Music Trade Review
Issue: 1918 Vol. 66 N. 6 - Page 47
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
FEBRUARY 9, 1918
THE PARABLE OF THE FINISHER
The following parable, taken from a recent
issue of Veneers, will probably receive the fer-
vent "Amens" of the finishers in piano factories,
even though the parable deals more specifically
with finishers employed in furniture factories.
The parable sayeth:
Let us now consider the foreman finisher, for
hath he not worked among us these many years
and been reviled among all men? He it is who
is supposed to lay the finish in glossy sequence
upon the table and the sideboard, yea, even
upon the drawer and the bedpost he lavisheth
his attention until they glisten like unto the
trousers seat of the boss. He maketh the old
to look like the new, and the new he taketh and
covereth up its imperfections, even as the sim-
ple farmer tradeth the horse with the one blind
eye and a spavin.
The shop man sendeth to him a cabinet that
is punk; verily, the veneer lieth in ripples and
the glue joints are not acquainted. The legs
are perchance made of wood of six different
colors and the glue spots are more frequent
than the warts on the deck of a hoptoad.
The finisher man taketh the cabinet and pray-
eth over it long and earnestly; he lifteth his
eyes and swalloweth his adam's apple and kick-
eth the bottom out of a paint keg. Whenever
he noteth an added imperfection he continueth
the prayer with added emphasis, but neverthe-
less he setteth to work with diligence, likewise
with sandpaper and putty.
He experimenteth with stains on the many
Robert L. Kapp Co., Inc.
Makers of
HIGH GRADE
HAMMERS
REVIEW
47
And when you're satisfied
that we've the best punch-
ings on the market, cut
clean and accurately from
the best of material in cellu-
loid, cloth, felt, fibre,
leather, paper, rubber or
whatever you want, give
us credit and send your
orders to
C.E GOEPELACO
137 E A S T I3 T -* ST.
NEW YORK
PIANO PLATES
A NEW QUALITY
QUICK DELIVERY
PHONE US
Matawan Steel and Iron Co.
Matawan
New Jersey
The Ohio Veneer Co.
m
CINCINNATI, O.
§{| Importers and Manufacturers of Figured
gj Mahogany and Foreign Woods for high-
H§ grade piano cases and cabinets.
m
Nmw York Officm and Samplm Room =
A§k for our " Super Strong; " Hammer, the
sides of which are made double strength
by a special process
767 East 133d Street
TRADE
colored woods until they are like unto the ma-
hogany of Honduras, and no man can tell where
the white birch endeth and the red gum begin-
neth. He slippeth some glue into the joints
and maketh the rough places smooth with his
pad of sandpaper, so that when the fly alighteth
upon it he breaketh three legs and spraineth the
fourth one. He scrapeth off the glue and putty-
eth up the nail holes, and when he hath finished,
lo and behold! the cabinet shineth like a starched
shirt at a camp-meeting.
And the finisher man is glad; he singeth at his
work and reasoneth that sooner or later he will
find an extra quarter in his pay envelope. Alas!
how soon this fair dream fadeth, for unto him
appeareth the cabinet foreman and the office
man and both gaze upon him in sorrow and in
anger. They bringeth with them a bureau which
an irate customer hath returned because the
drawers cannot be opened with a pickaxe and
the top hath warped like an onion skin on a
hot gridiron.
They say unto him, "Behold thy handiwork,
and haste thee for sackcloth and ashes, for this,
day hast thou brought humiliation upon us.
Behold tliis thing that will not stand alone, even
though it hath four legs of odd sizes, and see,
even now, it cometh apart even as the hen shed-
deth her feathers. How is it that this hath
come to pass? Have we not bought thee new
brushes and a tin can in which to keep thy pig-
ments? Have we not given thee the hottest
room in the summer and the coldest place in
the county to pursue thy work in the winter?
Have we not provided thee with helpers fresh
from the iron foundry to do thy bidding? And
yet, in spite of all, this bureau hath this day
been returned unto us."
The finisher man scratcheth his right shin with
his left toe and wipeth his hands on his shirt
bosom, but he maketh no reply to these accusa-
tions, for, though he knoweth in his heart that
he be innocent as a new-laid egg, yet is he
aware that the finisher man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward; and whenever it be-
comes necessary for some one to be kicked, per-
force he must present himself for a target and
breathe through his nose during the operation.
