Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
11
cent, higher than it is to Northern cities. Noth-
ing was effected hy the conference which was
held, hut the matter will be investigated and fur-
ther considered at a later date.
Business Surprisingly Good—Handsome Knabes at Wanamaker's—Bellak's Choice Display of
Hardman Pianos—John Ludwig a Visitor—H. C. Pressey, of Lester Fame, Off to Pacific
Coast—Many Opportunities for the Right Men.
(Special to Tin; Review.)
Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 115, 1906.
The piano business in Philadelphia since the
first of January has been surprisingly good. Con-
siderably better, I am sine, than the dealers had
expected, or naturally had any reason to expect.
One of the big firms informed me that their busi-
ness this month thus far shows an increase of 30
per cent, over the same month of last year, and
if this per cent, keeps up there should be no
reason for dissatisfaction. There is nothing in
the conditions in Philadelphia in the near future
that would indicate any disturbance of business.
The geneial stores are doing well, all the manu-
factories are in good shape, and the people
seem to have plenty of money. This is the
foundation for the hope that business is going
to be very good through the remaining winter
and spring.
At the Wanamaker department business is
in excellent shape. They have a very full line
of everything. Mr. Woodford returned last Sat-
urday from a week spent in New York, and he
reports conditions in that city as about the same
as here. They are getting ready for their annual
cleaning up sale, having taken in exchange a
number of instruments before the holidays.
Their January business is considerably ahead of
last year. They are very much pleased with the
new style W. Knabe upright, of which they have
in stock several at the present time. They are
well stocked with the Knabe-Angelus, and they
are finding it a ready seller. They expect to ar-
range for a series of concerts this spring, as
usual, but the date has not been set owing to the
rebuilding of the store, which handicaps their
foreseeing anything far ahead. About the first
week in February they will know just where
they are at.
James Bellak's Sons are also in excellent shape.
Their new annex is assisting them very much in
their business. "We made a great many sales
by having that improvement," a member of the
firm announced. At present they have the finest
display of Hardman pianos that has ever been
presented in this city at any time. They are
in excellent shape with all lines of instruments
they handle. They are in receipt this week of
several of the fancy Greek styles of Hardman,
which are beauties and which are being very
much admired. They are also very much pleased
with the Hardman miniature grands which they
have received. They are in very good shape
with the Hardman Autotones, and are now being
kept fully supplied with these instruments.
Before the holidays they were very much handi-
capped in this line, and all instruments that
came from the factory were sent here by express.
John Ludwig has been in town several days,
and is well satisfied with the business of his
local branches. They have started the new year
well. Mr. Ludwig announces that some new
styles will shortly be issued from the factory.
Three of these new styles will be placed on the
market within a very short time.
Among the scarf and stool men here this week
were E. .T. Morgan and M. B. Markham. the lat-
ter representing C, E. Schunack.
H. C. Pressey will start this week for his first
trip of the year to the Pacific Coast. He is re-
ceiving most encouraging reports from that sec-
tion, and expects to do very well. The Lester
factory is in excellent shape. While they were
pretty well sold up when Christmas was over,
they had enough stock under way to put them in
very good shape by this time, and they have kept
things running full time and full handed all
along. The many improvements made in the
factory during the past year have assisted them
very materially in helping along their work.
James C. Miller left this week for New York
to attend the meetings of the executive commit-
tee that held sessions there, and from New York
he has gone to Boston for the annual meeting of
the Miller firm. He will be absent from the city
several weeks. Richard Alley, formerly con-
nected with the Strawbridge & Clothier house,
has been engaged by the Miller house as floor
salesman and to look after certain of the clerical
work. Of the Miller uprights, the Style 76 is a
very good seller. It is colonial in style, and has
been in the Miller catalogue since 1892. Their
Colonial Style 77 is also a good seller, and the
Lyric Grand, Miller, is the most popular little
grand in Philadelphia. Its fine workmanship,
exquisite tone and reasonable price makes ii so
popular.
One of the questions that is just now agitat-
ing the trade of Philadelphia is where to get
good and experienced salesmen. There seem to
be no new men entering the field, and one by one
the old men are dropping out of the trade or
dying and there is no one to take their places.
