Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.
TRADE NOTES FROM BALTIMORE.
Pianos and Other Musical Instruments Shipped
Abroad from the Pdrt of New York for the
Week Just Ended.
While Sales Have Dropped Off Since the Holi-
days the Demand Is Active for the Higher
Grade Pianos—Special Call Just Now for
Piano Players and Music Boxes—Ernest J .
Knabe III—Sander & Stayman's Brisk Busi-
ness—The Appearance of Rosenthal.
(Special to The Review.)
Washington, D. C., Dec. 7, 1906.
The following were the exports of musical in-
struments and kindred lines from the port of
New York for the week just ended:
Amapala.—12 packages talking machines and
material, $213.
Antwerp.—50 packages talking machines and
material, $430.
Berlin.—181 packages talking machines and
material, $4,193.
Bremen.—17 cases pianos and material,
$3,650.
Bradford.—48 packages talking machines and
material, $328.
Buenos Ayres.—49 packages talking machines
and material, $243; 5 cases pianos and material,
$244; 5 packages talking machines and materials,
$600.
Cardiff.—19 packages talking machines and
material, $161.
Cochabomba.—6 cases organs and material,
$138.
Colon.—1 case piano goods, $120.
Glasgow.—38 packages talking machines and
material, $307.
Greytown.—3 packages talking machines and
material, $108. •
Guayaquil.—5 packages talking machines and
material, $142.
Hamburg.—12 cases organs and material,
$600; 8 cases pianos and material, $557.
Havana.—7 cases pianos and material, $593;
23 packages talking machines and material,
$463; 65 cases music, $196.
Havre.—4 cases piano playerS and material,
$300.
La Guayra.—12 packages talking machines
and material, $672; 6 cases pianos and material,
$1,308.
Leeds.—45 packages talking machines and
material, $325.
Liverpool.—20 cases organs, $1,327; 242 pack-
ages talking machines and material, $2,247; 21
cases organs, $2,127.
London.—3 packages talking machines and
material, $160; 27 packages talking machines
and material, $7,440; 2 cases musical instru-
ments, $111; 64 cases piano players and mate-
rial, $8,440; 23 cases organs and material, $6,-
410; 1,137 packages talking machines and ma-
terial, $13,000; 23 cases pianos and material,
$5,942; 2 cases music goods, $460.
Manchester.—190 packages talking machines
and material, $1,126.
Manzanilla.—11 packages talking machines
and material, $762.
Melbourne.—2 cases organs and material,
$191; 5 cases pianos and material, $444; 33
packages talking machines and material, $1,309.
New Castle.—11 packages talking machines
and material, $104.
Panama.—4 packages talking machines and
material, $308; 1 case organs, $225.
Para.—12 packages talking machines and ma-
terial, $567.
Santiago.—7 packages talking machines and
material, $149.
Sheffield.—40 packages talking machines and
material, $263.
Tampico.—5 cases pianos and material, $678.
Trinidad.—7 packages talking machines and
material, $106.
Tumaco.—11 cases organs, $237.
Valparaiso.—2 cases pianos and material,
$243; 6 cases organs and material, $158.
WHY TAX FRENCH PIANOS?
Le Petit Parisien, of Paris, says: "One may
ask why the Chamber has hit upon pianos rather
than other musical instruments for taxation.
Are they more guilty than violins, flutes and
clarinets?"
(Special to The Review.)
Baltimore, Md., Jan. 7, 1907.
While the piano business has naturally
dropped off somewhat since the tremendous
holiday rush the dealers still have enough to do
to cause the time to pass quickly during the
January days. Sales are reported as being
somewhat below those of the several weeks pre-
ceding the Christmas holidays and even last
week, yet this is no more than what the dealers
expected. They will be thoroughly satisfied,
however, if things continue at the present rate
and every indication causes them to believe that
it will. What pleases the dealers more than
anything else is the continued demand for high
priced pianos. These demands continue right
along, while the requests for the low priced in-
struments are not coming in with any great
rush. Of course, there are a number of these
lower grade instruments sold each week, but
compared with the trade of the high priced
musical creations the demand has been extraor-
dinarily light.
A particularly noticeable feature of the trade
during the past week has been the large sale
of music boxes and piano players. This branch
of the musical instrument trade has been re-
markably active all winter, but especially dur-
ing the week just ended it appears to have taken
a sudden boom, greatly to the delight of the
dealers. The reports from all the firms which
handle these particular instruments are almost
all to the effect that they are selling well. To
say that they have become extremely popular
with Baltimoreans is putting it mildly.
Ernest J. Knabe, Jr., president of the firm of
William Knabe & Co., has been quite ill at his
home since New Year's and has been unable to
make his daily visit to the headquarters of the
company.