Js it not so, my brother?—Veneers.
Being a Discourse Describing the Trials and
Tribulations Which Beset the Path of the
Humble and Long-Suffering Finisher
GRAND
UPRIGHT
PLAYER
MUSIC
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
NEW YORK
Grand Central Palace Bldg
Lexington AT*, and 46th St.
G. H. VAUGHAN. Eastern ReprcenUtire
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.
III!
Manufacturer * ol
Toners' Trade
Solicited
P A P E R , FELT A N D CLOTH PUNCHINGS
BRIDLE S T R A P S , F I B R E W A S H E R S A N D B R I D G E S
FOR P I A N O S , O R G A N S A N D P L A Y E R ACTIONS
«rd te .nd r pr B "e pI ii.t
Office and Factory : 428 East 53d Street, New York
SYLVESTER TOWER CO.
Manufacturer-
G r a n d
a n d
fjprigllf PlailO-fOrte ACtlOHS
ORGAN
Keys. Actions. Hammers. Brackets and Nickel Rail Furnished Complete
131 to 147 Broadway
.
.
.
CAMBRIDGEPORT, MASS.
WESSELL, NICKEL & GROSS
MANUFACTURERS OF
PIANO
ACTIONS
M/ESSELU
HIGHEST GRADE
ONE GRADE ONLY
OFFICE
457 WEST FORTY-FIFTH ST.
FACTORIES—WEST FORTY-FIFTH ST.
Tank ATOMM u d West Fwty-Sixth Street
NEW YORK
JEMARKJ
Now is the time to try Behlen's Varnish
Crack Eradicator, then later on -when you
have a hurry-up job you will know how
to overcome the time, as well as the price
question.
By eliminating the cracks and checks, i
saves the time, trouble and expense of
scraping off the old varnish and shellac
giving you as fine a surface on which to
work as you could possibly wish for.
Write for sample can today and try it.
n Behleit A Bro
Anilines sS&S^
371
PEARL ST., New YORK
A. C. CHENEY PIANO ACTION CO.
Manufacturers of
PNEUMATIC ACTIONS FOR PLAYER-PIANOS
HIGH-GRADE PIANOFORTE ACTIONS
CASTLETON, NEW YORK
THE
FEBRUARY 9, 1918
THE PARABLE OF THE FINISHER
The following parable, taken from a recent
issue of Veneers, will probably receive the fer-
vent "Amens" of the finishers in piano factories,
even though the parable deals more specifically
with finishers employed in furniture factories.
The parable sayeth:
Let us now consider the foreman finisher, for
hath he not worked among us these many years
and been reviled among all men? He it is who
is supposed to lay the finish in glossy sequence
upon the table and the sideboard, yea, even
upon the drawer and the bedpost he lavisheth
his attention until they glisten like unto the
trousers seat of the boss. He maketh the old
to look like the new, and the new he taketh and
covereth up its imperfections, even as the sim-
ple farmer tradeth the horse with the one blind
eye and a spavin.
The shop man sendeth to him a cabinet that
is punk; verily, the veneer lieth in ripples and
the glue joints are not acquainted. The legs
are perchance made of wood of six different
colors and the glue spots are more frequent
than the warts on the deck of a hoptoad.
The finisher man taketh the cabinet and pray-
eth over it long and earnestly; he lifteth his
eyes and swalloweth his adam's apple and kick-
eth the bottom out of a paint keg. Whenever
he noteth an added imperfection he continueth
the prayer with added emphasis, but neverthe-
less he setteth to work with diligence, likewise
with sandpaper and putty.
He experimenteth with stains on the many
Robert L. Kapp Co., Inc.
Makers of
HIGH GRADE
HAMMERS
REVIEW
47
And when you're satisfied
that we've the best punch-
ings on the market, cut
clean and accurately from
the best of material in cellu-
loid, cloth, felt, fibre,
leather, paper, rubber or
whatever you want, give
us credit and send your
orders to
C.E GOEPELACO
137 E A S T I3 T -* ST.
NEW YORK
PIANO PLATES
A NEW QUALITY
QUICK DELIVERY
PHONE US
Matawan Steel and Iron Co.
Matawan
New Jersey
The Ohio Veneer Co.
m
CINCINNATI, O.
