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CHICAGO AND THE MIDDLE WEST
Frank W. Kirk, Manager, 333 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Second Annual Piano Style Show of
Cable Products Is Held in Chicago
New Group of Midget Uprights Is Presented in Interesting Exhibit, Demonstrating
Possibilities of Piano in Matter of Home Beautification
/ C H I C A G O , ILL., March 16.—The first Piano
^^^ Style Show of The Cable Company, featur-
ing thirty-six Cable Midget uprights, is now a
matter of trade history, and that exhibit was
an important milestone in trade achievements
and reflected great honor on their distinguished
makers.
Last Thursday the second annual Cable Piano
Fashion Show was opened to the public in The
Cable Building, Wabash and Jackson boulevard,
Chicago, and Vice-president W. E. Guylee per-
sonally escorted members of the trade press
through the exhibit on the third floor and made
a number of interesting and impressive com-
ments on these instruments, of which he and all
the Cable organization and dealers rightly can
be proud. He said:
"We had such a remarkably successful re-
sponse from the trade and from the public in
our first show that we offer this new group of
thirty-six Cable Midget uprights now available
for the market. We believe they demonstrate
the possibilities of the piano in home beautifi-
cation, for this wide variety contains so many
different art treatments that a Cable Midget
upright can now be chosen which will fit in
harmoniously with any decorative scheme.
"We are proud of the fact that these give
some indication of how extraordinarily well
equipped the Cable piano factories are to supply
any particular period of piano desired, since
many of the period designs are also available
in grands and in the large uprights. I want to
emphasize, too, that they give some indication
of the intense study and high intelligence as
well as mechanical and scientific ability dis-
played by the personnel of our plants. In fact,
speaking of the trade in general, not of our own
organization alone, I am not overstating the
truth in believing that as much accurate
thought, research and ability has been put into
the piano of to-day as in the automobile in-
dustry, though obviously the output of the two
industries bears no comparison. But the dif-
ference in sales possibilities does not alter the
basic truth that the manufacturing end of our
industry has demonstrated its ability to create
new and fine products to keep up with the
times, so to speak, for pianos such as these
contrasted with those of, say, twenty years ago
show what progress has been made.
"One of the reasons for the remarkable, con-
sistent, and constant growth in the sales of
these Cable Midget uprights is due to the way
our organization first approached the problem
of producing these instruments. The Cable
Midget upright is not an adaptation from a
larger scale. When we first had sufficient
inquiry to justify putting on the market these
Midgets, it was recognized in our plants as an
entirely new tone combination ab initio, i.e.,
from the beginning. We have an extraordinary
large sounding board area for the height of the
instrument, and great power as well as beauty
of tone, and other features, different from
larger uprights, have shown a remarkable gain
in manufacturing skill.
"The first Cable Midgets, designed for schools
were such a success that they soon became
wanted not alone for nurseries but for adult
use in homes, for music studios, summer resi-
dences and a very large number of homes, in
addition to their outstanding excellence for the
small rooms in the modern city apartments. All
these merits have combined to make it an
unique instrument.
"As every art is capable of improvement by
practice, we have in this second show again
provided the public and the trade with instru-
ments which will be, we believe, both a revela-
tion and an inspiration, and certainly the Cable
dealers' response in sales has fully justified the
management."
In this group not only has color and compo-
sition been offered, but the Cable factories
have put out some treatments in veneer which
can be without extravagance called poems in
wood. Two of these, which particularly appeal
to the conventional mind, are a Cable Midget
upright in Antipodean walnut (in the Sheraton
mode) with veneers of quartered panels form-
ing a reverse diamond design which is out-
lined with marquetry border in relief; another
has diagonal striped veneers which suggest an
open fan. There are hi-lited satin walnuts with
Louis XVI trusses and pilasters on which the
veneer has been so skillfully combined as to
make forest pictures with only pastel shades
used to emphasize depths in the composition.
