Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
ADMIRES THE SCHOMACKER GRAND. CLOSED EXCELLENT BUSINESS IN MAY IN THE NORTHWEST.
E. W. Pearson, Director of Music in the Phila-
delphia Public Schools, Gives His Views on
the Merits of This Well-Known Grand Piano.
Last Week Showed a Gain That Enabled Business to Overcome That of Any Month This Year—
Advertising Forum Watching Dealers' Publicity—Activity with Holland Co.—Mrs. Waldo III.
cent ads border dangerous ground they cannot
compare with the bold proclamations of a few
On the back cover of the May 31 issue of The When all is said and done and the books balanced years ago.
Independent appeared a full size reproduction of
May proved a good month for the piano dealers of
President Norris, of the Holland Piano Co.,
a letter sent by E. W. Pearson, director of music. Minneapolis and St. Paul in spite of the gloomy which runs the piano factory at Menomonie, Wis.,
Philadelphia public schools, to the Schomacker talk heard from many of them. It was the last
reports that the shop is going all the time at full
Piano Co. of the same city. Director Pearson has week that pulled up the totals, and the last week capacity. Its May sales were particularly satisfac-
owned a six-foot Schomacker grand for some time was accordingly a blessing. The totals were far tory and the outlook for the remainder of the
and recently he decided to secure a concert larger than for any of the previous months of
vear is equally promising.
grand of the same make. His feelings regarding 1915, and while not breaking any May records, the
The wife of C. L. Waldo, of Foster & Waldo,
the exchange are summarized when he says of the figures will average very nicely.
Minneapolis, is seriously ill, and when this letter
Schomacker : "I cannot conceive of a nearer ap-
The dealers are pleased to predict that the com- was sent was not expected to live more than a few
proximation to absolute perfection than is evi- ing season in the main will be satisfactory. The hours. She has been a resident of the city for
denced by this instrument." His full letter, which long wet weather in May has set crops back nearly thirty years and is well known and highly
is a reproduction of the back cover advertisement somewhat, but the experts cheer the laymen with
esteemed.
in The Independent, appears on the opposite page the information that even though the things have
Work on the inventory of the Metropolitan
in this issue of The Review. The style of Scho- not been growing above the ground they have under
Music Co. began May 24 and was expected to re-
macker grand referred to by Director E. W. Pear- the surface, with the result that when the rains quire ten or twelve days. The clearance sale will
«or} is known as the "Style D, concert grand cease everything will burst forth like magic. So continue about thirty days, or until all the rental
piano." It is nine feet long; five feet two inches may it be.
pianos which now are being returned are disposed
wide and three feet three inches high. It is made
It is understood that the Advertising Forum is of in some manner. Alluring bargains are of-
in mahogany cases for music rooms and in ebon- having some difficulty in keeping the piano ads fered.
ized cases for the stage. It is built with an inde- within the ethical rules. As none of the dealers
The final combat between the bowling teams of
pendent treble resonator; tone-sustaining pedal have been disciplined we refrain from using names. the St. Paul and Minneapolis stores of the Cable
and arched violin sounding board. It is described The Forum is said to plan an active campaign un- Piano Co. was staged for June 1 at St. Paul.
as a piano of limitless resources with a richness der the new statute regulating advertising, but none
Managers Collins and Shaw both are some bowlers
and depth of tone that meet the expectations of
of the piano men of the Twin Cities is likely to and, with the keen rivalry between the teams, the
the most exacting virtuoso.
lie in the list of victims. It has won decided suc- contest should have been an exciting event, and
cess in the past three "years and though some re- the result is awaited with much interest.
(Special to The Review.)
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, MINN., June 1.—
MORE ACTIV1T\MIN KANSAS CITY.
Public Displays More Interest in Pianos Despite
Bad Weather—Good Call for the Baldwin
Line—Starr Display Window Made Attract-
ive by Use of Flowers—News of the Week.
(Special to The Review.)
KANSAS CITY, MO., June 1.—The piano trade in
Kansas City displayed a great deal more activity
last week than was expected, as it rained nearly
all week. The people seem to be taking more in-
terest in the pianos than they have yet displayed
all spring and the dealers claim, in spite of the
disagreeable start, that they believe that they are
going to do one of the biggest summer businesses
in history. The salesrooms of the various com-
panies have been busy all week and almost every
one of them reports that good sales were made.
The fact that the graduation season at the public
schools is now at its height has caused the busi-
ness a nice increase, as a great many people are
buying pianos so that their children may be able
to carry on their musical education in the home.
The schools about this territory have not been buy-
ing pianos, and it is not likely that they shall, as
the time for closing is very near.
