Music Trade Review

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Musical Merchandise Section oi The Music Trade Review
77
appeared in America early in the Nineteenth
century, having been brought by the Negro
slave from his African home. The guitar, in its
modern form usually credited to a German
named Cetto about 1790, enjoyed a season of
popularity about the time of the lute's decline,
(Continued from page 65)
but this was brief and it soon retired to semi-
obscurity.
In our own country guitars were
dawn of musical history to the appearance of music merchants will again place these modern
the violin were the most important stringed descendants of the lutes, known as fretted in- manufactured successfully as early as 1833, the
instruments. Some of the first significant music struments, somewhere near the top of popular primitive banjo was gradually improved and
attracted sporadic attention from shortly before
to appear was written for lutes; favorite court favor and musical effectiveness.
musicians were lutists; Monteverdi, the father
The violin, blossoming forth from the mul- Civil War times on, while the mandolin did
of grand opera, used various lutes in his orches- tiple cocoon of the viol family, appeared. The not attract much attention until the '80's, its
introduction being generally credited to Spanish
students who demonstrated it very attractively.
But until the beginning of the Twentieth
Century there had been no real improvement in
fretted instrument construction since the decline
of the lute. Then things began to happen. The
A Modern
gradually growing interest in these fretted in-
Mandolin
struments stimulated manufacturers and deal-
Quintette
ers. The banjo acquired a sturdy, efficient, and
F r o m l e f t to
artistic construction, tenor-banjos, mandolin,
right: First Man-
guitar, cello and ukulele banjos appeared; the
dolin, M a n d o -
violin construction was successfully applied to
Bass,
Mandola
the mandolin, and tenor, baritone and bass
( t e n o r ) , and
mandolins completed the family quartet; the
Mando-Cello
(baritone)
guitar was presented with a bigger tone, truer
scale and more substantial build, and violin
construction was in some cases satisfactorily
applied to it. And the instruments began
to engage the more active interest of the public.
These improvements were solely the work of
tra, and so did Bach and many other great harpsichord and then the piano accompanied it, American artisans, and whatever advance you
Seventeenth century writers. It was equally and the lute family began to recede from public find in fretted instrument performance is in-
or even more popular with the average citizen, affection. About the beginning of the Eigh- debted to American artistry and ingenuity for
even barber shops provided lutes for their cus- teenth century the transition was completed, and its existence.
tomers to strum their favorite ditties upon the violin, harpsichord, and piano were monop-
The list of those who contributed is long and
while waiting.
olists of public favor, and the numerous mem- noteworthy. Most of them are still in business:
This period of absolute supremacy for the bers of the lute family were practically exiles. Bacon, Gibson, Martin, Paramount, Washburn,
lute family covered thousands of years; beside From a small lute known as the Mandura, by Vega—many more could be named. The in-
it the 250-year supremacy of the violin family way of Spain and Italy came the first modern struments themselves offer advantages and con-
seems short indeed. And it is not at all illog- form of the mandolin, with four double strings veniences, both musical and technical, so unique
ical to suppose that the elapse of still more tuned the same as the violin, and pear-shaped to themselves that it seems inevitable that the
time and the ingenuity of American artisans body with strips of bent wood for the back and several seasons of fervent interest they have
aided by the resourcefulness of American sides, and a flat top or soundboard. The banjo inspired, should continue and strengthen.
Fretted Instruments, Their Origin,
Development and Marketing
Every Day You Hear
More About
It is not "high pressure" advertising that
is doing it. It is "conversational adver-
tising." The most powerful kind because
it comes from the satisfied user whose
word is final. This is truly creating a
demand and is the greatest factor in
building more sales and repeat customers
for the dealer. If you do not handle the
LEEDY line—ask the dealer who does.
He will corroborate our statements. Why
not add LEEDY to your present lines.
It will bring you more business.
Have you seen these "attention getters":
The "Roll-Off"—"Drum Topics"—and
our Catalog "R"?
- Cojnc.
Palmer St. and Barth Ave.
Indianapolis, Indiana
USA
STRINGS
A PAGE FROM THE CATALOG
VIOLIN G STRINGS
No. 200—Silver Plated Copper wire wound on
fine quality gut. Light Green Silk ends.
No. 205—Sterling Silver wire wound on special
quality gut. Very strong and durable. Pol-
ished. Purple silk ends.
No. 210—Pure Silver wire wound on very fine
quality gut. Polished. Blue silk ends. A very
fine tone quality combined with strength and
durability.
No. 215—Pure Silver wire wound on very best
quality gut. Polished. Old Gold Silk end.
A string that is appreciated by the great mu-
sicians.
ALUMINUM WOUND VIOLIN D STRINGS
No. 250—Aluminum wire wound on special
quality gut. Polished. Green silk ends.
No. 255—French Aluminum wire wound on very
best quality gut. Polished. Red silk ends. A
very fine string.
V. C. SQUIER COMPANY
BATTLE CREEK, MICH.
Order Squier-Trued Strings From Your Jobber