Presto
Issue: 1929 2221 - Page 8
PRESTO-TIMES
The American Music Trade Weekly
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
PRESTO P U B L I S H I N G CO., Publishers.
Editor
F R A N K D. A B B O T T
- - - - - - - - - -
(C. A. D A N I ELL—1904-1927.)
J. FERGUS O'RYAN
_ _ _ _ _ Managing Editor
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 0234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), " P R E S T O , " Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the
Post Office, Chicago, III., under Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1.25; Foreign, $4.
Payable in advance. No extra charge in United ^States
possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Rates for advertising on
application.
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if of
general interest to the music trade will be paid for at
space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen in the
smaller cities are the best occasional correspondents, and
their assistance Is invited.
Payment Is not accepted for matter printed in the edi-
torial or news columns of Presto-Times.
Where half-tones are made the actual cost of produc-
tion will be charged if of commerc?al character or 1 other
than strictly news interest.
When electrotypes are sent for publication it is re-
quested that their subjects and senders be carefully indi-
cated.
Forms close at noon on Thursday. Late news matter
should be in not later than 11 o'clock on that day. Ad-
vertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, S p. m.,
to insure preferred position. Pull page display copy
should be In hand by Tuesday noon preceding publication
day. Want advertisements for current week, to insure
jlassification, should be in by Wednesday noon.
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South
Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1929.
The last form of Presto-Times goes to press
at 11 a. m. Thursday. Any news transpiring
after that hour cannot be expected in the cur-
rent issue. Nothing received at the office that
is not strictly news of importance can have
attention after 9 a. m. on Thursday. If they
concern the interests of manufacturers or
dealers such items will appear the week follow-
ing. Copy for advertising designed for the
current issue must reach the office not later
Much dissatisfaction has been expressed
over the substitution of the talking movie for
the silent picture. The feeling expressed in-
cluded the synchronized music accompanying
the screen plays. And It is said, too, that the
theater-going public will, in time, indicate
thumbs down for the "sound" pictures. That
ma}' be true but it does not justify the inac-
tion of those concerned in the making and
selling of. musical instruments.
Some organizations of or related to the mu-
sic goods industry have taken action to mark
the gravity of the theater music situation, but
in a perfunctory way. In time, the public may
express its dissatisfaction with the talking
movie and synchronized mechanical music,
but it might be wise for the interested indus-
tries to. help the public reach a desired de-
cision. Other industries, when threatened by
a detrimental attitude towards their products,
are prompt to make use of deterring propa-
ganda.
Musical people know that the new movie
music, no matter how perfect may be its re-
production, must fall short of artistic excel-
lence. They could be helped in that realization
by the organized action of the music industry.
It is follv to sit supinely by waiting for the
entire people to see what the musically-mind-
ed among them already observe — that the
canned music of the movies is meretricious
and while doing incalculable damage to art
also is hurting the music profession and the
music trade.
It is easy to see the effects on the public
of the dehumanized entertainment; the dis-
placing of musicians, the discouragement of
young talent, restriction in musical art and a
cultural loss of appalling proportions. This
is not a form of the old industrial duel, the
worker fighting the machine in which the
worker always has lost. Synchronized thea-
ter music has few artistic merits, and the
music industry and the music profession
should take effective steps to influence the
theater-going public and theater owners
against its use.
CONGRATULATE LA PORTE, IND.
La Porte. Ind.. is the most musical commu-
nity in the United States, according to a sur-
vey of the support given good music in vari-
ous cities made public last week bv George
Fugles, New York concert manager, Xine
per cent of its population, given by gazeteers
as 15,158. attend concerts regularly, a percent-
age far higher than in Xew York or Chicago.
How much the good music lovers of the
lively Indiana town are influenced by the loca-
tion there of the Hobart M. Cable Piano Co.
is not told by Mr. Engles. But that the tastes
and inclinations of the community are, in a
considerable way, directed by the production
of the means to the making of fine music —
admirably tuneful pianos—is freely acknowl-
edged by LaPorte people.
Another LaPorte factor that, without
doubt, promotes the desire for the harmonies
expressed in good music, is the Polk College
of Piano Tuning, which represents the practi-
cal effort towards achieving a tuneful world.
The piano manufacturers who feature the
period models among their lines really have
much to thank the furniture manufacturers
for in increased interest of the public in period
models and the ability to differentiate between
one and the other. And the dealers and sales-
men in the music trade are in consequence
familiar with the peculiarities of the various
periods and are more effectivelv equipped to
meet customers possessed of the knowledge
of period types and to instruct those who are
not versed in the beautiful forms.
