Music Trade Review
Issue: 1914 Vol. 58 N. 15 - Page 47
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
47
OFFICERS OF BRANSFIELD-BILLINGS1 ACTION !&! SUPPLYCCO.
SIMPLIFIES THE PIANO ACTION.
Those at the Head of the New Company Which Has Purchased the Billings Brass Flange and
Metal Frame Patents and Is Operating a Large Plant in Saginaw, Mich.
Details of Patent Just Granted to Enoch A.
Mayor, of San Antonio, Tex.
(Special to The Review.)
CHICAGO, I I I . , April 7.—Last week The Review
published the particulars regarding the new Brans-
field-Billings Action & Supply Co., which "has a
capital of $180,000 and is now fitting up a large
plant at Saginaw, Mich., for the manufacture of
the steel angle frame action and the Billings brass
flanges, of which they own the entire patent rights.
This week we are enabled to present the photo-
graphs of the officers. At a glance these faces are
those of men of character and furnish in them-
selves the strongest kind of assets for the company.
As the readers of The Review already know,
Mark P. Bransfield and Cornelius J. Sullivan are
Chicago financiers and business men of high stand-
ing and practically own the Auburn Bank and also
a bank at Morgan Park and one at Clearing, both
prosperous suburbs of Chicago. They are also in-
terested in other manufacturing and commercial
institutions. Cornelius J. Sullivan, secretary of the
company, is a well-known business man of years
of experience in Chicago and has been the man-
ager of the Auburn Piano Co., a retail concern in
which Messrs. Bransfield and McFarland have
been interested. He is an aggressive, up-to-the-
minute business man.
It is hardly necessary to tell the trade anything
about Fred K. Kurtz, vice-president and general
manager, and who will have personal charge of
the manufacturing end of the business. He has
a reputation of being one of the expert action man-
ufacturers of the country, knows everybody in the
piano manufacturing field and is just the man for
the place. There is absolutely no doubt about that.
While the company will confine itself for the
present to the manufacture of a superior piano ac-
tion, embodying the steel angle frame and brass
flanges and also are right now turning out brass
flanges for manufacturers, tuners and repairers,
the corporation title of the company would in-
dicate that a still larger field may be covered in the
future. The large plant at Saginaw is situated on
a twelve-acre tract and there is plenty of room for
additional buildings.
It is expected that it will be able to turn out
new actions within thirty days. The trade gen-
erally will be pleased to know that it will soon be
possible to secure this meritorious feature in any
piano whose makers may see fit to incorporate it.
Mr. Kurtz has been working quietly for months
past supervising the construction of special auto-
matic machinery for the manufacture of the actions
and flanges. He has now a large force of men at
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, April 6.—Enoch A. Mayor,
of San Antonio, Tex., has been granted patent No.
1,091,858 on an Improvement in Piano Actions, and
particularly on that part of the action which con-
trols the rebound of the hammer and including or-
dinarily the back stop, back check, bridle strap and
the supporting members therefor.
The primary object of the invention is to simplify
this part of the piano, reduce the number of parts
.nvolved therein, and somewhat increase the avail-
able space within the piano case so that other
mechanisms may be placed within this space, as in
piano player mechanism, and not incommode the
piano action itself.
A further object is to eliminate the bridle strap
and the supporting wire therefor. This is ordi-
narily found in standard upright piano actions and
is the means whereby the hammer is retracted. The
bridle strap is frequently injured or destroyed by
mice, and when so destroyed the hammer fails to
work properly, especially when the instrument is
exposed to dampness. By eliminating the bridle
strap and providing a positive means for retracting
the hammer, the invention makes the action more
certain, reduces the cost of manufacture and elimi-
nates all chance of the injury above referred to.
T. F. McFarland.
C. J. Sullivan.
Broadly speaking, the invention consists in sub-
Saginaw making the riecessary changes in the stituting for the bridle strap and the bridle wire a
modern buildings to adapt them particularly to the hook mounted upon the back check and engaging
purpose and also in the installation of equipment.
the back stop so that as the wippen falls upon the
While the Bransfield-Billings Action & Supply
release of a key the hook will engage the back-
Co. is an Illinois corporation, the executive offices
stop and retract the hammer.
will be at Saginaw, and Mr. Sullivan will go there
to reside permanently. He and Kurtz will certain-
TWO NEW VARNISH COMPANIES.
ly make a strong team—the very embodiment of
The Wood & Van Derwerkeu Varnish Co.,
twentieth century intelligence and hustle.
