Presto

PRESTO
power of printer's ink. Achievements in page
displays and in inserts are frequent, and
"spreads," and even whole editions, are fre-
quent in some trade paper lines.
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
The automobile industry has shown how,
Published Every Saturday at 407 South Dearborn and other industries have followed suit. But,
Street, Old Colony Building, Chicago, 111.
with a few exceptions, the piano industries
C. A. DANIELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT -
- Editors
continue to be content with what satisfied
them in the years long past. The trade paper
Telephones. Local and Long Distance, Harrison 234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
service departments do not arouse them. They
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
are satisfied. Perhaps they are right. But
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29. 1896, at the
Post Office, Chicago, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879. it is certain that there are pianos, among the
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1; Foreign, $4. ones that have acquired the years in business
Payable in advance. No extra charge in United States which represent almost inconceivable value,
possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Rates for advertising on
application.
which, with a suitable advertising investment
to stimulate the dealers, might sweep to the
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if
of general interest to the music trade will be paid for
front quickly and stay there. Is it opportunity
at space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen
in the smaller cities are the best occasional corre- lost, or not ?
spondents, and their assistance is invited.
Forms close at noon every Thursday. News mat-
ter should be in not later than eleven o'clock on the
same day. Advertising copy should be in hand before
Tuesday, five p. m., to insure preferred position. Full
page display copy should
be in hand by Monday noon
preceding publicat : on day. Want advs. for current
week, to insure classification, must not be later than
Wednesday noon.
TOO CHEAP
About the best way in the world to kill the
piano is to try to see how cheap you can make
it—how very cheap you can sell it. The great-
est enemy of music itself in any community
is the man who thinks he is a great business
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 407 So. winner when he is advertising pianos at the
Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
price of a bass-drum, and telling the world
he doesn't care how small the first payment,
SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1923.
or how far toward eternity the final one.
The demand for pianos is primarily based
ARE PIANOS ADVERTISED
upon their refining influences in the home.
Do the ambitious piano manufacturers, busy
It has no place in the factory or workshop.
with their factory, office and sales depart-
It is a home adornment and an article of ele-
ments, ever look through the trade papers in
gance—or it isn't, as you choose to make it,
other lines of business? If they do, has it
present it and sell it. You can make it of
ever seemed to them that the piano is about
no more educational or cultural importance
the smallest advertiser of all the things de-
than an ice box and of less home distinction
signed to attract the particu!ar notice of dis-
than the cook-stove if you feel that way.
criminating people ?
But to any family where ambition of the
All lines of industry recognize the fact that head and heart overtops desire of the stom-
to win business the special interests of the ach and love of the dollar, the piano is more
merchants, in any particular line, must be than a polished box of noise, with which to
won and held. The piano manufacturers are fill the best room and impress vulgar visitors.
consistent advertisers in the publications de- It is in a sense above price, and it means more
voted to their specialty. Some of them have than what it cost on long time payments.
been represented in Presto from the first is-
When the piano was an article of large in-
sue of this paper, nearly forty years ago. vestment, when in its humblest form it cost
Many of them have carried their cards in from $700 to $1,000, the people longed for it
Presto for twenty-five years, or more, and and made real sacrifices for the household
practically all of the live ones are with us treasure. When the cheap piano arrived and
today.
"commercialism" began to challenge art, the
To every one of the advertisers whose demand broke all bounds and prices fell in
names have been so consistently kept before proportion to fecundity of output. In time
the readers of this paper, there is, on Presto's the atmosphere of the commonplace threat-
part, a feeling ( >f more than average appreci- ened the upright and the playerpiano filled the
ation. In all the years we have tried to serve breach.
the purposes of the manufacturers who have
And now the baby grand is foremost. The
sustained trade journalism, and we have mads manufacturers have re'duced the beautiful in-
a few losses in advertising business by refus- strument in size until it fits the average home.
ing to play the game in the interest of any Of course, the cheaps have also intruded, and
influences which have seemed to be inimical to there are piano dealers who pass up the first
the smaller but possibly more representative purposes of their business in the search for
—in the quality sense—pianos. And we be- the lowest priced instrument, and cut their
lieve that no other trade paper has kept up profits, and the interests of their customers,
so consistent an effort to reach and influence in proportion.
