Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE
NEW VICTROLA XVII.
Just Introduced to the Trade, Is an.
ment of Exceptional .Attractiveness
The Victor Talking Machine Co. this week
sent out illustrations and .descriptions ai their
new Victrola XVII, a very .limited quanfTfy : *of
which will be shipped from the, factory "before
Christmas. This instrument sells in mahogany
or oak at $2^0 and American walnut at $300.
These styles with electric motor cost $50 more.
In this connection Louis F. -Geissler, gen-
eral manager of the company, says: "It was
not our intention to announce this new type
until we had accumulated sufficient stock to
make substantial shipments to all distributors,
but in face of the immense demand and con-
sequent shortage, particularly of the Victrola
XVI, we feel that this beautiful instrument with
its graceful lines will be welcomed by our dis-
tributors and dealers and quickly sent out as
fast as they are shown to the public."
The new Victrola XVII has swell front and
sides, and is 46^4 inches high, 22J4 inches wide
and 24J-4 inches deep. It contains sixteen Vic-
tor record albums for 160 records; has twelve-
inch gold plated turntable, gold plated exhibi-
tion sound-box, Victor tapering tone arm and
tapering "goose neck," sound-box tube, auto-
matic brake, speed regulator and automatic in-
dicator, nickel-plated extra heavy quadruple
spring, spiral drive motor, which can be wound
while playing.
PRAISE FOR THE VOCALION
Arthur W. Wright Sends the Aeolian Co. an
Appreciation of the Aeolian-Vocalion
The Chicago offices of the Aeolian Co. re-
ceived recently a very interesting letter from
Arthur W. Wright, of "The National Druggist,"
St. Louis, Mo., referring to the distinctive qual-
ities of the Aeolian-Vocalion phonograph. This
letter, which is a valuable tribute to the Vocal-
ion, reads:
"A year or so ago I had about made up my
mind to buy a phonograph, and having investi-
gated the
and
machines,
decided upon the former as possessing the high-
est conception of artistic and constructive per-
fection, arriving at my decision after many visits
to the concert rooms of both of these. About
the time referred to Mrs. Wright went East on
a visit, and while there heard much commenda-
tion in musical circles of the Aeolian-Vocalion,
subsequently hearing the instrument for her-
self.
"The fact that the Aeolian-Vocalion is made
by the great Aeolian concern, of world-wide re-
nown and prestige as makers of Aeolian or-
gans and pianos, prompted me to investigate,
at her suggestion, and when I heard the in-
strument our conversion was complete! Money
would not buy the instrument we bought from
you if it could not be replaced! The Aeolian-
Vocalion is in a class by itself. It approaches
nearest to an exact reproduction of the wave
inflections of both human voice and musical in-
strument of anything I have ever heard, and
it is exactly free from that resonant harsh-
ness and 'tin-panniness' present in some meas-
ure in the best of other phonographs. The
Aeolian-Vocalion is a triumph of artistic skill,
mechanical ingenuity and superlative musical
conception that is without a peer—and why not,
when one considers the foundation of experi-
ence upon which it is built.
."(Signed) ARTHUR W. WRIGHT."
Geo. Bolster, a furniture dealer of Plenty-
wood, Mont., has taken the agency for the
Aeolian-Vocalion, and will feature it perma-
nently in his store.
REVIEW
69
REVISION OF EDISON TERRITORY
EXPOSING "GYP" DEALERS' METHODS
Changes Announced by Thomas A. Edison, Inc.,
Increase the Efficiency of the Service Ren-
dered Dealers by Technical Men
The Tribune Tells of Its Campaign in Running
Down People Who Trade on the Reputation
of The Victor Co. Products
A revision of the territory, to which the field
supervisors and mechanical instructors of
Thomas A. Edison, Inc., are assigned, has been
announced at the offices of the company at
Orange, N. J. The changes have been made
in order to increase the efficiency of the large
staff of sales and technical experts who are
employed to assist Edison dealers in solving
any merchandising or mechanical problems that
may arise in their business. Every zone in
the United States now is afforded the services
of these thoroughly trained and highly compe-
tent experts, and the work has been extended
into Canada by the appointment of both a su-
pervisor and a mechanical instructor who will
make a preliminary survey of this vast terri-
tory before the appointment of additional men.
The supervisors are equipped with the best
and latest Edison information along various
lines. They are kept in close touch with the
Edison laboratory and are aware of every de-
velopment that may be interesting or valuable
to Edison dealers. The mechanical instructors
all are graduates of the special laboratory
course in mechanics, and there is no problem
relating to the mechanism of the New Edison
that they are not capable of solving. The new
territorial assignments of these field workers
are as follows:
Supervisor, H. R. Skelton; mechanical instruc-
tor, E. Trautwein.
Zones: Boston, New
Haven, Albany, Syracuse.