Inc., Brooklyn, \ . Y., has been incorporated with
capital stock of $50,000 to manufacture and deal
CHAS. PFRIEMER INCORPORATES.
in varnishes, oils, paints, etc., by W. D. Wood, L.
Among the incorporations filed with the Secre-
H. Wood and V. Van Derwerken.
tary of State at Albany, N. Y., on Monday, was
The John S. Menagh Co.., Jersey City, N. J.,
that of Chas. Pfriemer, Inc., the well-known
r
piano hammer manufacturer, with factory, at Wales lias been incorporated with capital stock of $l'i >,-
000 for the purpose of manufacturing hardware,
avenue and 142d street, with a capital stock of
$50,000. The incorporators are: C. J. and J. varnishes, oils, paints, etc. The incorporators arc
J. S. Menagh, F. E. Menagh and W. A. Mattison.
Pfriemer and T. Gundlich.
DEATH OF THEJJJMBER KING.
F.&G.
(Special to The Review.)
(FELTEN &
GUILLEAUME)
MUSIC WIRE
PASADENA, CAL., April 4.—The "Lumber King,"
Frederick Weyerhaeuser, eighty, said to be worth
over $600,000,000, died here to-day at his Pacific
coast winter home. Tie came here in the fall from
his home at St. Paul, and he got a bad cold ten
days ago and it turned to pneumonia. He owned
vast timber lands and is said to lie the largest
owner of lumber lands in the world. lie was born
in Germany and came to America a poor boy.
ALBERT A. McCARTY
Manufacturer of
Manufacturers who have tried scores of other
PIANO BASS STRINGS
makes have found by severe comparative tests
DUPLICATING
A SPECIALTY
3 6 BEACH STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
that the F . & G . stands in a class by itself
for staunch reliability
TELL US YOUR WIRE TROUBLES
HAMMACHER, SCHLEMMER & CO.
PIANO MATERIALS AND TOOLS
NEW YORK SINCE 1848
Fourth Avenue and Thirteenth Street
Richardson Piano Case Co.
Manufacturers of
Upright—
"
l
a
n
o
Established 1891
LEOM1NSTER
::
::
MASS.
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
47
OFFICERS OF BRANSFIELD-BILLINGS1 ACTION !&! SUPPLYCCO.
SIMPLIFIES THE PIANO ACTION.
Those at the Head of the New Company Which Has Purchased the Billings Brass Flange and
Metal Frame Patents and Is Operating a Large Plant in Saginaw, Mich.
Details of Patent Just Granted to Enoch A.
Mayor, of San Antonio, Tex.
(Special to The Review.)
CHICAGO, I I I . , April 7.—Last week The Review
published the particulars regarding the new Brans-
field-Billings Action & Supply Co., which "has a
capital of $180,000 and is now fitting up a large
plant at Saginaw, Mich., for the manufacture of
the steel angle frame action and the Billings brass
flanges, of which they own the entire patent rights.
This week we are enabled to present the photo-
graphs of the officers. At a glance these faces are
those of men of character and furnish in them-
selves the strongest kind of assets for the company.
As the readers of The Review already know,
Mark P. Bransfield and Cornelius J. Sullivan are
Chicago financiers and business men of high stand-
ing and practically own the Auburn Bank and also
a bank at Morgan Park and one at Clearing, both
prosperous suburbs of Chicago. They are also in-
terested in other manufacturing and commercial
institutions. Cornelius J. Sullivan, secretary of the
company, is a well-known business man of years
of experience in Chicago and has been the man-
ager of the Auburn Piano Co., a retail concern in
which Messrs. Bransfield and McFarland have
been interested. He is an aggressive, up-to-the-
minute business man.
It is hardly necessary to tell the trade anything
about Fred K. Kurtz, vice-president and general
manager, and who will have personal charge of
the manufacturing end of the business. He has
a reputation of being one of the expert action man-
ufacturers of the country, knows everybody in the
piano manufacturing field and is just the man for
the place. There is absolutely no doubt about that.
While the company will confine itself for the
present to the manufacture of a superior piano ac-
tion, embodying the steel angle frame and brass
flanges and also are right now turning out brass
flanges for manufacturers, tuners and repairers,
the corporation title of the company would in-
dicate that a still larger field may be covered in the
future. The large plant at Saginaw is situated on
a twelve-acre tract and there is plenty of room for
additional buildings.
