Music Trade Review

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NOVEMBER 13, 1926
Every May Bell Banjo
Tested at Factory
S. R. Musmanno Passes Approval on Every
Instrument in This Line Before It Leaves
Slingerland Factory
CHICAGO, III., November 8.—One of the secrets
oi the popularity of May Bell banjos every-
where in the trade is the seal of approval
which is placed upon every instrument before
it leaves the factory of the Slingerland Mfg.
manno. He is well qualified for the work, for
he is an accomplished musician and is a mas-
ter of many instruments besides the one which
he tests.
When he was eight years old his mother
taught him to play the harp. At the age of
twelve he had also learned to play the man-
dolin. In high school he added clarinet playing
to his musical accomplishments and while a
student at Carnegie Tech he accompanied the
musical clubs on concert tours as mandolin
soloist. After serving abroad in the war he
organized an orchestra and became interested
in the banjo and was soon broadcasting regu-
larly from station WCAE, Pittsburgh. Later
he undertook an extensive vaudeville tour.
He was very pleased to join forces with the
Slingerland organization because he has long
been a May Bell enthusiast. He himself plays
the De Luxe May Bell, the most expensive
instrument in the line. It is made of rosewood
with elaborate marquetry inlay, the metal parts
being triple gold-plated, engraved and hand-
burnished. Its rosewood fingerboard has bird
designs in pearl with a pearl peacock on the
head. It has geared pegs, pearl buttons and
an Oettinger tailpiece.
Thirty Per Gent Increase in
Small Goods in Milwaukee
Walker Musical Exchange Reports Rapidly
Growing Interest in Small Musical Instru-
ments—New Bands Are Organized
S. R. Musmanno
Co., manufacturer of these instruments, 1815
Orchard street. This seal is in the form of
a card stating that the instrument has been
personally tested and has met with the approval
of S. R. Musmanno, well-known professional
banjoist and teacher, who has been engaged
by the Slingerland firm to perform this im-
portant task.
"This banjo has been tested by Premier
Banjoist S. R. Musmanno, and pronounced
perfect in every mechanical detail and tone
when leaving our factory. Due to packing and
shipping, it may be necessary to readjust it.
In addition, the bridge may require adjustment.
If you find that the harmonic tone at the
twelfth fret is sharp, this means that the bridge
should be moved back. If the harmonic tone
is flit, move the bridge toward the nut.
Changeable atmospheric conditions offer the
reason why this adjustment must be made to
get quality of tone."
This is a quotation from the small green
inspection card which is attached to each May
Bell banjo as it leaves the factory by Mr. Mus-
New Catalog
FREE /
Quality Musical
Merchandise
33
The Music Trade Review
MILWAUKEE, WIS., November 6.—Music dealers
in Milwaukee agree in their statements that
business has been unusually good this season
and shows no signs of lessening in volume.
"Business with us has increased 30 per cent
over last season," stated Vesey Walker, presi-
dent of the Walker Musical Exchange. "Our
small goods business for the first three months
of October exceeded the quota we had set for
the whole month.
"People have become tremendously interested
in music," he continued. "School bands are in-
creasing constantly and the demand they create
in music goods is well worth the amount of
attention they receive. Band organizations for
fraternal associations are on the increase, and
form another important item for the music
dealer to consider. We recently organized the
first Catholic Knights band in Wisconsin for
the Knights at Watertown. There are about
four hundred branches of this society in the
State, a field which the dealer can see at once
as successful, even if only 10 per cent are sold
on the idea. Societies like this form a new out-
let for band instruments which is bound to be
very profitable to the dealer who works up this
trade."
Mr. Walker stated that the music education
which is being given in the schools of the city
is another important factor for the music mer-
chant to consider. He cited the instruction
given in saxophone in the public schools as an
example of this. Mr. Walker was instrumental
in bringing in the saxophone as a part of the
musical curriculum of the Milwaukee schools,
and he states that he finds his work has brought
in considerable in returns in music merchandise,
as well as in the increased interest in the in-
strument.
Louis Haveman Dead
at Age of Seventy
Head of the Violin Department of Carl Fischer,
Inc., One of the World's Great Experts on
That Instrument
Louis Haveman, head of the violin depart-
ment of Carl Fischer, Inc., New York, died
suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack on
October 31. He was in his seventieth year.
Mr. Haveman was for many years the head
of the Fischer violin instrument department.
He joined the firm in 1879, when he and the
late Edward Tschudy were the only employes.
Mr. Haveman was a violinist and played for
some time in the orchestra of the old Wallack
Theatre. It was natural then that he should
concentrate his energies on the violin instru-
ment department, which he did with great effi-
ciency.
A characteristic of Mr. Haveman was his
boundless enthusiasm in all matters pertaining
to the violinmaker's craft and it is not strange,
in view of this, that he became one of America's
greatest experts in old and rare violins. His
expert testimony was frequently sought in
legal cases, and it is not on record that he
ever was mistaken in his judgment as to the
identity of any violin that was offered to him.
Mr. Haveman was very popular with his
fellow employes and with the firm, and his sud-
den and unexpected passing leaves a vacancy
which it will be difficult to replace.
Voice of Vega Pays a
Tribute to M. G. Wolf
Head of the Banjo Department of Wm. Lewis
& Son Praised by Vega Co. Publication for
His Fine Selling Work
CHICAGO, III., November 6.—Milton G. Wolf,
head of the banjo department of Wm. Lewis &
Son, was prominently mentioned in the Voice
of Vega, published by the Vega Co. of Boston.
Attention is called to his pleasing personality
and willingness to give "service with a smile,"
an important policy which he has adopted in
selling musical instruments and which was re-
cently outlined in The Music Trade Review.
The article also states that many of the coun-
try's leading banjoists are counted among his
numerous friends, including Morey Alswang,
Julian Davidson, George Menden, Lynn Hul-
ton, Dixie Dixon, Harold Jones and Earl
Wright, who are well known to the professional
trade.
New Store in Evanston
EVANSTON, III., November 6.—Evanston now
has a store devoted exclusively to the sale of
band and orchestra instruments in the Barend-
sen Orchestra Supply House, Davis street. It
will stock a complete line of musical merchan-
dise and maintain a repair department for every
instrument. The new store occupies about 5,000
square feet of floor space and has on hand a
stock of 3,900 different instruments and ac-
cessories. A. I.. Barendsen, graduate of North-
western University Conservatory of Music, is
the proprietor.
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