Music Trade Review
Issue: 1917 Vol. 65 N. 7 - Page 47
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MAKING THE MUSICAL MERCHANDISE DEPARTMENT PAY
Piano Merchants Should Take Advantage of the Great Demand Now Prevailing for Band Instru-
ments, Owing to the War, and Emphasize Their "Small Goods" Lines
The piano dealers who are giving serious at-
tention to their musical merchandise depart-
ments these days are profiting accordingly. The
unparalleled demand for instruments for mili-
tary bands, and the general activity throughout
the nation, due to the wave of patriotism, has
brought an immense business to the merchant
who has been featuring musical jnerchandise
in a manner to attract the attention of the pur-
chasing public. It lias brought him money, too,
all of which goes to show that it doesn't pay
to hide one's light under a bushel.
Too many dealers are prone to hide their
musical merchandise department in the rear of
the store and to abstain from featuring in win-
dow displays the line of "small goods" handled,
with the result that their department is not
a profitable one, and they are constantly com-
plaining that the space given over to this de-
partment is money wasted.
This is just the argument which piano mer-
chants made when they first handled talking
machines. They put them in "any old place,"
and never featured them in their advertising,
or window displays, with the result that they
grew disheartened, saw no future for the talk-
ing machine and gave up handling them.
Meanwhile independent stores took on the
talking machine, and by proper exploitation, and
impressive display, they built up such a business
•that the piano merchant who had found the
talking machine department a failure, and had
given it up, was compelled to admit there was
something wrong. He realized this more fully
as time went on, and years later went into the
talking machine business again, but in the proper
way, and he has made money.
Now this situation is exactly the situation in
the musical merchandise field. The dealer, mark
you, who is giving proper consideration to his
musical merchandise department, featuring it in
his advertising, who is realizing its potentialities
in a financial way, and is striving to make the
public acquainted with his house and the line
of small goods he handles, is building up a
nice, profitable trade which is particularly re-
munerative to-day.
RUNQ
T H E OLDEST AND
LARGEST MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
IN AMERICA
Exclusively Wholesale
35I-53FWRTH AVE. NEWYORKCITY
Vic tor Dis trih u tors
We should like to impress on piano merchants
who have musical merchandise departments that
unless they place this branch of their business
in a prominent place in the store and in the
hands of a competent manager; pushing it just
as intelligently as they do their talking machine
department, they will not make it pay. This de-
partment deserves consideration and encourage-
ment along the right lines—that is the applica-
tion of intelligent management, and a fair appro-
priation in a monetary way to enable the man-
ager to bring the store to public attention.
We are sure that the leading manufacturers
and jobbers are most anxious to co-operate with
the dealers in every way possible by giving such
service aids as will help to bring the products
of the house to larger public attention.
It only needs action and co-operation to se-
cure results. The time to act is now. Give
the musical merchandise department a proper
"show" when making definite plans for your
trade this fall.
PATENTS NEW_ZITHER ACTION
Improved Method of Playing the Melody Strings
Provided in Recent Patent
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 13.—An improve-
ment in zither actions is covered in Patent No.
1,235,368 just granted to Samuel C. Osborn, of
Chicago. The object of the invention is to
provide a new and improved zither action more
especially designed for playing the melody
strings, and arranged to maintain a proper aline-
ment and co-action of the keys with their ham-
mers on pressing the keys for actuating the
hammers with a view for the hammers to prop
erly sound the melody strings. The special
constructive features aimed to attain this end
are pointed out in detail in the specifications.
B. DE MARTIN WITH DITSON & CO.
JOHNFRIEDRICH&BRO
Chicago
AND
STEWART
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
Buegeleisen & Jacobson
113 University Place
NEW
YORK
WHAT IS JAZZ?
A Dyspeptic's Definition of What Constitutes
This Particular Kind of Music
A jazz band consists of a clarinet, cornet,
tango banjo, saxophone, slide trombone, piano,
drums and traps and more traps, but there are
some people who evidently do not like it.
"Jazz music is a brazen, screaming, screech-
ing confusion of whang-ganging, mingled with
moans and groans, cowbells, sleighbells, Chi-
nese gongs, washboilers, barnyard bedlam, and
all noises weird and unearthly that human in-
genuity can invent. In short, it is syncopation,
limited only by the sky," says a dyspeptic critic.
"Now people are demanding 'jazz' parties and
'jazz' dances. They want jazz music with their
meals, and jazz in the after-theatre cabaret.
Player-roll imitations give us all the cleverness
and artistry in jazz, minus the disturbance of
the peace."
H. L. HUNT OFF ON VACATION
H. L. Hunt, manager of the musical merchan-
dise section of Chas. H. Ditson & Co., will
leave on his vacation August 22. Mr. Hunt, as
usual, will spend his vacation in visiting in Bos-
ton and Chicago as well as calling upon manu-
facturers of the various lines handled at the
Ditson store.
Musical Instrument
Strings
satisfy the most exacting buyers. Try
Helmet, II Trovatore and La Melodia
Violin Strings.
Send for a wholesale Musical St
and Accessory catalogue
OLIVER DITSON CO.
BOSTON, MASS.
M anuf acturen
Importer* and Jobbers ol
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
ESTABLISHED 1834
Cincinnati
DURRO
B. De Martin, who has had long experience
in the musical merchandise field and is an ac-
complished musician, has been added to the
sales staff of the musical instrument and small
goods section ©f Chas. H. Ditson & Co.
