Presto
Issue: 1925 2018 - Page 7
March 28, 1925.
PRESTO
Recognition
Precedes
Success
OLD TRADE FEUD
HAPPILY ENDED
Peace Follows When One Party to a Life-
Long Dealers' Scrap Becomes Humanized
in His Attitude Towards a Bitter
Contender.
AN ASSOCIATION RESULT
Two on the Mourners' Bench at Luncheon-Meeting
Was Edifying Sight for All Members and
Visitors.
SEEBURG
DEALERS
HAVE DISCOVERED
THE KEY TO
POSITIVE.
PROFITS
There are many styles
in the
COMPLETE
SEEBURG LINE
to interest you
RELIABLE REPRE-
SENTATION INVITED
WRITE
J. P. SEEBURG
PIANO CO.
"Leaders in the
Automatic Field"
1508-1514 Dayton St.
CHICAGO
This is a story of magnanimity which Matt Ken-
nedy might use as material for propaganda for the
new membership drive of the National Association
of Music Merchants. It is suitable for that purpose
because that noble emotion possessed a dealer who
saw the light after almost a lifetime of hate, scorn,
loathing and abomination in feeling and verbal exe-
cration for a competitor. His humanization followed
and was the plain result of joining a local music
trade association.
The story is well told by a traveler who is familiar
with all the persons and circumstances involved. It
had a beginning away back in what you might call
the medieval period of the piano business; when the
commission fiend was a real personage of either sex
and of various conditions of servitude to the god
Mammon; when the stencil piano occupied the same
position in commerce that bootleg booze does today;
when ethics were sought to be enforced by associa-
tion by-laws instead of being left to horsesense to
suggest the wisdom of their practice; when—but the
conditions stated are enough to suggest the time to
any piano man old enough to have voted for gold
or silver in the memorable Bryan-McKinley contest
for the presidency.
Recalling the Start.
Two dealers were neighborly enough until a mis-
understanding occurred which grew to the dimensions
of a quarrel. Only garbled tradition accounts for the
causes of the fight but every piano traveler calling to
that particular town was always made aware of the
belligerency of the party of the first part whom we
will call the "dealer" and the party of the second part
called the "competitor" for purposes of distinction.
Anyway the dealer began to allude to the pianos of
the competitor as false alarms and worse; mere cre-
ators of din, uproar, clangor, racket, blare and hulla-
baloo. The competitor retorted in kind and frankly
announced that the so-called pianos of the dealer
were agonizing, torturing and harassing in sound
with an odoriferous pungency that made the skunk
smell like attar of roses or words' to that effect.
From piano repartee they passed in time to personali-
ties. The quarrel grew and endured. It became an
institution in that town like the octagonal tower on
the railroad depot or the iron dog in the lawn of the
dealer.
And T h e n -
Some months ago the competitor was one of an
ardent group, of music goods dealers who established
a local trade association. The membership is small
but the benefits to each are large. They meet twice
a month and eat lunch together and grow more
human at every meeting. The dealer, however,
stayed on the outside scowling in. That is, he re-
mained so until recently. But that's anticipating.
The dealer has been representative of a certain fine
piano in his town for a great number of years and
on every occasion of a recital by a certain great artist
who plays that particular piano he has provided a
new instrument out of stock for the occasion. The
great pianist's playing advertises the instrument of
course and he knows it. Anyway it is well known
that he is insistent on getting a piano tuned to a
nicety. He knows what's what and gives everybody
a temperamental bawling out if the piano doesn't
sound just so.
Things Begin to Happen.
The great artist was scheduled for a recital in the
town recently and according to custom the dealer
sent a concert grand of the make desired to the opera
house. He also directed his tuner to give a going
over to the instrument when it had reached the stage.
And here is where the plot thickens and the first in-
cident of the thrilling climax happens. The tuner,
equipped with his bag of tools and distorted in form
by a strange bump or protuberance in the region of
his right hip, set out to the opera house. Here we
will change reels to switch the scene to the home of
the dealer, who is discovered calmly eating supper.
The Jolt.