Supervisor, C. S. Gardner; mechanical instruc-
tor, J. C. Knipper. Zones: New York, Pitts-
burgh, Williamsport, Philadelphia.
Supervisor, J. J. Callahan; mechanical instruc-
tor, J. Finlayson. Zones: Cleveland, Detroit,
Chicago, Indianapolis.
Supervisor, L. A. Zollner; mechanical instruc-
tor, A. E. Schiller. Zones: Des Moines, Sioux
City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis.
Supervisor, C. R. Lee; mechanical instructor,
E E. Bedford. Zones: Atlanta;, Richmond, Cin-
cinnati.
• ;
Supervisor, A. P. Burns; mechanical instruc-
tor, J. McCluskey. Zones: l^ecw Orleans, Dal-
las, El Paso.
Supervisor, C. , W. Burgess; mechanical in-
structor, D. Lawson. Zones: St. .Louis, Kan-
sas City, Omaha, Denver, Ogden> Helena.
Supervisor, H. L. Marshall; mechanical in-
structor, G. A. Cummings. Zones: Los An-
geles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Spokane
and the territory which the Kent Piano Co.,
Vancouver, B. C, is working.
Supervisor, Newman Johnston; mechanical in-
structor, J. B. D. Gambee. Mr. Johnston, re-
cently appointed, is the first supervisor to go
into Canada. His present territory is the entire
Dominion outside of British Columbia (which
Supervisor Marshall is handling), and it is his
intention to apply himself at first at Eastern
Canada, beginning with the Toronto jobbing
point, and successively covering Montreal and
St. Johns. After that he will take up Winni-
peg and Calgary.
Under the heading "Profitable Trading on
Victor's Good Name," the New York Tribune
published on Sunday an interesting article which
exposed the methods of the "gyp" dealers who
are fostering all kinds of machines on the pub-
lic, stating that they are Victrolas or other
standard makes of machines—in other words,
trading on the high reputation and prestige of
the products of the Victor Co.
Through the efforts of the Tribune one of
these "gyp" dealers will be tried for grand
larceny, while others will either be obliged to
discontinue their illegal methods of doing busi-
ness or be subjected to criminal prosecution.
The article in the Tribune gave in detail the
various devices used by the "gyp" dealers to in-
troduce the nondescript machines which they
had purchased for practically nothing. As a
rule, these dealers carry advertisements in the
classified sections of the newspapers, using
hackneyed "reasons" for disposing of their ma-
chines at a "bargain." It so happened that
the machines which figured in the Tribune's in-
vestigation proved absolutely unreliable, which
enabled the newspaper's investigators to bring
positive proofs that these "gyp" dealers were
trading on the Victor name and offering the
public inferior merchandise.
HOLIDAY PAY F0ITVICT0R EMPLOYES
CAM DEN, N. J., November 20.—Owing to the in-
ability of the Victor Talking Machine Co. to
procure sufficient turkeys of the desired qual-
ity as a Christmas present to their employes,
as has been the rule for several years, the
company has announced that this year the em-
ployes will receive pay for Christmas day in-
stead of the birds and cranberries. The com-
pany also announces that employes will be paid
for all holidays in future.
THE COLUMBIA LINE IN SYDNEY
"Paling's" to Handle This Line in Sydney—
Very Prominent in the Music Trade Field
H. A. Parker & Co., of Sydney, Australia,
distributor for the Columbia Graphophone Co.,
New York, closed an important deal recently,
whereby the well-known music house of "Pal-
ing's," Sydney, will handle the complete Colum-
bia line, and feature it extensively.
Paling's is recognized throughout the piano
industry as the highest grade piano house in
Australia, and their acknowledgment of the mu-
sical qualities, and sales possibilities of the Co-
lumbia line is a valuable tribute to these prod-
ucts. H. A. Parker & Co. states that the Co-
lumbia line is now represented throughout
Australia and New Zealand in every high-grade
piano house without exception.
Messrs. Parker & Hunt, comprising the
heads of H. A. Parker & Co., are now in New
York, conferring with the executive depart-
ments of the Columbia Co. anent the coming
year's activities.
COLUMBIA MANAGERS CONFER
Met This Week at Headquarters and Later
Visit Company's Factories at Bridgeport
All of the district managers of the Colum-
bia Graphophone Co., assembled this week at
the company's executive offices in the Wool-
worth Building, New York, for one of their
regular conferences with the officers and manu-
facturing heads. A number of the store man-
agers were also on hand, including R. J. Whelan,
Cincinnati; Ben L. Brown, Louisville; Irby W.
Reid, St. Louis, and others.
After spending some time at the executive
offices, the district managers and the depart-
ment heads visited the company's factories at
Bridgeport, Conn., where discussions were held
and plans outlined for 1917. The officers of the
company, department heads, visiting managers
and factory heads gathered for an informal din-
ner at which a number of impromptu though
timely addresses added to the zest of the oc-
casion.