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
MU.SICA L
Merchandise
47
MYMAHN
Superior Quality MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributor*
1108 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established over half a century
Armour & Company
Chicago
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
Nev/ Brunswick, N. J.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MAKING THE MUSICAL MERCHANDISE DEPARTMENT PAY
Piano Merchants Should Take Advantage of the Great Demand Now Prevailing for Band Instru-
ments, Owing to the War, and Emphasize Their "Small Goods" Lines
The piano dealers who are giving serious at-
tention to their musical merchandise depart-
ments these days are profiting accordingly. The
unparalleled demand for instruments for mili-
tary bands, and the general activity throughout
the nation, due to the wave of patriotism, has
brought an immense business to the merchant
who has been featuring musical jnerchandise
in a manner to attract the attention of the pur-
chasing public. It lias brought him money, too,
all of which goes to show that it doesn't pay
to hide one's light under a bushel.
Too many dealers are prone to hide their
musical merchandise department in the rear of
the store and to abstain from featuring in win-
dow displays the line of "small goods" handled,
with the result that their department is not
a profitable one, and they are constantly com-
plaining that the space given over to this de-
partment is money wasted.
This is just the argument which piano mer-
chants made when they first handled talking
machines. They put them in "any old place,"
and never featured them in their advertising,
or window displays, with the result that they
grew disheartened, saw no future for the talk-
ing machine and gave up handling them.
Meanwhile independent stores took on the
talking machine, and by proper exploitation, and
impressive display, they built up such a business
•that the piano merchant who had found the
talking machine department a failure, and had
given it up, was compelled to admit there was
something wrong. He realized this more fully
as time went on, and years later went into the
talking machine business again, but in the proper
way, and he has made money.
Now this situation is exactly the situation in
the musical merchandise field. The dealer, mark
you, who is giving proper consideration to his
musical merchandise department, featuring it in
his advertising, who is realizing its potentialities
in a financial way, and is striving to make the
public acquainted with his house and the line
of small goods he handles, is building up a
nice, profitable trade which is particularly re-
munerative to-day.
RUNQ
T H E OLDEST AND
LARGEST MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
IN AMERICA
Exclusively Wholesale
35I-53FWRTH AVE. NEWYORKCITY
Vic tor Dis trih u tors
We should like to impress on piano merchants
who have musical merchandise departments that
unless they place this branch of their business
in a prominent place in the store and in the
hands of a competent manager; pushing it just
as intelligently as they do their talking machine
department, they will not make it pay. This de-
partment deserves consideration and encourage-
ment along the right lines—that is the applica-
tion of intelligent management, and a fair appro-
priation in a monetary way to enable the man-
ager to bring the store to public attention.
We are sure that the leading manufacturers
and jobbers are most anxious to co-operate with
the dealers in every way possible by giving such
service aids as will help to bring the products
of the house to larger public attention.
It only needs action and co-operation to se-
cure results. The time to act is now. Give
the musical merchandise department a proper
"show" when making definite plans for your
trade this fall.
PATENTS NEW_ZITHER ACTION
Improved Method of Playing the Melody Strings
Provided in Recent Patent
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 13.—An improve-
ment in zither actions is covered in Patent No.
1,235,368 just granted to Samuel C. Osborn, of
Chicago. The object of the invention is to
provide a new and improved zither action more
especially designed for playing the melody
strings, and arranged to maintain a proper aline-
ment and co-action of the keys with their ham-
mers on pressing the keys for actuating the
hammers with a view for the hammers to prop
erly sound the melody strings. The special
constructive features aimed to attain this end
are pointed out in detail in the specifications.
B. DE MARTIN WITH DITSON & CO.
JOHNFRIEDRICH&BRO
Chicago
AND
STEWART
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
Buegeleisen & Jacobson
113 University Place
NEW
YORK
WHAT IS JAZZ?
A Dyspeptic's Definition of What Constitutes
This Particular Kind of Music
A jazz band consists of a clarinet, cornet,
tango banjo, saxophone, slide trombone, piano,
drums and traps and more traps, but there are
some people who evidently do not like it.
"Jazz music is a brazen, screaming, screech-
ing confusion of whang-ganging, mingled with
moans and groans, cowbells, sleighbells, Chi-
nese gongs, washboilers, barnyard bedlam, and
all noises weird and unearthly that human in-
genuity can invent. In short, it is syncopation,
limited only by the sky," says a dyspeptic critic.
"Now people are demanding 'jazz' parties and
'jazz' dances. They want jazz music with their
meals, and jazz in the after-theatre cabaret.
Player-roll imitations give us all the cleverness
and artistry in jazz, minus the disturbance of
the peace."
H. L. HUNT OFF ON VACATION
H. L. Hunt, manager of the musical merchan-
dise section of Chas. H. Ditson & Co., will
leave on his vacation August 22. Mr. Hunt, as
usual, will spend his vacation in visiting in Bos-
ton and Chicago as well as calling upon manu-
facturers of the various lines handled at the
Ditson store.
Musical Instrument
Strings
satisfy the most exacting buyers. Try
Helmet, II Trovatore and La Melodia
Violin Strings.
Send for a wholesale Musical St
and Accessory catalogue
OLIVER DITSON CO.
BOSTON, MASS.
M anuf acturen
Importer* and Jobbers ol
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
ESTABLISHED 1834
Cincinnati
DURRO
B. De Martin, who has had long experience
in the musical merchandise field and is an ac-
complished musician, has been added to the
sales staff of the musical instrument and small
goods section ©f Chas. H. Ditson & Co.
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
MU.SICA L
Merchandise
47
MYMAHN
Superior Quality MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributor*
1108 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established over half a century
Armour & Company
Chicago
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
Nev/ Brunswick, N. J.
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