No student of psychodynamics has explained the
phenomena of the subconscious mind. But every
day people are given the evidence of its workings.
The dealer, calmly masticating the supper meat was
talking over with his family plans for a new garage,
with mind fully intent on that purpose. Then he was
jolted by a horrible possibility presented by his sub-
conscious mind. Nothing in the garage topic sug-
gested the tuner, at that moment supposedly getting
the concert grand into shape for the great artist who
was to play it in a couple of hours. But the sub-
conscious thought was vivid and insistent. And
strange to say the thought of the tuner which ramped
as you might say, into the subconscious section of
the dealer's mind was synchronal with an odor of fur-
niture polish or linament or something with an alco-
holic basis. Naturally it was followed by the memory
that the tuner was at one time known as a firm
individual who "could take it or leave it alone,"
but who frequently chose the former.
The Horrible Truth.
Swallowing the half masticated mouthful of meat
the dealer grabbed his hat and rushed frantically
from the house. Jumping into the faithful flivver
he made new speed records in getting to the opera
house. There he realized his worst expectation. The
suggestion of his subconscious mind was verified.
The tuner was drunk. The jag was not a disguised,
well-carried illumination but a condition of souse
technically known as putrid. Quarrelsome, too. The
despairing dealer rushed to the telephone to seek
tuning aid to avert a catastrophe when the time of
the concert arrived.
But the search seemed vain. He knew all four
tuners in town and failed to make connection with
any of them. Three were away in the country on
assignments and one was in the hospital with a
broken leg. The thing was maddening and he was
relieving his feelings by telling about it over the
'phone to another dealer with whom he was friendly.
More Subconscious Stuff.
The friend sympathized with him but was power-
less to give help in the predicament. He didn't know
a thing about tuning, and shook his head sadly when
the dealer hung up. He resumed reading the history
of the Great War and was keeping close to the U. S.
Marines chasing the Jerries through Belleau Wood
when—"ring-a-ding-ring-a-ding" went the bell in his
subconscious mind. Dropping the war history he
asked aloud:
"Wasn't Mr.
(meaning the competitor) a
swell piano tuner in the old days before he quit work-
ing and began to take life easy selling pianos?"
"How should I know anything about your old
days?" said his wife who is in the early twenties, and
to whom any event previous to 1910 is archaic.
But the friend of the harassed dealer didn't hear
a word she said. He was at the telephone trying to
locate the competitor who was a past master in the
art of tuning pianos. He wasn't at his home or his
store nor at two other places tried but at last he
located him at a garage just as he was about to try
a new car.
Mr. Competitor was told the painful circumstances
and the plight of his old contender brought no joy
to his mind. There was a time, he felt, when the tor-
tures of the dealer would cause him to laugh out
loud in raucous mirth. But now he felt the righteous
glow of a trade association member.
Saved!
"Wait, Bill, until I pick up a few tools and we'll
go over to the opera house and get that hard-boiled
old sinner out of hell," he called back.
"Lafayette, we are here!" said the competitor in a
joyous and friendly way, as with the mutual friend
he came onto the stage. "Bill has told me about the
awful situation."
"Awful is right, but gee, this is providential," said
the beaming dealer. "I couldn't even dream of you
as a forlorn hope, although I recalled what a peach
of a tuner you were—"
"Yes, in a previous existence before you and I
began acting like two damn fools," the competitor
finished. "Here, let's shake before I start in to make
a passable piano out of 'this loud-smelling old thump-
box,' " he added, quoting humorously from his old
wartime description. They shook.
FEATURES STORY & £LARK PLAYER.
The Arthur P. Griggs Piano Company, 1413 Sixth
avenue, Moline, 111., is doing very forceful advertis-
ing for the playerpiano of Story & Clark, Chicago.
In a special display for the instrument this week, this
is said: "This beautiful little Story & Clark player,
1925 model, called the baby bungalow, finished in
brown mahogany, including all the new Story &
Clark features. The manufacturers of this piano
were established in 1857. Their standing is unques-
tionable, having a capital and surplus of over $4,000,-
000. Only the highest quality of workmanship and
material has been employed in the manufacture of
this player. Guaranteed by the manufacturer and
Griggs.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
PRESTO
Recognition
Precedes
Success
OLD TRADE FEUD
HAPPILY ENDED
Peace Follows When One Party to a Life-
Long Dealers' Scrap Becomes Humanized
in His Attitude Towards a Bitter
Contender.