§{| Importers and Manufacturers of Figured
gj Mahogany and Foreign Woods for high-
H§ grade piano cases and cabinets.
m
Nmw York Officm and Samplm Room =
A§k for our " Super Strong; " Hammer, the
sides of which are made double strength
by a special process
767 East 133d Street
TRADE
colored woods until they are like unto the ma-
hogany of Honduras, and no man can tell where
the white birch endeth and the red gum begin-
neth. He slippeth some glue into the joints
and maketh the rough places smooth with his
pad of sandpaper, so that when the fly alighteth
upon it he breaketh three legs and spraineth the
fourth one. He scrapeth off the glue and putty-
eth up the nail holes, and when he hath finished,
lo and behold! the cabinet shineth like a starched
shirt at a camp-meeting.
And the finisher man is glad; he singeth at his
work and reasoneth that sooner or later he will
find an extra quarter in his pay envelope. Alas!
how soon this fair dream fadeth, for unto him
appeareth the cabinet foreman and the office
man and both gaze upon him in sorrow and in
anger. They bringeth with them a bureau which
an irate customer hath returned because the
drawers cannot be opened with a pickaxe and
the top hath warped like an onion skin on a
hot gridiron.
They say unto him, "Behold thy handiwork,
and haste thee for sackcloth and ashes, for this,
day hast thou brought humiliation upon us.
Behold tliis thing that will not stand alone, even
though it hath four legs of odd sizes, and see,
even now, it cometh apart even as the hen shed-
deth her feathers. How is it that this hath
come to pass? Have we not bought thee new
brushes and a tin can in which to keep thy pig-
ments? Have we not given thee the hottest
room in the summer and the coldest place in
the county to pursue thy work in the winter?
Have we not provided thee with helpers fresh
from the iron foundry to do thy bidding? And
yet, in spite of all, this bureau hath this day
been returned unto us."
The finisher man scratcheth his right shin with
his left toe and wipeth his hands on his shirt
bosom, but he maketh no reply to these accusa-
tions, for, though he knoweth in his heart that
he be innocent as a new-laid egg, yet is he
aware that the finisher man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward; and whenever it be-
comes necessary for some one to be kicked, per-
force he must present himself for a target and
breathe through his nose during the operation.
Js it not so, my brother?—Veneers.
Being a Discourse Describing the Trials and
Tribulations Which Beset the Path of the
Humble and Long-Suffering Finisher
GRAND
UPRIGHT
PLAYER
MUSIC
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
NEW YORK
Grand Central Palace Bldg
Lexington AT*, and 46th St.
G. H. VAUGHAN. Eastern ReprcenUtire
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.
III!
Manufacturer * ol
Toners' Trade
Solicited
P A P E R , FELT A N D CLOTH PUNCHINGS
BRIDLE S T R A P S , F I B R E W A S H E R S A N D B R I D G E S
FOR P I A N O S , O R G A N S A N D P L A Y E R ACTIONS
«rd te .nd r pr B "e pI ii.t
Office and Factory : 428 East 53d Street, New York
SYLVESTER TOWER CO.
Manufacturer-
G r a n d
a n d
fjprigllf PlailO-fOrte ACtlOHS
ORGAN
Keys. Actions. Hammers. Brackets and Nickel Rail Furnished Complete
131 to 147 Broadway
.
.
.
CAMBRIDGEPORT, MASS.
WESSELL, NICKEL & GROSS
MANUFACTURERS OF
PIANO
ACTIONS
M/ESSELU
HIGHEST GRADE
ONE GRADE ONLY
OFFICE
457 WEST FORTY-FIFTH ST.
FACTORIES—WEST FORTY-FIFTH ST.
Tank ATOMM u d West Fwty-Sixth Street
NEW YORK
JEMARKJ
Now is the time to try Behlen's Varnish
Crack Eradicator, then later on -when you
have a hurry-up job you will know how
to overcome the time, as well as the price
question.
By eliminating the cracks and checks, i
saves the time, trouble and expense of
scraping off the old varnish and shellac
giving you as fine a surface on which to
work as you could possibly wish for.
Write for sample can today and try it.
n Behleit A Bro
Anilines sS&S^
371
PEARL ST., New YORK
A. C. CHENEY PIANO ACTION CO.
Manufacturers of
PNEUMATIC ACTIONS FOR PLAYER-PIANOS
HIGH-GRADE PIANOFORTE ACTIONS
CASTLETON, NEW YORK
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).