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PRESTO
July 10, 1920.
Q R S CO. PRESIDENT
WRITES OF PRICES
T. M. Pletcher Promises Continuance of Real
Service in Making Good Rolls, Which
Give Impetus to Player Sales.
The following is a copy of Thomas M. Pletcher's
semi-annual letter to the trade, which contains inter-
esting news for Presto's readers:
Chicago, July 3, 1920.
Gentlemen: Just think of it! The retail price of
music rolls has advanced 25 per cent during the
past four years.
Now that we have finished and moved into our
two new large factories with all the newest and lat-
est equipment, we are quite sure that we can con-
tinue to manufacture our Q R S Word Rolls to retail
at no more than $1 25.
We could perhaps price them a little lower if we
decided to spend less on the masters, make an in-
different roll, discontinue our double spreads in The
in the country have given our company and the
Q R S Rolls, and we thank you and promise to re-
tain your good will by ceaseless vigilance for our
mutual interest.
Yours very truly,
TOM PLETCHER, President.
Saturday Evening Post and approximately 200 news-
papers throughout the country, but the fundamental
principles of good merchandising "high quality in
both the article and publicity," dictate a continuance
of this policy, on which the Q R S business was
founded. We have not arrived at a point where con-
sumer demand has become less than our production,
and we cannot believe that glaring price cutting
stampedes will add permanently to Your net profits
or inspire more popular interest in, or regard for, the
Player Piano and its all important accessory, the
music roll.
The royalties the roll manufacturers are compelled
to pay the publishers have advanced 100 per cent,
labor has advanced from 80 to 100 per cent, materials
nearly as much. Now compare the small advance
in the retail price of rolls to everything else you buy,
from gasoline to pianos.
Sheet music that formerly sold for from 10 to 20
cents now sells for 30 and 40 cents, about 100 per
cent advance.
Theater tickets that formerly sold for $1.50 now
sell for $3.00 plus war tax. You, yourself, can name
hundreds of articles that have had similar advances
without any improvements, more often you get an
inferior article.
Cheap rolls means cheap quality (not for two
thousand years has a miracle been performed).
We shall continue to give you Quality and Real
Service, and such publicity, which, from its nature,
will best promote public sentiment, to the end that
the player piano will be taken seriously as a musical
instrument and worthy of the Best—not the cheapest
music roll.
Some few dealers may believe that cheaper rolls
would result in more immediate sales—but cheap
rolls make less players stay sold, which is the im-
portant point.
It has been generally acknowledged that it is the
Real Quality in music rolls that has given added
impetus to the player, sales. Surely the very best
music that can be put in a music roll is none too
good.
We are certainly very grateful for the fine co-op-
eration and support 95 per cent of the music dealers
(A New One Every Week.)
By The Presto Poick.
ACTIVITIES IN TRADE OF
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
Byron Mauzy Commemorates Two Important
Events With Notable Show Window Displays.
Alfred A. Batkin is a window display artist who
believes the worth of a window show is in its time-
liness. Mr. Batkin is the designer of the displays in
the show windows of the Bryon Mauzy store in San
Francisco and last week a momentous occasion gave
him one of the opportunities he delights in. There
were really two great events, the Democratic na-
tional convention and the Fourth of July, and the
Fourth falling on Sunday called for a window cele-
bration during the days of the previous week. Mr.
Batkin's window was democratic in the broad sense
which good Americans express on the Fourth. As
the focal center it had a distinctly American piano,
the Chickering, with a background formed by a
picture of George Washington and Old Glory
R. F. Astra, credit man for Byron Mauzy, San
Francisco, Calif., has joined the Credit Men's Asso-
ciation of that city, the same being a very live and
up-to-the minute organization. Thjey meet every
Wednesday at luncheon, each with a prepared list of
names to discuss with an endeavor to help each
other out. This enables the different credit offices
in town to keep in close touch with all bad credits.
In addition to this they have one monthly meeting,
usually a dinner, at which some noted speaker is in-
vited to present certain phases of the credit situ-
ation in general over the country, to the gathering.
Luigi Galliana, playerpiano sales man;ager for
Byron Mauzy, San Francisco, has established him-
self in an office on the third floor of the Byron
Mauzy Building, the same being furnished for him
with a large, handsome oak roll top desk, oak library
table, Morris chair, etc., to make it suitable and com-
fortable. Mr. Galliani has added to his sales force
R. J. Stine, late of the Platt Music Company, Los
Angeles, This gives him a force of young and en-
ergetic salesmen, all of whom are known to be very
capable; and with the new and complete line of
pianos in our store, Mr. Galliani expects to turn over
a considerable amount of business between now and
Christmas.