AN ASSOCIATION RESULT
Two on the Mourners' Bench at Luncheon-Meeting
Was Edifying Sight for All Members and
Visitors.
SEEBURG
DEALERS
HAVE DISCOVERED
THE KEY TO
POSITIVE.
PROFITS
There are many styles
in the
COMPLETE
SEEBURG LINE
to interest you
RELIABLE REPRE-
SENTATION INVITED
WRITE
J. P. SEEBURG
PIANO CO.
"Leaders in the
Automatic Field"
1508-1514 Dayton St.
CHICAGO
This is a story of magnanimity which Matt Ken-
nedy might use as material for propaganda for the
new membership drive of the National Association
of Music Merchants. It is suitable for that purpose
because that noble emotion possessed a dealer who
saw the light after almost a lifetime of hate, scorn,
loathing and abomination in feeling and verbal exe-
cration for a competitor. His humanization followed
and was the plain result of joining a local music
trade association.
The story is well told by a traveler who is familiar
with all the persons and circumstances involved. It
had a beginning away back in what you might call
the medieval period of the piano business; when the
commission fiend was a real personage of either sex
and of various conditions of servitude to the god
Mammon; when the stencil piano occupied the same
position in commerce that bootleg booze does today;
when ethics were sought to be enforced by associa-
tion by-laws instead of being left to horsesense to
suggest the wisdom of their practice; when—but the
conditions stated are enough to suggest the time to
any piano man old enough to have voted for gold
or silver in the memorable Bryan-McKinley contest
for the presidency.
Recalling the Start.
Two dealers were neighborly enough until a mis-
understanding occurred which grew to the dimensions
of a quarrel. Only garbled tradition accounts for the
causes of the fight but every piano traveler calling to
that particular town was always made aware of the
belligerency of the party of the first part whom we
will call the "dealer" and the party of the second part
called the "competitor" for purposes of distinction.
Anyway the dealer began to allude to the pianos of
the competitor as false alarms and worse; mere cre-
ators of din, uproar, clangor, racket, blare and hulla-
baloo. The competitor retorted in kind and frankly
announced that the so-called pianos of the dealer
were agonizing, torturing and harassing in sound
with an odoriferous pungency that made the skunk
smell like attar of roses or words' to that effect.
From piano repartee they passed in time to personali-
ties. The quarrel grew and endured. It became an
institution in that town like the octagonal tower on
the railroad depot or the iron dog in the lawn of the
dealer.
And T h e n -
Some months ago the competitor was one of an
ardent group, of music goods dealers who established
a local trade association. The membership is small
but the benefits to each are large. They meet twice
a month and eat lunch together and grow more
human at every meeting. The dealer, however,
stayed on the outside scowling in. That is, he re-
mained so until recently. But that's anticipating.
The dealer has been representative of a certain fine
piano in his town for a great number of years and
on every occasion of a recital by a certain great artist
who plays that particular piano he has provided a
new instrument out of stock for the occasion. The
great pianist's playing advertises the instrument of
course and he knows it. Anyway it is well known
that he is insistent on getting a piano tuned to a
nicety. He knows what's what and gives everybody
a temperamental bawling out if the piano doesn't
sound just so.
Things Begin to Happen.
The great artist was scheduled for a recital in the
town recently and according to custom the dealer
sent a concert grand of the make desired to the opera
house. He also directed his tuner to give a going
over to the instrument when it had reached the stage.
And here is where the plot thickens and the first in-
cident of the thrilling climax happens. The tuner,
equipped with his bag of tools and distorted in form
by a strange bump or protuberance in the region of
his right hip, set out to the opera house. Here we
will change reels to switch the scene to the home of
the dealer, who is discovered calmly eating supper.
The Jolt.
No student of psychodynamics has explained the
phenomena of the subconscious mind. But every
day people are given the evidence of its workings.
