Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
COMING OF SPRING BRIGHTENS KANSAS CITY PROSPECTS.
Country Business Developing Rapidly for Piano and Talking Machine Dealers—Wunderlich
Getting Quarters Into Shape—Demand for Players on Increase—Other Timely News.
(Special to The Review.)
KANSAS CITY, MO., April 5.—The piano business
in Kansas City has at last bjgan to move with the
freeilom that tho spring accords to nearly every
business. The piano dealers all feel that spring has
now arrived and with it better business conditions.
The weather during the past week has been much
better than it has for some time. The piano
houses report that they received their share of the
Easter business. During the week the streets wjre
crowded with shopp:rs and they took the time to
visit the piano dealers. Most of the dealers had
their places decorated for the occasion and were
already for the business. The instruments moved
with great freedom during the week and a new
tendency toward the player-pianos was shown by
the public. Nearly all of th. 1 houses report that
the collections for the week were very good. The
special sales that the piano houses have been hav-
ing on Saturdays brought a great deal of business
to the stores just before Easter. It was thought
among dealers to be because the Lenten season
was at an end and the people wore buying more
heavily to sort of celebrate the occasion.
Harry Wunderlich has not yet got his store ar-
ranged and decorated just to suit him. He has
been putting in new carpets and rugs and hanging
new draperies. The house when completely fur-
nished will without doubt be the finest equipped
piano store in the city. Mr. Wunderlich says that
the business has been very satisfactory.
C. C. Thomas, manager of the Field-Lippman
Piano Stores here, sums up th: reason for the con-
dition of the piano business in the simple phrase,
"the weather." Mr. Thomas says that this is the
only possible thing in the world to blame for the
conditions that have existed and as soon as spring
comes the piano sales will increase. The city it-
self cannot be blamed for the bank clearings show
Kansas City to be the richest city in the country
of its size.
George Nowlin, of the Nowlin Music Co., says
that the business has picked up in fine shape in the
past week and that he believes it will continue to
grow from now on. The weather conditions he
blames more than anything else for the lack of
business last month. Mr. Nowlin has rearranged
the pianos in his store and the change makes the
room a little more attractive and noticeable to the
steady patron. He says that the business in player-
pianos is growing immensely and he believes that
the sale on music ro 1 ls has started the ball to roll-
ing in this direction. Mr. Nowlin says that he in-
tends to work up a steady business in tlv.ee different
lines in the music roll department. The r. tail, mail
order and jobbers' business. Already Mr. Child,
the manager of the department, has made a trip to
several Missouri towns to investigate the conditions
for the company. They receive new shipments
every week from the United States Music Co.
Do You Know How
Decker & Son
Pianos Are Made?
Lr
G
DECKER & SON « G
Estab. 1856
699-703 East 135th St.
HOLD ANNUAL MEETING.
(Special to The Review.)
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., April 5.—At the recent
annual meeting of the stockholders of the Charles
H. Hickok Music Co., this city, the following
directors were elected: Charles H. Hickok, Will-
iam T. Ward and Henry T. Fay. Mr. Fay will
serve as president and attorney for the company,
Mr. Ward as treasurer and Mr. Hickok as secrc^
tary and manager.
W. VA. ADVERTISING BILL AMENDED.
Their remarkable quality is not the
result of chance.
Let us give you specific instances of G
skeptical dealers who after corre— [j
sponding with us have added these G
profit making pianos to their line.
G
"The Quality Counts"
L. Hoffman, manager of the music department
at the May Stern Furniture Co., reports that
the business during the Easter week was very heavy
in the music department. The pianos moved well
and showed a decided increase over former weeks.
The interest that shoppers are showing in pianos in-
Jicates that they will pick up and run past the
normal sales.
L. E. Scott, manager of the piano department
at the Carl Hoffman Music Co., says that the busi-
ness already is close to normal and that in a few
days he believes that it will be somewhere near a
boom. Mr. Scott has had several years' experience
in the business and he knows about how it should
be running and about when it will begin to pick up
to what it should be. He says that he is greatly
encouraged over the sales made thus far and that
the prospects are that the good work will con-
tinue.
W. E. Rupe, manager of the Starr Piano Co.,
here, demonstrated how successful a small window
could be decorated and used for the business. Mr.
Rupe placed baby chicks in the window which is
not large enough for a piano and placed the pos-
ters in calling attention to the pianos and the
player rolls on which he has been holding sales on
Saturdays. It has long been Mr. Rupe's intention
to make some arrangements whereby he could get
a larger display window and a better entrance to
his salesroom which is on the second floor. He
says that although he was hampered greatly under
the existing conditions that the business was ex-
tremely heavy during the Easter week for the at-
tention of the people was attracted by the chicks
and they visited the store.
W. B. Roberts, manager of the W. W. Kimball
Piano Co., says that the collections have exceeded
all the records that his house has ever estab'ished
for the month of March and that he is particularly
gratified over this. The business is steadily in-
creasing he says and he expects it to take on larger
proportions in the next few weeks than it has had
for some time. Mr. Roberts is a diligent salesman
as well as a manager and he goes right after the
business.
A. A. Lamar, representing the Baldwin Co., was
in the city last week and reports that the business
is steadily increasing throughout his territory. Mr.
Lamar announced his intention of moving to Kan-
sas City and making this headquarters.
G
New York G
The West Virginia Legislature has passed the
fraudulent advertising bill with an amendment
which is equivalent to the introduction of the
word "knowingly." An attempt was made by the
Wheeling Ad Club and the West Virginia Busi-
ness Men's Association to secure the substitution
of the Printers' Ink Model Statute, but the bill
passed with the following clause, "knowing or
having reason to believe that such assertion
* * * is untrue." The bill also declares that
the agents and employes of the advertiser may
be indicted.
TO REORGANIZE BUSINESS.
The Smith & Phillips Music Co., East Liver-
pool, O., will reorganize within a few months and
continue its business on Washington street, at the
same location, according to a statement recently
given out bv officers of the company.
The Piano
Business
Is GOOD
Where Sales
are Not Lost
To establish the confidence of
the customer in the inslru-'
ment, nothing is so important
as a KNOWN name. The
name.
Hard man
is known from the Atlantic to
the Pacific. It commands the
respect of musicians and the
admiration of all who hear its
peerless tone.
Even people who are not ca-
pable of recognizing the high-
est musical quality at once
realize thai the HARDMAN is
in its proper place when told
that it is the official piano of
the Metropolitan Opera House
and used by most of the
world's greatest singers, for
its name is almost as well
known as that of the opera
house itself. This fact gives
prestige and selling power to
The Entire Hardman Line
The
The
The
The
And
Hardman Piano
Harrington Piano
Hensel Piano
Autotone
the Playotone
There are few lost sales for
piano dealers who have these
splendid instruments to pre-
sent to their customers.
HARDMAN, PECK & CO.
Founded 1842
Hardman House
433 Fifth Avenue, New York
Chicago Office and Wareroom,
where a complete stock of the
output can be seen:
Republic Building
Corner of Adams and State Sts.