Presto

July 23, 1927.
PRESTO-TIMES
MANY WAYS BY WHICH
PIANOS DETERIORATE
Abuse, Neglect and Age Produce the Condi-
tion in Which the Tuner's Help Is In-
effectual and Futile.
By CHAS. DEUTSCHMANN.
JESSE FRENCH & SONS
"Make Homes Happy "
w mm
_
© SONS X
sts & Grands
MI
£Xffrs. of'Pianos/PIaijers
Write for Catalog
Castle. Indiana.
Qj
'THE HOUSE OF GRANDS"
Concert, Parlor and Small Grands
Period and. Modern Designs
Manufacturers of the
Grand in Upright Form
Grand toije and quality in the Upright Piano
is exclusively Bush id Lane
(Patented)
Reproducing and Player Pianos—
^ V l M o n
(Licensee) and Cecilian
Write for our Art Catalog
Busk & Lane
Piano Co.
Holland. Michigan
SCHILLER
A GREAT NAME—A GREAT PIANO
THE SCHILLER
Makes Friends, Makes Customers, Makes
Money, for the Dealer
Super-Grands, Medium Grands, Small
Grands. Full Plate Uprights; Medium
Uprights; Small (3:7) Uprights.
Reproducing Grands, Uprights and
Players
Grands with the Famous Bauer
Patented Construction
The SCHILLER PIANO challenges
superiority in tone quality as in construc-
tion, workmanship, finish and appearance.
For Agency Proposition and All
Particulars, address
SCHiLLER PIANO COMPANY
Factory and General Offices:
OREGON, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO OFFICE:
State and Adams Sts.
922 Republic Bids.
NEW YORK OFFICE:
130 VV. 42nd St.
Bush Terminal Bid*.
While the piano is a very durable instrument and
it is moat amazing even to those in the business of
how much use, abuse and neglect they will stand.
Yet this quality has been much over-rated by the
piano industry in sales talk and advertisement. The
statement that a piano will last a lifetime and even
guaranteeing it for life has led many people to come
to the conclusion that a piano is well-nigh inde-
structible and many piano owners have also come to
the conclusion that a piano improves with age. These
erroneous conclusions, by the piano owning public,
have brought the replacement value of the piano to
a degree almost negligible. There is probably no
article used by man whose replacement value is lower
than that of the piano.
Thorough Junking.
In 1926 there were 1,500,000 automobiles junked in
the United States. How many pianos? When a per-
son erects a building he assumes he is putting up
something substantial and lasting. Should he upon
completion of this building put in a new piano, the
chances are four to one that this building will be
torn down and a new building erected before there is
a new piano to replace the old one.
A father and mother purchase a piano for their
child to take lessons on and when this same child
reaches maturity and gets married this piano, which
has done service for some twenty odd years, is given
to it for a wedding present and is expected to serve
another generation.
A Good Suggestion.
With the piano industry looking for ways and
means to enlarge its market and increase its output
would it not be advisable to spread educational propa-
ganda and awaken the public to the fact that pianos
through use. abuse and neglect do wear out; that the
tone does deteriorate through age: and see if we
cannot bring about a replacement with new pianos
for these old ones which have served their usefulness
and should now be relegated to the junk shop.
The Tuner's Attitude.
It seems to me that in this plan there is as great,
if not a greater prospect for success in expanding
the market than the plans now being advocated and
practiced. No piano tuner especially desires or cares
to work on these old pianos; he would therefore
assist to his utmost to bring about a replacement.
This vital question will be discussed at the convention
of the N. A. P. T., Inc., at the Hotel Commodore
in New York City on August 8, 9, 10 and 11, and
will come up Thursday morning, August 10.
MELODY WAY PLAN OF
PIANO TEACHING GROWS
contest, had no private instructions, and onlv 30 les-
sons by W. Otto Miessner's Melody Way" method
of instruction.
The Milwaukee Journal holds the record for a long
distance pupil, when it recently enrolled Matilda M.
Gurry, a 13-year-old school girl in Belfast, Ireland.
The pupils enrolled vary anywhere in age from eight
years to eighty.
In Omaha the Schmoller & Mueller Piano Co. in
one week enrolled between 700 and 800 pupils. Tele-
grams of the success of the plan are coming in from
newspapers and music merchants from all over the
country.
JOINT OFFICES FOR
THREE PIANO INDUSTRIES
Jacob Doll & Sons Inc., Premier Grand Piano
Corp. and Hallet & Davis Piano Co. in
Convenient Location.