The dealer, calmly masticating the supper meat was
talking over with his family plans for a new garage,
with mind fully intent on that purpose. Then he was
jolted by a horrible possibility presented by his sub-
conscious mind. Nothing in the garage topic sug-
gested the tuner, at that moment supposedly getting
the concert grand into shape for the great artist who
was to play it in a couple of hours. But the sub-
conscious thought was vivid and insistent. And
strange to say the thought of the tuner which ramped
as you might say, into the subconscious section of
the dealer's mind was synchronal with an odor of fur-
niture polish or linament or something with an alco-
holic basis. Naturally it was followed by the memory
that the tuner was at one time known as a firm
individual who "could take it or leave it alone,"
but who frequently chose the former.
The Horrible Truth.
Swallowing the half masticated mouthful of meat
the dealer grabbed his hat and rushed frantically
from the house. Jumping into the faithful flivver
he made new speed records in getting to the opera
house. There he realized his worst expectation. The
suggestion of his subconscious mind was verified.
The tuner was drunk. The jag was not a disguised,
well-carried illumination but a condition of souse
technically known as putrid. Quarrelsome, too. The
despairing dealer rushed to the telephone to seek
tuning aid to avert a catastrophe when the time of
the concert arrived.
But the search seemed vain. He knew all four
tuners in town and failed to make connection with
any of them. Three were away in the country on
assignments and one was in the hospital with a
broken leg. The thing was maddening and he was
relieving his feelings by telling about it over the
'phone to another dealer with whom he was friendly.
More Subconscious Stuff.
The friend sympathized with him but was power-
less to give help in the predicament. He didn't know
a thing about tuning, and shook his head sadly when
the dealer hung up. He resumed reading the history
of the Great War and was keeping close to the U. S.
Marines chasing the Jerries through Belleau Wood
when—"ring-a-ding-ring-a-ding" went the bell in his
subconscious mind. Dropping the war history he
asked aloud:
"Wasn't Mr.
(meaning the competitor) a
swell piano tuner in the old days before he quit work-
ing and began to take life easy selling pianos?"
"How should I know anything about your old
days?" said his wife who is in the early twenties, and
to whom any event previous to 1910 is archaic.
But the friend of the harassed dealer didn't hear
a word she said. He was at the telephone trying to
locate the competitor who was a past master in the
art of tuning pianos. He wasn't at his home or his
store nor at two other places tried but at last he
located him at a garage just as he was about to try
a new car.
Mr. Competitor was told the painful circumstances
and the plight of his old contender brought no joy
to his mind. There was a time, he felt, when the tor-
tures of the dealer would cause him to laugh out
loud in raucous mirth. But now he felt the righteous
glow of a trade association member.
Saved!
"Wait, Bill, until I pick up a few tools and we'll
go over to the opera house and get that hard-boiled
old sinner out of hell," he called back.
"Lafayette, we are here!" said the competitor in a
joyous and friendly way, as with the mutual friend
he came onto the stage. "Bill has told me about the
awful situation."
"Awful is right, but gee, this is providential," said
the beaming dealer. "I couldn't even dream of you
as a forlorn hope, although I recalled what a peach
of a tuner you were—"
"Yes, in a previous existence before you and I
began acting like two damn fools," the competitor
finished. "Here, let's shake before I start in to make
a passable piano out of 'this loud-smelling old thump-
box,' " he added, quoting humorously from his old
wartime description. They shook.
FEATURES STORY & £LARK PLAYER.
The Arthur P. Griggs Piano Company, 1413 Sixth
avenue, Moline, 111., is doing very forceful advertis-
ing for the playerpiano of Story & Clark, Chicago.
In a special display for the instrument this week, this
is said: "This beautiful little Story & Clark player,
1925 model, called the baby bungalow, finished in
brown mahogany, including all the new Story &
Clark features. The manufacturers of this piano
were established in 1857. Their standing is unques-
tionable, having a capital and surplus of over $4,000,-
000. Only the highest quality of workmanship and
material has been employed in the manufacture of
this player. Guaranteed by the manufacturer and
Griggs.
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).