Those interested in radio broadcasting at-
fairs are speculating as to whether any legis-
lation is going to be passed at the present ses-
February 23, 1929
sion of Congress prolonging the life of the
Federal Radio Commission. But many of
those interested people now consider broad-
casting "a legally uncharted science" and see
a growth of dissatisfaction with present wave
allocations. All over the country are stations
dissatisfied with their wave assignments who
are looking towards the courts to change
them. From that it is seen that the Federal
Radio Commission is no longer considered the
sole arbiter of the broadcasting situation.
I he true and artistic period designs elevate
the tone of the piano, but the makeshifts for
period designs are really detrimental. The
plan to simplify production is too often sub-
servient to artistic ambition. Giving a piano
the mere semblance to a period model is fall-
ing short of a purpose. l'iano dealers mav
help the piano promotion plan by encouraging
the purchase of the artistic models put forth
by the ambitious piano manufacturers.
LATE TRADE NEWS
FROM MINNEAPOLIS
Foster & Waldo Vigorously Featuring Chick-
ering Piano in Able Series of Adver-
tisements—Other News.
The Hausncr Music Store in Minneapolis. Minn.,
was robbed of about $20 in cash from the cash regis-
ter while the store Was in darkness for a few minutes.
Albert Hausncr, son of the proprietor, was alone on
duly at the time. He took a man and woman to the
repair department to select a small instrument part
when a motor was started, blowing out a light fuse.
The three then made their way to the front of the
store and arrived just as K. H. White, store manager
entered. He got tile lights turned on, and discovered
that the till h^cKbeen looted.
The Foster it Waldo Piano Company of Minne-
apolis, Minn., is featuring its line of Chickering pianos
in a series of advertisements in the city's dailies.
These delicate advertisements, rather than featuring a
special low price sale, convey an idea of the Chicker-
ing's tone-free principle, its manufacture by a master
of piano-making and its long history. These adver-
t : sements are meant for instructing the public of the
merits of the p'ano and are creating enough interest
to warrant their further exploitation.
TED E. PERKINS TRAVELS.
Ted W. Perkins, popular Wurlitzer Grand Piano
Co.'s traveling man, is leaving on a tr ; p through Ken-
tucky and Missouri, which will be Mr. Perkins" first
trip through this territory for the Wurlitzer company.
PIANO CLASSES FOR CHILDREN
The accompanying cut shows the class in piano
being put on at the Norwegian Lutheran Children's
Home at Edison Park, 111. A Gulbranseu piano used
is seen in the background. The admirable feature of
musical education in the home may be credited to
A. G. Gulbransen, president of the Gulbransen Com-
pany, Chicago, to which we are indebted for the cut.
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/
The American Music Trade Weekly
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
PRESTO P U B L I S H I N G CO., Publishers.
Editor
F R A N K D. A B B O T T
- - - - - - - - - -
(C. A. D A N I ELL—1904-1927.)
J. FERGUS O'RYAN
_ _ _ _ _ Managing Editor
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 0234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), " P R E S T O , " Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the
Post Office, Chicago, III., under Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1.25; Foreign, $4.
Payable in advance. No extra charge in United ^States
possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Rates for advertising on
application.
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if of
general interest to the music trade will be paid for at
space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen in the
smaller cities are the best occasional correspondents, and
their assistance Is invited.
Payment Is not accepted for matter printed in the edi-
torial or news columns of Presto-Times.
Where half-tones are made the actual cost of produc-
tion will be charged if of commerc?al character or 1 other
than strictly news interest.
When electrotypes are sent for publication it is re-
quested that their subjects and senders be carefully indi-
cated.
Forms close at noon on Thursday. Late news matter
should be in not later than 11 o'clock on that day. Ad-
vertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, S p. m.,
to insure preferred position. Pull page display copy
should be In hand by Tuesday noon preceding publication
day. Want advertisements for current week, to insure
jlassification, should be in by Wednesday noon.
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South
Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1929.
The last form of Presto-Times goes to press
at 11 a. m. Thursday. Any news transpiring
after that hour cannot be expected in the cur-
rent issue. Nothing received at the office that
is not strictly news of importance can have
attention after 9 a. m. on Thursday. If they
concern the interests of manufacturers or
dealers such items will appear the week follow-
ing. Copy for advertising designed for the
current issue must reach the office not later
Much dissatisfaction has been expressed
over the substitution of the talking movie for
the silent picture. The feeling expressed in-
cluded the synchronized music accompanying
the screen plays. And It is said, too, that the
theater-going public will, in time, indicate
thumbs down for the "sound" pictures. That
ma}' be true but it does not justify the inac-
tion of those concerned in the making and
selling of. musical instruments.
Some organizations of or related to the mu-
sic goods industry have taken action to mark
the gravity of the theater music situation, but
in a perfunctory way. In time, the public may
express its dissatisfaction with the talking
movie and synchronized mechanical music,
but it might be wise for the interested indus-
tries to. help the public reach a desired de-
cision. Other industries, when threatened by
a detrimental attitude towards their products,
are prompt to make use of deterring propa-
ganda.