J. H. Williams, manager of the Charles M.
Stieff store, in speaking of matters pertaining
to his company, said:
"Our business has been rather quiet during
the past week, but it is reasonable to state that
this will not last long. High grade goods have
been in demand all along, while our sale of
piano-players during the past week or ten days
has been large. The outlook for the trade dur-
ing 1907 is all that we can desire."
Sanders & Stayman Piano Co. have done a
very brisk business all along, according to the
statement of Manager G. Wright Nicols. Mr.
Nicols was greatly pleased with the reception
accorded Moritz Rosenthal, who gave such a
splendid recital on the Weber piano, last
Wednesday, at the Lyric. Mr. Nicols took a de-
cided personal interest in the arrangements of
the recital and was particularly active in hav-
ing the affair thoroughly advertised. The re-
cital proved a great success and much of this
was due to the efforts of Mr. Nicols. Rosen-
thai appeared in connection with the concert of
the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Fritz Scheel,
director. All of the regular subscribers to the
orchestra were out in force, to hear the concert,
while the audience also included many of the
members of Baltimore's fashionable set, who are
fond of music.
The Gilbert Smith Piano Co. have done a fair
business during the week. Several visitors
made business calls on Manager J. M. Mann.
Among these were A. Leo Heerwagen, of the
W. W. Kimball Co., of Chicago, and L. S. Roe-
mer, representing the Holtzman-Martin Co., of
New York.
George Krantz, of the Krantz-Smith Co., says
that the firm are looking forward to a prosperous
year, while members of the firm of Cohen &
Hughes say that they have no complaint to
make; that business so far has been excellent.
NEW KNABE CATALOGUE
A
Most
Artistic Production and Merits the
Highest Praise.
In literature, as in everything else they put
their hand to, Wm. Knabe & Co. are absolutely
artistic and original. This is very pleasingly
demonstrated in their new catalogue, which is a
symphony in red and gold—a veritable edition
de luxe. The volume opens with an illustration
of the first home of Wm. Knabe, the first,
and appropriately termed, "The House in the
Woods," where the founder of the Knabe house
turned out his first instrument, which is fol-
lowed by an able historical review of Knabe de-
velopment A few of the opening sentences of
this very interesting and clever literary effort
are as follows:
"Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that the man
who did something better than his fellows, even
to the making of a mouse trap, and his house
was built in a wood that the world would make
a path to that man's door.
"William Knabe, the first, began in 1837 to
build pianos in a tiny v frame house. The world
blazed a path to his door then. And the path
has grown wider 'and bigger—and the little frame
house has given way to factories many times
wider and many times bigger.
"And all because William Knabe, the first, did
something better than his fellows.
"His genius, as an inheritance, passed on to
his sons; and from them to the grandsons; and
each, in turn, as generation gave way to genera-
tion, builded better and better—not only did they
keep pace with their time, but went a bit be-
yond—always in advance of their times.
"To-day the grandsons are building better than
their fellows of the twentieth century—just as
the grandfather did in his time.
"It's a proof of the Emersonian philosophy—a
proof of the survival of the fittest—those acres
and acres of Knabe piano factories in Baltimore!
"For the world has surely blazed a pathway
to their doors!"
The story leads, page by page, to the great
achievements of Wm. Knabe & Co., to-day with
their immense plant in Baltimore—a remark-
able contrast to the modest home where the
first Knabe saw light.
Throughout the volume appear illustrations
and descriptions of style A Mignon; style B,
Mozart; style C, Chopin; style D, Beethoven, in
grand form, and style W., style E, Von Bulow;
style F, Tschaikovsky, uprights, and one of the
beautiful grand creations in Louis XV. design.
The various pages are printed in three colors,
reatly displayed, so that there is excellent sym-
metry and balance throughout. All concerned in
the production of this handsome volume have
frood reason to feel proud. I t tells an interest-
ing story, and tells it well. The only regret is
that lack of space prevents us from quoting the
lengthy introductory, which is certainly worth
perusing not merely for its attractive style, but
for what it conveys.
GEO.
AMBUHL IN THE SOUTH.
George Ambuhl, of Ambuhl Bros., the promi-
nent piano dealers, of Pittsburg, Pa., has ar-
ranged to spend the winter in the South in an
effort to cure a bronchial affection, which has
annoyed him for some time.
SCHUBERT CO. IN CLEVELAND.
The Schubert Piano Co., Cleveland, Ohio, oc-
cupied their new store on Prospect avenue short-
ly before the first of the year, and in time for
the holiday trade, at the same time retaining
their old warerooms in the Arcade until Janu-
ary 1. The new quarters occupy the first and
second floors and basement, and are very at-
tractively fitted up.
A new music store has been opened in
Fancher, O., by E. Morningstar. He will handle
pianos, organs and musical merchandise.