The Nowlin Music Co. reports good sales on the
Baldwin lines, including a Baldwin grand. G. E.
Nowlin says that the collections have been much
better than they have for some time and he be-
lieves that the business is now on the increase to
stay. A new shipment of Baldwin and Howard
pianos was received at the store this week to take
the place of those instruments that have been sent
out.
The Abernathy Piano Co. reports that the busi-
ness in the line of pianos wliich it is featuring,
has picked up nicely. Its music roll department
showed signs of awakening last week that it has
not displayed all summer.
C. C. Thomas, manager of the Field-Lippman
branch in this city, says that the weather has
greatly hampered the business as well as the tem-
per of most of the men in the business. Mr.
Thomas declares that he made several good sales
in spite of the bad conditions.
The Jenkins Music Co. has been disposing of a
great many of its shop-worn music rolls and other
musical instruments and music at reduced prices.
The sale of rolls has proved a most successful one.
W. E. Rupe, manager of the local branch of the
Starr Piano Co., has been using flowers to better
set off his display window. The flowers attract
the attention of a certain class of people where a
commonly decorated piano window would fail to
do so.
The window of the Carl Hoffman Music Co.
brought forth a great deal of attention to that
company last week and a nice increase in the busi-
ness as well. Mr. Hoffman says that the business
in the Chickering pianos is getting much better
than it has been all year.
The Mooney Music Co. has been enjoying a nice
trade in the pianos, and Miss Mooney says that her
sales have increased nicely.
If the efforts of Dean Horace Whitehouse, of
Topeka, count for much the city will have one of
the best forty-piece orchestras in the State. The
Musical Art Society, 'with a membership of 220
musicians, will furnish the material for this or-
chestra, which will soon be organized to give con-
certs this fall and winter in Topeka. It will also
visit other cities in the locality.
INVENTS THE_Z1THER PIANO.
Milwaukee Organist Tells of the Application
of a Piano Action to the Zither—Looks Like
Small Baby Grand Piano in Appearance.
MILWAUKEE,
(Special to The Review.)
WIS., May 31.—Prof.
H.
F.
Schenuit, a well-known Milwaukee organist, head
of the Schenuit Conservatory of Music, has in-
vented a musical instrument which he calls a zither-
piano. This little instrument has a keyboard of
five octaves and really looks like a diminutive
baby grand piano. Its tone is clear and musical
and has the true "tang" of the instruments whose
strings are picked or plucked. It has been patented
by Prof. Schenuit and it is said that steps may be
taken to manufacture the instrument in Milwaukee.
"I worked out the idea first by means of a cigar
box fastened to a table," said Prof. Schenuit.
"Very few people learn to play the zither, because
it is so difficult and so hard on the fingers. In this
new zither-piano the strings are picked from be-
low by cunningly arranged plectrums, giving the
WINTER & CO.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, N E W YORK
Manufacturers of
clear, unmistakable zither tone, with the addition
of certain notes of the harp. The keyboard is
used as in a piano and each note has its separate
action."
Prof. Schenuit is the father of Irma Schenuit,
child pianist, who has attracted attention all over
the country.
BLIND TUNER NOW A LAWYER.
Through the Aid of a Sister Who Reads Black-
stone to Him O. H. Flow Enters the Legal
Profession—Well Known as a Piano Tuner.
(Special to The Review.)
PIERRE, S. D., May 31.—Among the successful
applicants for admission to the bar at the recent
examination before the Supreme Court was Ole
H. Flow, a native of the Black Hills, who has
worked under the handicap of blindness from
birth.
For years he made his way in the world as a
piano tuner, but aspired to the law, and securing
a copy of Blackstone and other legal works had
his sister read them to him. He later fulfilled
other requirements for successful legal graduation.
At the examinations the questions were read to
Flow by one of the court stenographers, and his
answers were written out on an ordinary type-
writer, he never having recourse to the machines
arranged especially for the blind.
PLAN FOR LARGER QUARTERS.
(Special to The Review.)
Q.OVERSVJU.K, N. Y., June 1.—The Alvord &
Smith Co., of Gl North Main street, this city, has
leased the rear half of the store at 59 North Main
street and has arranged for adding the extra space
to its present quarters. The newly acquired space
will be handsomely finished and decorated and
used for the display of both pianos and talking
machines.
L. S. Roemer, sales manager of Cable & Sons, 550
West Thirty-eighth street, New York, has returned
from a month's trip throughout the Middle West.
He characterizes business as "seasonable," al-
though in most localities he found one or two
houses doing a good trade.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos