Music Trade Review

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1J
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
tion as manufacturers and retailers places us in a
peculiarly advantageous position to view both
sides.
"We have spent much time and money in de-
veloping a high grade player-piano for our whole-
Another important chapter in the World's sale trade, and always it is the case that the com-
Varnish History, written by Glidden Varnish plaint of a dealer, regarding alleged player in-
Chemists. Another notable result of research
work comes from the Glidden laboratories. competency has been caused, not by faulty action,
This time the new product supersedes an old but faulty music rolls. We aim to impress upon
material (Shellac). It's not a substitute, make- our dealers more strongly, I believe, than any roll
shift or imitation, but a "superior" in every manufacturer the importance of urging upon their
respect.
retail customers only high grade rolls as a certain
means of minimizing the number of complaints. I
have always contended that the prices of rolls
should be lowered, provided it could be done with
DISPLACES SHELLAC
no sacrifice of necessary qualities. With a natural
It is a spirit varnish which does the work of shellac advance in the mechanical processes of roll pro-
without the dangers and pitfalls. It resists moisture and
duction, one of the large roll manufacturers has
dampness without turning white or peeling. With these
impcrtant qualities SealLac has the same body as shellac—
solved the problem to a certain extent, and is plac-
dries euicker than shellac, brushes easier and works per-
fectly in the spraying machine. It is practically colorless, ing a popular mil on the market at a most reason-
more elastic than shellac and it gives a better surface for
following ccats of varnish.
able figure for both dealer and ultimate consumer.
White SealLac is a much better material than either shellac
It is a roll that compares most favorably with the
or Sandarar Varnish for sounding boards because of its water
resisting properties.
required standard and is a practical indication of
There isn't room in this space to complete the chapter. If
v(ite our Research Depart-
a move in the right direction.
ment for full details of this produc . Test samples of White
SealLac will he gladly sent upon re uest, or, better still " P u t
in a call for the Glidden Piano Man."
"My earnest hope is that, for the good of the
player industry as a whole, the dealers will make
The Glidden Varnish Company it impossible for inferior rolls to exist, because
Manufacturers of Glidden Quality Piano Varnishes.
Skin Cote Piano Varnish. Piano Back Varnish, Sound-
with the established roll manufacturers adhering,
ing Board Varnish, Bench Varnish, Stool Varnish, etc.
as most of them do, to the highest requirements
CLEVELAND
of the player, there is absolutely no excuse for
BRANCHES:
FACTORIES:
them or the lamentable results that are bound to
York, Chicago, London.
eland, O-, Toronto,
accrue from their use."
A New Chapter in Varnish History
LYON & HEALY'S POSITION ON MUSIC ROLL QUESTION
As Defined by A. J. Lehmkuhl—A Matter of Great Importance—Public Appreciate Service and
Roll Quality, He Claims—Cheap Rolls Compared with Cheap Pianos.
(Special to The Review.)
CHICAGO, III., March 29.—Fifty years of success-
ful merchandising certainly entitles an institution
to a most attentive hearing on any subject that has
come within the scope of its activities. It should,
therefore, be of peculiar interest to the player trade
to feel the pulse of Lyon & Healy in regard to the
much-discussed music roll situation.
A. J. Lehmkuhl, when pressed for his opinion,
said that the importance of the subject constituted
his only excuse for diverging from an "anti-inter-
view policy," adopted because of a natural fear of
being possibly incorrectly quoted or misunderstood
as to motive. When asked whether Lyon & Healy
had felt any effects from the influx of cheap music
rolls, and if so, to what extent, Mr. Lehmkuhl
laughingly replied: "You are the third man that
has asked me practically that same question within
the last forty-eight hours, and I am beginning to
have the suspicion that maybe it is not as well with
the roll business elsewhere as the figures before me
prove it to be in our own institution. True, our
roll business is not all we would wish for it, but,
allowing the law of average the latitude belonging
to it, we have no just complaint to make and, on
the contrary, are much encouraged because of the
steady increase of business in this particular de-
partment. This increase has proven to me that the
roll buying public appreciate 'full stock service,'
courteous treatment and, possibly, more than is
credited to it, a high quality roll. We carry, as
you doubtless have observed, the most complete re-
tail stock of music rolls in Chicago. I don't say
this boastfully, but as an identification of one of
the requisites for a successful retail roll business.
We require the head of our roll department to
have a working knowledge of music roll produc-
tion, and to that end sent him to the factory of our
roll producer to acquire it. The result has been
that we were able to set a standard of roll quality,
not through hearsay, theory or music roll salesmen's
not wholly unprejudiced opinion of their merchan-
dise, but upon a practical knowledge of music roll
'makings,' as it were, and their adaptability to our
general policy of 'quality first' in every department
of our business.
"Yes, I have heard of the ten cent roll, as I have
also heard of the $75 piano, and it worries me
about as much. If I thought that a roll, meeting
the necessarily exacting requirements could be pro-
duced and sold to the public for ten cents I would
be the first to bid it welcome, as it would un-
doubtedly give the player industry a much desired
impetus, but it is my honest opinion, based upon
more than a cursory knowledge of roll production,
that it cannot be done. Construction material of
necessary quality, to say nothing of the cost of
master stencils, the now required royalty, publica-
tion of catalogs and bulletins, selling expense, etc. ;
would, it seems to me, lead intelligent reasoning to
the conclusion that something is wrong somewhere
in connection with a roll at that price, and you will
find that 'something' to be a sacrifice of quality and
the 'somewhere' right in the roll itself. Surely the
player industry, after all these years of construc-
tive work, can ill afford to listen to the lure of
cheapness at the expense of player quality and as-
suredly no one can deny the total dependence of
the player on the roll. One can kill the best player
made by a poorly constructed roll. Our dual posi-
JOHN s. BANKS
CO. INCORPORATED.
( Special to The Review.)
SAVANNAH, GA., March 29.—John S. Banks Mu-
sic Co., of this city, was recently incorporated with
a paid-up capital of $10,000 and authorized capital
of $75,000. The incorporators are John S. Banks,
Burt Hcngebeld, and Samuel Payne, of Savannah,
and Henry Hengebeld, of Waycross. John S.
Banks, who heads the company, is very prominent
in the trade in this section of the country through
his many years' connection with the house of Phil-
lips & Crew as manager.
EXPLOSION WRECKS STORE.
The store and stock of the James Music Co.,
Butte, Mont., was damaged to the extent of $6,000
recently as the result of the explosion of a can
of gasoline. Three pianos, a number of talking
machines and thousands of records and copies of
sheet music were also lost.
GOOD HAMMER MAKING A SCIENCE
The shape of a piano hammer must be such that
the hammer will produce a clear full tone.
- ».•*-
Owing to their perfect shape
. ,
STRAUCH BROS. HAMMERS
meet every demand of the piano manufacturer and
produce the best possible tone results from his scale.
STRAUCH BROS.
22 to 30 Tenth Ave.
New York
FIFTY YEARS OF LEADERSHIP