
A mutual protection arrangement against dis-
honest customers has been formulated by the
piano dealers of Winnipeg, Canada. The ar-
rangement is that whenever a dealer has a signed
order or contract from a customer for the pur-
chase of a piano and for any reason wishes to
go back on his bargain the dealer immediately
notifies all of the piano dealers, and the customer
cannot purchase from any firm until he makes
satisfactory arrangements with the dealer hold-
ing the contract. Should any dealer repossess
a piano through non-payment of same, no other
dealer will sell or transact business with the
customer until he has kept faith and made sat-
isfactory settlements with the dealer owning the
instrument. The scheme has been found a sat-
isfactory one, as it does away with agents trying
to break up a sale when closed by an opposition
house, and helps to keep customers more regular
with their payments.
In the event of any dealer in the arrangement
referred to above, finding it necessary to repossess
a piano a blank report is filled in, with the
necessary particulars of the transaction, and of
which each dealer receives a copy. The report
states name, address and occupation of person
from whom piano has been repossessed, uie name
of instrument, price, date delivered, date re-
turned, reason returned, amount paid, names of
members of family, in case of likelihood of buy-
ing again under another name, whether claim has
been satisfied and "other particulars." As our
contemporary, The Canadian Music Trades Jour-
nal, says, "the arrangement is so simple and toene-.
ficial that it is difficult to conceive it not being
put in praciice in every city and collection of
towns."
CANADIANS ENFORCE SALESMAN TAX.
A number of the piano manufacturers in this
city and elsewnere have been inclined to look
upon the law recently passed in the province of
Ontario, Canada, as something of a bluff, and
which would not be rigidly enforced. But our
Canadian neighbors evidently believe in enforc-
ing the statutes placed on their books, and H. P.
Hamilton, an American salesman, was arrested
last Friday for failing to pay the Provincial tax
W. C. TAYLOR ENTERTAINS.
of $300 on foreign and English salesmen. This
W. C. Taylor, of Taylor's Music House, Spring- is the first arrest made under the new law, which
field, Mass., entertained his salesmen at a din- applies to American or English travelers.
ner at Barr's on Monday of last week. Much of
interest was discussed at this gathering, and
THE LAFFARGUE IN CANADA.
many suggestions for business advancement
The Laffargue piano, made by the Laffargue
noted. Mr. Taylor says these gatherings will oc-
Co., Ltd., of New York, is one of the greatest fa-
cur about every three months.
vorites among our cousins in Canada. The ship-
ments of Laffargue pianos to our neighbors in the
TWO HUNDRED PIANOS BEHIND.
North is steadily growing in size—no better
Anders Holmstrom, superintendent of the Pack- proof of the sterling values embodied in these
ard Co., Ft. Wayne, Ind., was in the city last instruments.
week, and reported a great activity with their
Roush Bros., piano dealers, Clarinden, la., an-
house. He reported that the Packard Co. was
two hundred pianos behind, although the fac- nounce that they have sold more than 152 planoa
tory has been working full time all summer.
in the last twenty months,