Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
NOVEMBER 6,
1920
45
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
SOTHERN AND MARLOWE RECORDING FOR VICTOR CO.
Renowned Dramatic Stars Now Making a Series of Records of Shakespearean Dramas and
Comedies for Educational Purposes—Marks a New Era in Talking Machine Development
PHILADELPHIA, PA., November 1.—Edward H.
Sothern and Julia Marlowe, noted Shakespearean
actors, now in this city, have made public the
fact that they are at present engaged in making
records of Shakespearean dramas and comedies
for educational purposes. The records are being
made at the Victor Talking Machine Co. plant
in Camden.
Mr. Sothern said that the records would be
furnished schools and used in the regular Eng-
lish courses. He expressed the belief that this
innovation would lead to the stimulation of a
new interest in the Bard of Avon's works.
"The method of teaching Shakespeare here-
tofore in schools," he continued, "has been very
poor, the average student learning only to
muimible the passages in a half-hearted sort of
way without being taught the philosophy and
meaning. When they* hear those same passages,
however, recited for them in the school room by
actors who have given their lives to the study
of Shakespeare a new interest will be kindled.
The human touch in the great master's works
will be felt."
Mr. Sothern refuted the idea that the public
would ever grow away from appreciation of the
heavier drama. "If the drama should be driven
off the stage by the musical comedy, as some
people predict, the fault would not lie with the
public, but with the actors themselves. Actors
to-day don't display the ambition or perseverance
they used to.
GRAMOPHONE MEN IN PITTSBURGH
advertising manager, all of the Victor Co. Their
hosts were W. C. Dierks, Walter C. Mellor and
T. T. Evans, of the C. C. Mellor Co.; W. F.
Frederick and George H. Rewbridge, of the W.
F. Frederick Piano Co., and Joseph C. Rousli
French Nestor and Wallace Russell, of the
Standard Talking Machine Co.
The stay in Pittsburgh embraced visits to the
plants of the three Victor wholesale dealers, as
well as a number of the more prominent Victor
retail establishments. On Wednesday night fol-
lowing dinner a theatre party was held at the
Pitt Theatre, where "Buddies" was seen. Thurs-
day was spent in visits to the large steel plants
that have made the Pittsburgh district famous.
The visitors, both those from Great Britain and
those from Camden, were highly pleased at the
lavish hospitality shown them while in the Steel
City.
Visitors From England Entertained by Victor
Jobbers in Steel City—Officials of Victor Co.
Accompany Visitors on Tour
PITTSBURGH, PA., November 1.—Pittsburgh Victor
jobbers were hosts to a party of Victor Talking
Machine Co. officials and three representatives
of the Gramophone Co. of London, England.
who arrived here last Wednesday in their pri-
vate car, in which they have been touring cer-
tain sections of the United States. In the party
were Collin Cooper, president; C. Alfred Clarke,
managing director, and A. T. Lack, of the execu-
tive committee of the Gramophone Co., and
Walter J. Staats and B. G. Royal, directors;
Ralph L. Freeman, director of distribution; J. S.
MacDonald, sales manager, and Ernest R. John,
CANADIAN PLANT FOR THE EDISON
Canadian Edison Phonograph, Ltd., Just Organ-
ized, Purchases Large Cabinet Factory Build-
ing in St. Thomas, Ont., for Cabinet Manufac-
turing and Assembling Purposes
Edison dealers throughout Canada have ex-
pressed keen satisfaction as the result of an an-
nouncement, made by the Edison Laboratories,
to the effect that the manufacture of Edison
phonographs in Canada will soon be a reality.
A newly organized concern, known as the
Canadian Edison Phonograph, Ltd., has con-
cluded the purchase of a large factory building
in St. Thomas, Ontario, known as the Thomas
Bros, plant and occupied by the St. Thomas
Cabinets, Ltd. It has arranged to purchase also
the entire equipment of the latter concern and
CHANGES MADE IN EDISON DISC RE-CREATION PRICES
Increased Prices on Certain Classes of Re-Creations and Price Reductions on Other Classes An-
nounced by the Edison Laboratories—To Be Effective on November 15
Official announcement has been made by the
Edison Laboratories that, effective November
15, the prices of certain classes of Edison Disc
Re-Creations will be advanced in the United
States, while, at the same time, the prices of
other classes will be decreased. The announce-
ment, which is signed by William Maxwell, vice-
president, has occasioned little surprise through-
out the Edison trade,.however, since both job-
bers and dealers have previously been fore-
warned of the necessity of making the coming
change.