SMITH STORE IMPROVEMENTS.
TOM PLETCHER.
WAREROOM WARBLES
New booths for demonstrating talking machines
to customers have been built in the Smith Piano
Company's store on Wabash avenue, Chicago, and
the whole interior has been rearranged. New racks
for player rolls have been erected along the north
wall, and the front window display floor has been
raised. This window will hereafter have only one
piano in it; the rest of the display to be of talking
machines. The plate glass front runs down almost
to the sidewalk level, and at night the pedestrians
may see the entire inside of the store, for it will be
kept brilliantly lighted. This last month was a very
good June for business with the Smith store.
WOOL STORING SHEDS.
Consul John H. Grout at Hull, England, reports
that there is now being erected at that place under
Government auspices the largest wool stowing sheds
in the world, covering under one roof no less than
ten acres of ground. These new sheds will accom-
modate over 50,000 bales of wool at one time under
ideal conditions as regards light for properly ap-
praising the various qualities. The sheds are to be
equipped with the most up-to-date appliances for the
quick handling of wool.
EGBERT COON'S SUCCESS.
Egbert C. Coon, well known piano salesman, now
connected with the Smith Piano Company, Chicago,
has been very successful of late. He has had the
biggest month in his 21 years' career as a piano man
—more sales and representing more money than
any other month. And he has been lucky in the
rise in the value of his house which he purchased
in Oak Park a year ago. He could now sell that
house for $2,600 more than he paid for it.
SUCCESSFUL SPECIAL SALE.
A special June sale of pianos and playerpianos
has had excellent results in the Fairmont, W. Va.,
store of the C. C. House Co., the main store of which
is in Wheeling, W. Va. Special inducements were
offered towards the close on the instruments in a
delayed shipment which arrived from a factory. The
store, which is at 119 Main street, carries the Koh-
ler & Campbell, Kurtzmann, Smith & Barnes pianos
and players and the Autopiano and Pianista player-
pianos.
THE ABSENTEE.
Some wise gazook it was who said
That blessings multiply
Just when they think it's time to spread
Their little wings and fly;
And then the office seems so still,
While work piles up each day,
Until a heap of letters fill
The "to be answered" tray.
You wonder why it was you thought
Your stenog's work was pie,
And grumbled when you felt she ought
To make her fingers fly,
Because you had so much to do
You couldn't use less speed,
And fretted till she'd hurried through
Her mid-day "fountain" feed.
But now you know it's not such sport
To click the keys all day,
And listen to you wheeze and snort
The "Dear Sir" things you'd say;
And if you try the old machine,
It seems to kick and clog—
Unlike the work, so clear and clean
It does for your stenog!
And so you give it up and swear
That work is on a strike,
And slam the desk as you prepare
To lock the door and hike;
You didn't dream at all before
That small swift fingers ten
Could do as much for you or more
Than forty husky men!
KENTUCKY FIRM PROUD OF
TUNING AND REPAIR WORK
The Samuels-Bittel Music Co. Intends to Keep Ow-
ensboro Musical.
The Samuels-Bittel Music Co., Owcnsboro, Ky.,
uses the slogan, "The Store That Made Owensboro
Musical." The firm is a wise one and shows its wis-
dom by a well-advertised purpose to keep Owens-
boro musical now that the lively Kentucky city has
been brought to the desirable condition told in the
slogan.
The Samuels-Bittel Music Co. has a tuning and
repairing department which employs experts in
every phase of the work. The Owensboro firm con-
siders a poorly tuned piano something that detracts
from the sum of musical enthusiasm in any sec-
tion. The piano house employing a fake tuner is in
the same class of the hospital employing a quack
surgeon.
Another belief of the Samuels-Bittel Music Co.
is that the incompetent repair man is responsible for
most of the dissatisfaction with playerpianos.
"Turning the untaught repair man, the quack of the
piano industry, loose on a player with some minor
trouble, means the appearance of the graver ones
that dishearten player owners."
These views explain the Owensboro firm's interest
in making its tuning and repair department as effi-
cient as possible.
PROUD OF ITS LINE.
The Martin Piano Co., Springfield, Mo., is proud
of its piano line. The firm announces: "In Martin's
Piano Salons are found the greatest instruments the
market affords—instruments of national reputation
and recognized worh. Mason & Hamlin, Bchning,
Ampico, Chick-ering, Huntington, Gulbransen."
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