Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
U
THE VALUE OF WINDOW DISPLAY FOR PIANO DEALERS—(Continued from page 9).
with one or two player-pianos and about a dozen
modern dance player rolls. If you sell sheet music
you can easily procure a number of title pages with
poster effects of dancing couples. Paste these on
cardboard and cut them out carefully. Have small
cards made with the name and number of your
rolls, and arrange each roll in the shape of a fan
by using about one yard of the perforated roll and
folding this together at the lower end and using a
pin to hold it together. If you experiment a little
sort will always interest and add prestige to your
store.
Fourth of July Display.
You can make an effective background by using a
few discarded rolls—65-note or soiled standard rolls
will do very nicely. Cut as many full lengths from
top to bottom. Now buy a little dark blue and
red aniline dyes, which you can get in a paint store.
Paint one-third of your rolls red, and alternate the
red and white strips for your background. Cut
Artistic Empire Setting for
yuu will get the perfect shape of a fan. Use the
box to hold the fan in place and arrange the cut-out
dance figures on one side of the fan. Have a show
card made with another "cut-out" pasted on it, and
have the copy of yuur sign picture how much pleas-
ure a little informal dance will bring to all the
members of the home with the aid of the player-
piano. If you cannot get sheet music title pages
you can buy some old magaz'.nes, such as Puck,
Life, Vanity Fair and many others that feature
social life, nearly every copy of which contains
dance figures in colors and often highly artistic.
Try to get the different dancing couples nearly the
same size, and be sure to cut them out carefully.
The Ladies' Home Journal and McClure's have
brought out some splendid dance figures recently
on their front page.
A Famous Composer's Anniversary Display.
A week ahead of the anniversary of some famous
master like Wagner, Grieg or Verdi procure as
good and large a picture as possible, and use this
for the center of your display or place it on the
piano. Show some music rolls of the best known
of his works. Have a sign made to the effect, for
instance, that "May 22.—One hundred and two
Knabe Piano.
(No. 3).
out a five-pointed star of cardboard about eight
inches in diameter. Outline this star every eleven
inches from star point to next point and use your
dark blue dye to paint around the stars. This will
give you a long blue strip of perforated paper with
white stars. Loop this gracefully from the top of
your red and white background and bring the loops
over to the center of the upper part of your window
near the window pane. For your player rolls have
patriotic selections and use red and blue border:, on
your white show cards. Use American flags for
center of display, and you will have a striking and
'inexpensive holiday display. If you doubt your
ability to make the stars sharp and clean, your card
writer will no doubt do this for you at a trifling
cost.
The accompanying photograph (No. 1) is a good
illustration of a patriotic display. This is grouped
around the American nat'onal anthem, "The Star
Spangled Banner," which is placed immediately be-
neath the photograph of President Wilson. A sign
accompanies this which reads, "AH true Americans
will celebrate the 100th birthday of 'The Star
Spangled Banner,' written by Francis Scott Key,
September 14, 1814. 'The Land -f the Free' also
Window Display Devoted Specially to the Chickering Pianos.
(No. 5 ) .
One of the most prominent piano men in the United States said, in speaking of this window display, "To my mind
it is undoubtedly the finest window dressing that has been seen by the piano trade of this country. '
years ago was born in Leipzig, Germany, Richard
Wagner," and then give a short description of his
importance to modern music. A display of this
remember with grateful hearts the joy and happi-
ness contributed by the famous composers of our
sister nations throughout the world. To all Euro-
pean countries we extend our sincerest good fel-
lowship, along with expressions of neutrality, Fair-
ness and Friendship, in the Undying words of our
immortal Lincoln—
" 'With charity for all and malice towards none.'"
The idea of the foreign nations was brought out
with fifteen circular cardboard discs with the titles
of famous composers of the different nations. Each
disc was embellished with a picture of a girl in her
national garb and holding the flag of her country.
Portraits of the principal rulers also accompanied
the display, and the small silk flags of the different
nations made an exhibit so colorful and so appeal-
ing to people of all nationalities that the window
was surrounded by a large crowd a great deal of
the time.
No. 2 shows a "Made in U. S. A." window dis-
play which, because of its brilliant central motif,
attracted favorable comment from dealers all over
the country.
Window No. 3 shows a very handsome display of
an Empire Art style William Knabe & Co. piano.
Medallions of Napoleon and Josepiiine are at the
top of the two central figures and the Napoleonic
wreath is displayed prominently. Cards at the side
tell of the influence Napoleon and the military
spirit of the times had upon the molding of French
art.
Window No. 4 shows what appears to be a very
fine window devoted to small goods. It is true that
it was very effective and numerous people during
the Easter season stopped to admire it. Advantage
was taken of the lighting effects and the reflected
brilliancy of the brass instruments, the silver-plated
flutes and piccolos and the beautiful finish of the
harps.
The Chickering Window.
Illustration No. 5 shows one of the most admired
An Easter Small Goods Window. (No. 4).
window displays that have yet been created. The
arrangement of the decorations in this instance has
not only been successful from the standpoint of its
attractiveness, but also from the point of the promi-
nence of the piano itself, which is, of course, a thing
never to be lost sight of, as the object of the entire
display is the sale of the instrument.
The background consists of a true copy of a large
ornamental bronze gate leading into the famous
Theater Garden in Milano, Italy, and which was
designed by a well-known Italian artist. The color
was made to represent old gold, with the exception
of the French and English coats of arms and the
mammoth Cross of the Legion of Honor in the
upper center. These three decorations were cut
out and painted in their natural colors. Directly
under the large cross of honor appears the name
"Chickering" in bright gold. These letters were
carefully cut out, gilded, and mounted on black
chiffon, which material it is impossible to detect
with the naked eye. In this way we obtain the
effect of the sign standing out without any visible
support. Two large hanging lamps with circular
globes and gold trimmings adorn each side of the
Chickering sign. Flanking the gate proper are two
ornamental lamp posts in the original sketch. I
(Continued on Page 13.)