A preliminary announcement has just been made
that Jacob Doll & Sons, Inc., Premier Grand Piano
Corporation, and Hallet & Davis Piano Company and
their associated companies, all of New York City,
have established their executive, sales and accounting
offices at the building known as 6 East 39th street,
New York, 5th avenue at 39th street, the heart of the
midtovvn district, a location known by music dealers
throughout the country.
At this new address there will also be spacious
wholesale warerooms where complete lines of the
varied grand, upright, player and reproducing in-
struments made by these three extensive piano man-
ufacturing companies may be inspected.
The new location of these executive, sales, account-
ing departments and wholesale warerooms especially
afford the visiting out-of-town trade fine facilities and
great convenience in visiting these headquarters, sit-
uated in the immediate vicinity of the Grand Central
and Pennsylvania railroad stations, the leading mid-
New York hotels and all main subway, elevated and
surface car transportation systems.
hi other words, right in the heart of New York
City, a location selected as the most central and the
ideal spot for the convenience and easy access of
every visiting piano merchant throughout the United
States, as well as the most convenient address possi-
ble for the dealers in the metropolitan district, who
are patrons of these three great manufacturing insti-
tutions.
It is anticipated that the transfer of the new loca-
tion will be consummated on or before August 1.
Due notice regarding the new address will be an-
nounced shortly. In the meantime, all communica-
tions and visits should be directed to the present
offices of the factories, as heretofore.
LATE NEWS NOTES IN THE
MILWAUKEE MUSIC TRADE
Chickering Warerooms Moved to Desirable Quarters
in Music Arts Building; Other News.
The Chickering warerooms, Milwaukee, Wis., a
subsidiary of the Music Arts Corporation, recently
Twenty-four Newspapers Cooperating with moved into the new quarters at the Music Arts Build-
ing at Broadway and Mason streets. The store is
Music Merchants in Many Parts of
located in a very desirable position on the ground
Country Are Using the Method.
floor of the building with two large show windows
From merely a local contest in Milwaukee, Wis., for the display purposes.
endorsed by the music merchants the Melody Way
A new company recently formed in Milwaukee is
plan,, as taught by W. Otto Miessner, director of the Nathan Breslauer, Inc.. which was created for the
Miessner Institute of Music, has grown to a national purposes of manufacturing and selling pianos, organs,
affair. To date the Melody Way plan has been phonographs and radios. Members of the new com-
adopted by twenty-four leading newspapers all over pany are Orville J. Gilman, Richard R. Goodman and
the United States, and wherever the plan has been Bertram B. Goodman.
adopted, the papers and music merchants report great
George Cain, treasurer of the Miessner Piano Co.,
success with it.
attended the Western Music Trades Convention at
Among the twenty-four papers using the plan are San Francisco last week. Mr. Cain took Mr. Miess-
the Milwaukee Journal, the Kansas City Star, the ner's place at the convention when he was unable to
Omaha Bee-News, the Philadelphia Record, the Bir- attend because of other business.
mingham News, the Sioux City Journal, the Wichita
Beacon, the Buffalo News, the Waterbury Democrat,
NEW UNGER SONG.
the Indianapolis News, the New York World, Denver
A new song from music publisher. J. S. Unger,
Rocky Mountain News, Minneapolis Journal, Atlanta Reading, Pa., was received at the Presto-Times office
Journal, Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph, New Or- this week. The title of this candidate for favor is
leans States, Evansville Courier-Journal, Lancaster "Supposing." The words are by Dr. F. Palmer and
Intelligencer-News Journal, Harrisburg Patriot-News, the music by Arnold T. Lax. It is a pretty, senti-
Wilkes-Barre Record. Richmond News Leader, mental song with a 3-4 catchy refrain, and has the
Houston-Chronicle, St. Joseph Gazette, and the alluring qualities that make for success at the sheet
Toledo Blade.
music counters.
These papers are operating the plan in a similar
manner which the Milwaukee Journal is using, co-
MUSIC HOUSES HELP.
operating with the local music merchants, who in turn
Classes for Melody Way instruction in Toledo, O.,
are offering free instructors and pianos at their stores
in conformity with the plans of the Toledo Blade,
for the use of members of the Melody Way Clubs.
The Miessner plan received a big boost in Chicago are maintained by the J. W. Greene Co., Frazelle
Piano Co., Cable Piano Co., Goosman Piano Co.,
when it was learned that little Marguerita Wilimov-
skv. 9, who won the gold medal in the piano playing Whitney-Blainc-Wildermuth Co., and Grinnell Bros.
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