It is expected that it will be able to turn out
new actions within thirty days. The trade gen-
erally will be pleased to know that it will soon be
possible to secure this meritorious feature in any
piano whose makers may see fit to incorporate it.
Mr. Kurtz has been working quietly for months
past supervising the construction of special auto-
matic machinery for the manufacture of the actions
and flanges. He has now a large force of men at
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, April 6.—Enoch A. Mayor,
of San Antonio, Tex., has been granted patent No.
1,091,858 on an Improvement in Piano Actions, and
particularly on that part of the action which con-
trols the rebound of the hammer and including or-
dinarily the back stop, back check, bridle strap and
the supporting members therefor.
The primary object of the invention is to simplify
this part of the piano, reduce the number of parts
.nvolved therein, and somewhat increase the avail-
able space within the piano case so that other
mechanisms may be placed within this space, as in
piano player mechanism, and not incommode the
piano action itself.
A further object is to eliminate the bridle strap
and the supporting wire therefor. This is ordi-
narily found in standard upright piano actions and
is the means whereby the hammer is retracted. The
bridle strap is frequently injured or destroyed by
mice, and when so destroyed the hammer fails to
work properly, especially when the instrument is
exposed to dampness. By eliminating the bridle
strap and providing a positive means for retracting
the hammer, the invention makes the action more
certain, reduces the cost of manufacture and elimi-
nates all chance of the injury above referred to.
T. F. McFarland.
C. J. Sullivan.
Broadly speaking, the invention consists in sub-
Saginaw making the riecessary changes in the stituting for the bridle strap and the bridle wire a
modern buildings to adapt them particularly to the hook mounted upon the back check and engaging
purpose and also in the installation of equipment.
the back stop so that as the wippen falls upon the
While the Bransfield-Billings Action & Supply
release of a key the hook will engage the back-
Co. is an Illinois corporation, the executive offices
stop and retract the hammer.
will be at Saginaw, and Mr. Sullivan will go there
to reside permanently. He and Kurtz will certain-
TWO NEW VARNISH COMPANIES.
ly make a strong team—the very embodiment of
The Wood & Van Derwerkeu Varnish Co.,
twentieth century intelligence and hustle.
Inc., Brooklyn, \ . Y., has been incorporated with
capital stock of $50,000 to manufacture and deal
CHAS. PFRIEMER INCORPORATES.
in varnishes, oils, paints, etc., by W. D. Wood, L.
Among the incorporations filed with the Secre-
H. Wood and V. Van Derwerken.
tary of State at Albany, N. Y., on Monday, was
The John S. Menagh Co.., Jersey City, N. J.,
that of Chas. Pfriemer, Inc., the well-known
r
piano hammer manufacturer, with factory, at Wales lias been incorporated with capital stock of $l'i >,-
000 for the purpose of manufacturing hardware,
avenue and 142d street, with a capital stock of
$50,000. The incorporators are: C. J. and J. varnishes, oils, paints, etc. The incorporators arc
J. S. Menagh, F. E. Menagh and W. A. Mattison.
Pfriemer and T. Gundlich.
DEATH OF THEJJJMBER KING.
F.&G.
(Special to The Review.)
(FELTEN &
GUILLEAUME)
MUSIC WIRE
PASADENA, CAL., April 4.—The "Lumber King,"
Frederick Weyerhaeuser, eighty, said to be worth
over $600,000,000, died here to-day at his Pacific
coast winter home. Tie came here in the fall from
his home at St. Paul, and he got a bad cold ten
days ago and it turned to pneumonia. He owned
vast timber lands and is said to lie the largest
owner of lumber lands in the world. lie was born
in Germany and came to America a poor boy.
ALBERT A. McCARTY
Manufacturer of
Manufacturers who have tried scores of other
PIANO BASS STRINGS
makes have found by severe comparative tests
DUPLICATING
A SPECIALTY
3 6 BEACH STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
that the F . & G . stands in a class by itself
for staunch reliability
TELL US YOUR WIRE TROUBLES
HAMMACHER, SCHLEMMER & CO.
PIANO MATERIALS AND TOOLS
NEW YORK SINCE 1848
Fourth Avenue and Thirteenth Street
Richardson Piano Case Co.
Manufacturers of
Upright—
"
l
a
n
o
Established 1891
LEOM1NSTER
::
::
MASS.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).