Pianos in royal blue, chariot red, mandarin red,
French gray, green satin, fumed oak, futuristic
cases in polychromatic colors, pianos with tele-
chron clocks on a ramp or gallery on the top,
rare woods such as bibingo, a new shade of
ebony and the tasteful use of marquetry offers
suggestions to the decorator as well as the
dealer or the public as to how to beautify the
home and to sell pianos which are poems in
color as well as poems in tone. And when the
color scheme permits, the keys are of pearl
(not ivory) colored in harmony with the case.
One striking and unusually beautiful model
is their Style 285280 hi-lite walnut. They call
it the Saxon Design. This is a new school of
art particularly adapted to American homes. It
has both sturdiness and beauty, with central
panel design of colored woods, marquetry bor-
der of tulip and touches of inlay on the
pilasters, capstan and outer faces of each truss.
The full list of instruments shown follows,
but the exhibit must be seen to be fully appre-
ciated, and even a superficial examination is a
liberal education as well as an inspiration to
salesmen and dealers.
Walnut Hi-Lite, Florentine; Antipodean Wal-
nut, Sunburst Effect; French Grey, Geometric
Design; Mahogany Hi-Lite, Iberian Design;
American Walnut, Classical Midget Design; Hi-
lite Walnut, Inlaid, Saxon Design; Satin Ma-
hogany, Hi-lited; Futuristic Ebony Lacquer;
Futuristic Design; Satin Finish Oak; Fumed
Oak, Waxed finish; Satin Mahogany; Polished
Mahogany; Satin Walnut; Polished Walnut;
Satin Mahogany, William & Mary; Nile Green
Satin Enamel; Hi-lite Mahogany, Floral Design;
L U
Hi-lite Walnut, Inlaid; Futuristic Red Lacquer;
Antipodean Walnut, Quartered Panels; Antipo-
dean Walnut; Bibingo, Natural White; Hi-lite
Satin Walnut, Forest Scene; Royal Blue Pol-
ished Enamel; Chariot Red Polished Enamel;
Polished Ebony; Hi-Lite Green Satin Duco;
Ebony Lacquer, Satin; Miandarin Red Chinese
Lacquer; Blue Hi-lite Nursery Midget; Walnut
Art Nouveau; Walnut Hi-lite Spanish; Kinder-
garten Fumed Oak.
All the instruments listed are distinctive in
design and where they follow definite period
style carry out faithfully the spirit of the vari-
ous periods.
New Illustrations of
Q R S Portable Phonographs
In depicting its new line of portable phono-
graphs, the Q R S Co. has issued an attractive
series of photographs giving an exact repro-
duction of the line. The illustrations are in
color and show up to advantage the covers,
silver and gold embossing, rich velvet turn-
table, metal trimmings and other features
which mark the instruments.
Five models of the QRS portable phonograph
are shown as well as a reproduction of the
Q R S Dynetic True Tone Speaker. Outstand-
ing in the series is the electrical portable
phonograph equipped with a specially con-
structed electric motor, record album, special
Q R S reproducer and other features. The line
is made in popular colors of blue, brown, black
and red.
New Artists Series Begun
The Young American Artists series began
its thirteenth season at Curtis Hall, Chicago,
last week to discover talent among young musi-
cians including those of the student class. Sol
Dorfman, winner of the Second Annual Chi-
cago Piano Playing Contest, was among those
who inaugurated the new series. Mr. Dorf-
man played three Chopin Schcrtzos and some
transcriptions of the ancients, including one of
his own and Beethoven's Sonata, Opus 26.
More Space for Zenith
The Zenith Radio Co., Chicago, has leased a
three-story building at the southwest corner of
35th and Iron streets containing approximately
156,000 square feet of space, which will enable
the company to double its production.
The (lift Music Shop, Chambersburg, Pa., has
moved to new quarters in that city.
BOARDMAN tic GRAY
Reproducing (Welte Lic'e) Grand and Up-
right Pianos are pianists' and tuners' favor-
ites for Quality and Durability. Est. 1837.
Art Styles a Specialty—Send for Catalog
Factory and Warf rooms
7, 9 & 11 Jay St., Albany, N. Y.
D. W
I G
Grands—Uprights—Player Pianos—Reproducing Pianos
of the Highest Quality in Straight and Period Models
Ludwig & Co*, 136th St. and Willow Ave., New York
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