Musical people know that the new movie
music, no matter how perfect may be its re-
production, must fall short of artistic excel-
lence. They could be helped in that realization
by the organized action of the music industry.
It is follv to sit supinely by waiting for the
entire people to see what the musically-mind-
ed among them already observe — that the
canned music of the movies is meretricious
and while doing incalculable damage to art
also is hurting the music profession and the
music trade.
It is easy to see the effects on the public
of the dehumanized entertainment; the dis-
placing of musicians, the discouragement of
young talent, restriction in musical art and a
cultural loss of appalling proportions. This
is not a form of the old industrial duel, the
worker fighting the machine in which the
worker always has lost. Synchronized thea-
ter music has few artistic merits, and the
music industry and the music profession
should take effective steps to influence the
theater-going public and theater owners
against its use.
CONGRATULATE LA PORTE, IND.
La Porte. Ind.. is the most musical commu-
nity in the United States, according to a sur-
vey of the support given good music in vari-
ous cities made public last week bv George
Fugles, New York concert manager, Xine
per cent of its population, given by gazeteers
as 15,158. attend concerts regularly, a percent-
age far higher than in Xew York or Chicago.
How much the good music lovers of the
lively Indiana town are influenced by the loca-
tion there of the Hobart M. Cable Piano Co.
is not told by Mr. Engles. But that the tastes
and inclinations of the community are, in a
considerable way, directed by the production
of the means to the making of fine music —
admirably tuneful pianos—is freely acknowl-
edged by LaPorte people.
Another LaPorte factor that, without
doubt, promotes the desire for the harmonies
expressed in good music, is the Polk College
of Piano Tuning, which represents the practi-
cal effort towards achieving a tuneful world.
The piano manufacturers who feature the
period models among their lines really have
much to thank the furniture manufacturers
for in increased interest of the public in period
models and the ability to differentiate between
one and the other. And the dealers and sales-
men in the music trade are in consequence
familiar with the peculiarities of the various
periods and are more effectivelv equipped to
meet customers possessed of the knowledge
of period types and to instruct those who are
not versed in the beautiful forms.
Those interested in radio broadcasting at-
fairs are speculating as to whether any legis-
lation is going to be passed at the present ses-
February 23, 1929
sion of Congress prolonging the life of the
Federal Radio Commission. But many of
those interested people now consider broad-
casting "a legally uncharted science" and see
a growth of dissatisfaction with present wave
allocations. All over the country are stations
dissatisfied with their wave assignments who
are looking towards the courts to change
them. From that it is seen that the Federal
Radio Commission is no longer considered the
sole arbiter of the broadcasting situation.
I he true and artistic period designs elevate
the tone of the piano, but the makeshifts for
period designs are really detrimental. The
plan to simplify production is too often sub-
servient to artistic ambition. Giving a piano
the mere semblance to a period model is fall-
ing short of a purpose. l'iano dealers mav
help the piano promotion plan by encouraging
the purchase of the artistic models put forth
by the ambitious piano manufacturers.
LATE TRADE NEWS
FROM MINNEAPOLIS
Foster & Waldo Vigorously Featuring Chick-
ering Piano in Able Series of Adver-
tisements—Other News.
The Hausncr Music Store in Minneapolis. Minn.,
was robbed of about $20 in cash from the cash regis-
ter while the store Was in darkness for a few minutes.
Albert Hausncr, son of the proprietor, was alone on
duly at the time. He took a man and woman to the
repair department to select a small instrument part
when a motor was started, blowing out a light fuse.
The three then made their way to the front of the
store and arrived just as K. H. White, store manager
entered. He got tile lights turned on, and discovered
that the till h^cKbeen looted.
The Foster it Waldo Piano Company of Minne-
apolis, Minn., is featuring its line of Chickering pianos
in a series of advertisements in the city's dailies.
These delicate advertisements, rather than featuring a
special low price sale, convey an idea of the Chicker-
ing's tone-free principle, its manufacture by a master
of piano-making and its long history. These adver-
t : sements are meant for instructing the public of the
merits of the p'ano and are creating enough interest
to warrant their further exploitation.
TED E. PERKINS TRAVELS.
Ted W. Perkins, popular Wurlitzer Grand Piano
Co.'s traveling man, is leaving on a tr ; p through Ken-
tucky and Missouri, which will be Mr. Perkins" first
trip through this territory for the Wurlitzer company.
PIANO CLASSES FOR CHILDREN
The accompanying cut shows the class in piano
being put on at the Norwegian Lutheran Children's
Home at Edison Park, 111. A Gulbranseu piano used
is seen in the background. The admirable feature of
musical education in the home may be credited to
A. G. Gulbransen, president of the Gulbransen Com-
pany, Chicago, to which we are indebted for the cut.
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).