the piano dealers in the interest of good pianos
You can sell almost endless "repeats" of
—both artistic and "commercial"—as this one. some things. But you can deliver only a lim-
But, aside from all that, are the piano man- ited number of pianos, even if you sell to ev-
ufacturers advertisers in the same sensL 1 as ery family in your town—we are talking to
manufacturers in other lines? A glance the average small town dealer now, but it
through any of the trade papers in other lines applies as well, relatively, to the larger places.
will answer. If the industrial ambitions and You can not hope for more than one profit
energy in any line manifest themselves in the from each customer, if you stay in business
trade paper advertising—both in quantity and for a quarter-century.
kind—it can hardly be said that pianos are well
When you have a baby grand prospect con-
advertised. The advertising in many other sider this. You can't possibly sell without
lines displays flashes of color, of novelty, or profit without making a loss, probably loss of
strength, and of a generous appreciation of the a friend as well as of your own money. Cul-
July 14, 1923
tivate a kind of baby grand business that will
pay you financially, and pay your prospects in
the intrinsic, permanent and musical value of
what you sell them. Don't try to make a
record as the "cheapest" in the world.
How can anyone say that the demand for
reed organs is "dead" when Geo. P. Bent is
searching the world over for a "Crown,"
chapel style? The man who made the Crown
and sold it at reasonable prices on easy terms,
would give a premium for a good one if he
could find it. But who among the thousands
that "sent a cent to Bent" for particulars
would part with his "Crown" today, however
shaky and worn it may be by time and use?
* * *
There are not enough pianos made just now
to go 'round. There are dealers who want
pianos and can't get them. Of course, usu-
ally this means that there are not pianos
enough that are cheap enough. In that sense
it is well that there are not enough. It gives
the better pianos a chance and enables the
dealers who like to sell good pianos—fine pi-
anos—a better opportunity to make a profit.
* * *
The dealer who buys pianos at the lowest
notch is almost sure to sell pianos at a similar
notch. And so he makes no money and stead-
ily absorbs the market until his local terri-
tory is exhausted and he swears that the
piano business is "no good." The real trouble
with him are his salesman. They are no good,
in that they are killing the piano business.
EDUCATORS USE CABLE
MIDGET ON SPECIAL TRAIN
Little Upright Piano Supplied Music in Observation
Car to Frsco and Back.
In the observation car of the long, special
chartered by the National Educators' Association
Cable Midget upright was placed for use on the 1
entire trip. This special train, which left June 23rd,
from the Northwestern Station, Chicago, has an elab-
orate itinerary to and from the National Convention
at Oakland, California. This train is not due hack
in Chicago until the latter part of July.
It is significant that these leading educators from
all over the United States should select a Cable
Midget upright for their trip.
This piano was the ideal instrument for the ob-
servation car and both the convention committees and
railroad officials expressed their approval after this
neat little instrument was installed.
The convention is held the first week in July after
which members on the special train will have the
pleasure of stopping on the way home at Santa Bar-
bara, Los Angeles, Catalina Islands, Salt Lake City,
Denver, and other points.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
"And what style do you ca'l that?" a visitor asked
George Cor'ey at the A. J. Johnson & Sons Furniture
Co.'s showrooms. "That?" said George, "that's
Grecian.'' "Well, now what the devil can I do with
anything like 'Grecian' in my store?" "Well," says
George, "we'll call it Colonial then." "All right.
Colonial it is then. You may put me down for two
of 'em. It's a damned pretty thing."—Furniture
Journal.
COMPLETES THE LINE.
To the A. B. Chase piano, which the Kieselhorst
Piano Co., St. Louis, has carried for a good many
years, the company recently added the Lindeman &
Sons and the Emerson and the Celco reproducing
medium, all inc'uded in the line of the United Piano
Corporation. It is the plan of the active St. Louis
house to feature the Celco reproducing medium in a
particularly strong way.
A NEW YORK FAILURE.
Secular's Music Shop, Inc.. dealing in phonographs
and records at 931 Eighth avenue, New York, has as-
signed to Isador Goetz, of 15 Park row. James Secu-
lar is treasurer of the company.
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