One of the leading houses lost its head sales-
man last week, and another prominent house has
lost one of its most valuable men. The former
was on account of incompetence and the latter,
the salesman, went into some other kind of busi-
ness. There must be some reason for this trou-
ble. Nobody seems to know what it is. It is
recognized that piano salesmen are well paid,
and that it does not require much more than the
average ability of getting rid of things to sell
pianos, and yet there is an inclination to shun
the trade. There must be one thing said against
piano selling, and that is the long hours that
several of the firms require of its men. It is not
necessarily the long office hours, as they are not
any longer in the piano stores than in other mer-
cantile houses. But so many men are averse to
being called on at night, so very frequently to
go chasing after some rainbow prospects amount-
ing to nothing, in which they lose so much time
and accomplish nothing. There ought to be
some way to remedy this, so that the men will
have at least a certain number of evenings to
themselves. The piano men also complain that
their daily hours are very long; that they are
given no vacations in the summer; that the sum-
mer early closing period is observed less by the
piano stores than by other houses. The piano
dealers should meet their men on a fair basis in
this matter, and should treat their men fairly
in every way, for a good piano salesman—one
who gets results—is a man worth having, and
I am sure a little consideration would alleviate
much of the trouble at present complained about.
The Mason & Hamlin at the Blasius house is
given an equally fine room as the instruments of
their own manufacture, and an equally fine at-
tention in selling. The same thing can be said
of the Krell Autogrand, and no self-players han-
dled in Philadelphia are more popular.
DISCRIMINATION IS ALLEGED.
'Special to The Review.)
San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 13, 1906.
The leading piano men of this city have waited
on the local traffic manager of the Southern Pa-
cific railroad for the purpose of remedying al-
leged discriminations in rates in favor of North-
western dealers. It is alleged that the rate to
San Francisco on musical instruments is 10 per
MR. ZEIGLER'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Celebrated at the Annual Dinner of the Stein-
way Forces Held at Luchow's on Saturday
Evening—Gift of Handsome Oil Painting—
An Enjoyable Occasion.
A merry company sat to table at Luchow's on
Saturday evening for the annual dinner which
has become part of the regular scheme in the
affairs of Steinway & Sons. This represented
not only the regular celebration, but it was also
made the special occasion to signalize the thir-
tieth anniversary of Henry Zeigler's connection
with that great institution, and whose record as
an inventor and acoustician is indelibly associ-
ated with the magnificent creations bearing the
Steinway name. Mr. Zeigler being a man to
whom art stands for more than its intrinsic value,
was presented with a painting by Charles Warren
Eaton representing a Connecticut landscape. The
presentation speech was made by Charles H.
Steinway, president of Steinway & Sons, who
couched it in very graceful and affectionate sen-
timents.
Mr. Zeigler's response was equally significant
of the regard in which he holds the house, its
members and especially its wonderful product, to
the perfection of which he has contributed so
much.
The toastmaster was Theodore E. Steinway, and
there were interesting speeches by Henry Junge,
John G. W. Kuehl, A. Bleckwenn and B. Bahlen-
siefer, who was exceptionally happy in his re-
marks. Ernest Urchs sat at the head of the
table and looked benignly upon all the festivi-
ties. The members of the Steinway force present
were as follows:
Charles H. Steinway, Fred T. Steinway, Henry
Ziegler, F. Reidemeister, Theo. E. Steinway, E.
Urchs, H. Irion, J. H. Hempsted, H. D. Low, T.
Cassebeer, A. J. Menzl, P. Burkard, H. Junge, J.
W. Sturtevant, A. Sturcke, J. G. W. Kuehl, F. W.
Baumer, G. J. Candidus, D. Horn, F. Rathgeber,
A. Bleckwenn, F. Paul, C. E. Burden, T. Nitsche,
G. Schaible, P. Brandt, C. D. W. Cole, R. E.
Kuehl, T. Leopold, G. Rechten, Rathgeber, A.
Menzl, J. E. Francke, G. Griffith, C. Orth, E.
Misfeldt, W. Wolfertz, A. Werckle, J. Bushmann,
W. H. Burden, M. Murphy, B. Balensiefer, C.
Troitzch, W. Geer, A. E. Blackmore, N. Smith, R.
McCabe, B. H. Collins, J. Aitken.
ANDERSON_PIANO CO.
Hold Their Annual Meeting and Elect Officers
for the Ensuing Year—Very Excellent Busi-
ness Showing.
(Special to Tbe Review.)
Van Wert, O., Jan. 13, 1906.
The stockholders of the Anderson Piano Co.
met Monday and elected a board of directors as
follows: Geo. H. Marsh, James B. Smith, J. P.
Reed, G. A. Anderson, R. J. Cavette, O. C. Nelson,
F. L. Webster, J. G. Rupright and C. F. Manship.
They will organize as soon as Mr. Marsh returns.
The past year has been a prosperous one for
the company. Old papers have been fixed up,
pianos called in where payment was refused, and
during the past six months the output has been
very large. It is also intended to enlarge the
business this year, looking after the wholesale
trade, and put out an average of ten pianos a
week.
BEHR BROS. & CO
PIANOS,
29th Street and I Ith Avenue, NEW YORK.
HIGHEST STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE