Music Trade Review

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JULY 22,
1922
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MILWAUKEE DEALERS ENJOY EXCELLENT SUMMER TRADE
Business Has Continued to Maintain Good Average Ever Since May and Prospects for a Continua-
tion Throughout the Entire Summer Are Excellent—Various Activities of the Local Trade
MILWAUKEE, WIS., July 18.—Music merchants of
the city report that a general good feeling has
developed among the trade and that, contrary to
the usual Summer experience, trade has not fallen
off with the opening of the July and August
months. On the contrary, they maintain that it
has shown a decided improvement.
The first five months of the year were not fea-
tured by any noticeable sales of musical instru-
ments, they say. May started a revival and trade
began to improve. It still continues, they de-
clare, and will last over to the regular Fall pur-
chasing periods.
The average family now has a small surplus
ahead with which to indulge its taste for music
and as a consequence a larger number of patrons
are in the houses of the Milwaukee merchants.
Pianos and phonographs are in good demand,
dealers say, and are moving better this Summer
than they were last year. All of the higher grade
instruments, including the grand pianos, the re-
producers, console or table model phonographs,
are leading the sales.
A peculiar fancy has evidently struck the piano
buyers of the city, who now demand grand pianos
of a size approaching the concert grand, the big-
gest in stock. J. M. Gaines, of the Gram Music
House, says: "We are selling as many grand
pianos as we are all other styles combined. Our
Steinway parlor grand is proving to be so popu-
lar that we now have a depleted stock and an
impatient prospect list. Mr. Gaines reported
that the company had sold six large Steinway
grand pianos in the past four weeks, an unusual
record for the Summer months.
"Stocks are moving better now than ever be-
fore, and it is usually at this period of the year
that sales are low and all trade is quiet. We look
for a good Summer." This was the comment of F.
F. Flanner, of the Flanner-Hafsoos Music House,
one of our oldest and most exclusive houses, in
reviewing trade conditions. "Our Kurtzmann
pianos, in the large grand models, have proven
to be so popular that to them we attribute the
heavy undertone of good feeling in our trade. The
taste of the piano buying public has turned to the
large type of grand piano, and the average
prospect now asks to see the largest piano we
have in stock.
"You can take collections as a good barometer
3 Great Pianos
With 3 sounding boards
in each (Patented) have the
greatest talking points in
the trade.
We fix " o n e p r i c e " —
wholesale and retail.
The Heppe Piano Co.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
of trade conditions. We find at the present time
that our monthly instalment payments have never
before been paid so promptly. All debts are
met regularly by our customers and this better
financial condition of the trade will soon reflect
itself in better business all around."
Isham Jones' Orchestra is now playing in Mil-
waukee and it has proven to be one of the city's
favorites. Music dealers and their window deco-
rators and advertising managers were alert to
seize the opportunity of advertising lines of in-
struments used by the orchestra. The Frederick
Carberry Co., Chickering Studios, is running a
series- of advertisements in the local newspapers
that are attracting attention. The copy reads:
"When you hear Isham Jones and his famous
orchestra you'll want his records. We have them,
a complete line of the Brunswick." Similar copy
is used in informing the public that the C. G.
Conn band instruments used by the orchestra
are sold by the Flanner-Hafsoos Music House.
Wisconsin State distributors for the Sonora pho-
nograph, Okeh records and Mathushek pianos,
and local distributors for every kind of a musical
instrument, importers of violins and harmonicas,
the Yahr & Lange Co., of this city, has announced
through its president, Fred E. Yahr, an annual
message to patrons of the company, that the
month of July marked the completion of the
fiftieth year of service to the people in Wiscon-
sin, Upper Michigan and the neighboring States.
"It has been said that he who progresses must
let the world into his secret of getting ahead,"
said President Yahr, "consequently we are ad-
dressing this to you with that purpose in mind. In
1872 our business started in a little building on
the corner of Oneida and East Water streets,
Milwaukee. In 1880 we moved to larger quar-
ters on Market square. Still later in 1883 we were
compelled to branch out into larger quarters
again. In 1914 we purchased the modern build-
ing at 2107-15 East Water street, departmental-
ized our lines, and occupied all of the big six-
storied building to-day well known to our trade
in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota as
the Yahr & Lange Co."
The company is principally a drug company
carrying a musical merchandise department, sport
goods department, tire department and drug de-
partment.
A new twenty-four foot copper and plate glass
front is the first step that Joseph Goldman, prom-
inent South Side music dealer, is taking in mak-
ing his store one of the most attractive in the
city. His architects, Lesser & Scheutte, are tak-
ing bids for his building on 510 Mitchell street.
The Winter Piano Co., 516 Grand avenue, in
conjunction with a large piano sale it was con-
ducting, permitted the use of its windows for the
staging of a long-distance continuous piano play-
ing contest. Large crowds watched the nerve-
racking performance of J. I. Waterbury, one-time
champion player, and incidentally helped make
the sale a success, for the prices of pianos were
reduced $3 an hour for every hour the contestant
played. Starting Friday morning Mr. Waterbury
played continuously for two days until exhausted.
He collapsed early Sunday morning after fifty
hours of playing. The world's record is sixty-
six hours, held by Scotty Livingstone.
Milwaukee will have a new music school,
unique in that it will be located in the old Frank-
lin T. Smith mansion, lower Prospect avenue, the
scene of many brilliant social activities in past
years in this city. The school will be conducted
by Jesse Meyer, and will be named the Milwau-
kee Institute of Music.
The Kesselman-O'Driscoll Co., prominent Mil-
waukee music company, and possessor of a large
r^dio broadcasting station, has established a new
long-distance record when receipt of a message
from C. D. Rayborn, chief operator of the Alamo
Radio Electric Co., San Antonio, Texas, was
acknowledged at Milwaukee. "Heard WCAY
very well several times yesterday. The modula-
9
tion was very good and would have been able to
get every word of it if the static had not been
so bad. The region in this section of the coun-
try is famous for its Summer static. . Your voice
came in louder than a half KW station 100 miles
distant."
Milwaukee music house merchants report a
large number of calls for a new munipical ad-
vertising song recently written by Louise F.
Brand, of the Women's Ad Club, and introduced
at the recent convention of the Associated Ad-
vertising Clubs of the World here. The song is
sung to the melody of the State song, "On Wis-
consin," and the first verse follows:
"On Milwaukee"
Royal welcome to Milwaukee,
Yours for work and play.
How we hope you'll like our city
Well enough to stay.
It will grieve us when you leave us, ;
Don't forget the name;
.
Boost for us, boost
!
And help us spread our fame.
'
TRADE NEWSJFROM ST. LOUIS
Business Is Quiet, but With Solution of Labor
Troubles Things Will Pick Up
ST. LOUIS, MO., July 17.—If business is not as
good as might be desired there are reasons. It is
mid-Summer for one thing, and there is a coal
strike for another and a railroad strike for a
third. The coal strike hitherto has had little
apparent effect on business here, but anxiety is
increasing. Industries may have to close down.
The railroad strike, being attended by more
agitation, is more disquieting. Barring these
exceptional aggravations the feeling in piano
circles is confident. Not much business is ex-
pected during the next few weeks of Summer, but
if the big industrial troubles are cleared up every-
body expects greatly improved business in the
Fall.
From now until the end of August the piano
departments of the department stores are going
to do all their selling on a five-days-a-week sched-
ule. The big stores were closed all day last
Saturday and will be closed all day each Sat-
urday until September. The thing has been
tried out the past two years and has proven sat-
isfactory, even though the regular piano stores
are wide open half a day and most of them have
the latchstring out all day.
When Manager Reger, of the P. A. Starck
Piano Co., launched a July clearing sale, prelimi-
nary to removal, he had misgivings. He did not
remember ever having heard of a piano man who
had a sale in July and got by with it. But it is
going and going big, showing that what has
never been done can be done if it is gone at
right. Manager Reger's way of going at it is to
advertise heavily and make prices which people
are bound to sit up and take notice of, even in
July.
The exterior of the store of the Lehman Piano
Co. at Eleventh and Olive streets was brightened
up during the past week by the sandblasters and
now looks as good as new.
W. P. Chrisler, manager of the Aeolian Co.,
is on the back track of his automobile trip to
New York, and is expected here about the end of
the week.
Robert T. Cone, of the Aeolian Co., is on an
automobile trip to Chicago, Detroit and Windsor,
Canada.
E. W. Furbush, general manager of the Had-
dorff Piano Co., Chicago, was here last week.
Gerald R. Harris, manager of the Lehman
Piano Co., after visiting in New Orleans, returned
by way of Chicago.
Miss Bessie Schneider, of the Lehman Piano
Co., is spending a week's vacation in .Chicago.
QUALITY
SIMPLICITY
ECONOMY
WHITMAN
WEYDIG—HENKELMAN
PIANOS and PLAYERS
THE WHITMAN CO.. 401W. 14th St.. N e w York