Justification for a change in prices at this time
and for the establishment of what are expected
to be reasonably permanent selling prices is
found in the following excerpt from Mr. Max-
well's announcement:
"We have received perhaps a dozen letters, or
telegrams, advising us that the.present is not a
propitious time to advance prices on anything.
However, we are quite sure that neither our
dealers nor the public desire us to continue in-
definitely to manufacture Edison Re-Creations at
a loss. Most of you know that our prices on
Re-Creations have been what is . commonly
Called 'nominal'—in other words, arbitrary
prices, which had no particular relation to the
cost of production. To be perfectly frank, the
reason for this was that we did not have a true
manufacturing operation and to have established
selling prices, o» the basis of actual manufac-
turing costs, would have been more or less of a
business absurdity. We have now reached a
point where we have a true manufacturing op-
eration, and we are able to discover what our
actual manufacturing costs are. They are still
too high to afford the basis of appropriate sell-
ing prices, and we are looking forward, into next
year, to an ideal manufacturing operation, with
full capacity output. By thus discounting the
future, we are establishing prices which we feel
sure will always be the selling prices of Edison
Disc Re-Creations.
"Please bear in mind that these prices are not
based upon our present manufacturing costs, but
are based upon what we hope our manufactur-
ing, costs will be under well-nigh perfect manu-
facturing conditions."
The new list prices in the United States will
be as follows: Re-Creations now listed at $1.15
and $1.70 will be advanced to $1.35 and $1.85
respectively; those listed at $2.25 will remain the
same and those now higher than $2.25 will be
decreased to the latter price.
"If they go to a manager and assert they can
play Hamlet or some other difficult part, and the
manager turns them down, they give up the
ghost iinmediaitcly, and go into some other line
of endeavor or join a musical comedy where the
work is easy. What they ought to do is to save
till they get enough money to form a company
of their own. Then they could demonstrate to
the manager their ability. This is the kind of
ambition the stage needs to-day if the great
masters' works are to live."
to install additional machinery with the expecta-
tion of making deliveries of some phonograph
models as early as June 1.
For the present, the new plant will be devoted
entirely to the manufacture of phonograph cab-
inets and to assembling cabinets and phonograph
mechanisms for the Canadian trade and pos-
sibly, at some future time, for the export trade
for all parts of the British Empire.
According to a statement made by the Edison
Laboratories, it is not as yet possible to state
what reductions in prices can be accomplished,
and it is probable that it will be several months
after production has begun before a new
schedule of prices can be established, based on
Canadian manufacture.
COLUMBIA DIVIDENDS DECLARED
Dividend on Preferred and Common Stock, Plus
Common Stock Bonus
The board of directors of the Columbia Graph-
ophone Mfg. Co., at a meeting held a few
days ago, declared the following quarterly divi-
dend on the preferred and common stock of the
company, payable on January 1, 1921, to stock-
holders of record at the close of business on
December 10, 1920: (a) A dividend of $1.75 on
each share of preferred stock; (1)) a dividend of
25 cents*on each share of common stock; (c) a
dividend at the rate of five shares of common
stock on every one hundred shares of common
stock outstanding.
The transfer books will not be closed. The
above dividends on common stock arc payable
only on common stock authorized and outstand-
ing on December 10, 1920, under the certificate
of incorporation of the company, as amended
August 20, 1919.
THE CROMWELLIAN ACTUELLE
The Cromwellian, the newest model of the
Actuelle line, has just been announced from the
headquarters of the Pathe Freres Phonograph
Co. in Brooklyn. This model, as well as the
The Pathe Cromwellian
other models of the Actuelle line, is a faithful
reproduction of the period it follows. The
Cromwellian has a pronounced dignity of de-
sign and will doubtless be one of the most
popular models in the Actuelle line. The dis-
tinctive cabinets and entirely original method
of sound reproduction have aroused much pop-
ular interest.