December 15, 1929
PRESTO-TIMES
YEARS AGO IN THE PRESTO
THIRTY YEARS AGO
U
Local newspapers everywhere are bristling with
Christmas piano advertising. The holiday season
doesn't hurt the local papers and it is certain that this
(From "THE PRESTO," December 14, 1899.)
holiday advertising helps the piano dealers. This
The London trade papers refer to the "United season will be a good one wherever piano men are
States PRESTO" when this paper is quoted. That is alive.
pretty nearly right.
The death of Sylvester Tower removed one of the
The Strich & Zeidler art piano, an illustration of conspicuous characters in the piano industry of a few
which was printed in a recent issue of THE PRESTO, years back.
was on Tuesday placed on exhibition at Falk's pho-
There are more stencil pianos in the trade today
tographic studio, in the Waldorf-Astoria, 34th Street than ever before.
and Fifth Avenue, New York.
The Story & Clark factory enlargement at Grand
The Story & Clark Piano Co. are now shipping Haven, Michigan, is an addition two stories high and
pianos from their temporary factory premises at fifty feet long.
Dixon, 111.
Mr. Luther, general traveling representative of
"I suppose we'll have to wait a few months," said Wood & Brooks, ivory cutters, piano hammer makers,
Mr. W. W. Kimball this morning to a PRESTO etc., Buffalo, N. Y., was m, 'Chicago this week.
representative, referring to the lock-out and strike.
A. E. Johnson, secretary of the Haddorff Piano Co.,
It's as well to look at it philosophically and not hurry Rockford, made a hurrie-l trip to Chicago Tuesday,
things too much. All things come to him who waits, returning to Rockford the same evening.
it is said, and perhaps the boys will come to their
W. N. Van Matre, president of the Schumann Piano
senses in time.
Company, arrived in Chicago this morning from a
Jacob Doll's mammoth factory is now completed short trip in Michigan. Mr. Van Matre finds Schu-
inside and out. The machinery was moved into the mann trade excellent whe.ever he goes.
new part last week and now the big plant presents
At an election of office ts of the Elmer Post, G. A.
the appearance of an enormous beehive. Only twenty- R., at Elkhart, Indiana, Irs* week, C. G. Conn, manu-
two pianos a day now. About seven thousand per facturer of the Wonder "jaad instruments, the largest
year. Pretty good output, isn't it?
industry of the kind it. chc v/orld, was re-elected
It is said that the Steinertone will soon be on ex- Commander.
hibition at the Knabe warerooms.
J. Frank Conover is st.-i 1 . i'.< the South in the inter-
F. Radle, the piano manufacturer at 611 West ests of his department hi The Cable Company's fac-
Thirty-sixth street, New York, has a good selling tories. Last week Mr. Conover was in Columbia,
product in his new "F. Radle" pianos. The instru- S. C, and treated the locil piano men there with one
ments! are well constructed and of good tone.
of his talks on pianos in general and the Conover
Paderewski called at the Steinway warerooms, piano in particular. The Charleston, S. C, "News" of
New York, on Wednesday of last week to select his December 4th, contained the following: "J. Frank
concert grand. Mr. Charles H. Steinway, speaking to Conover, the originator of .he Conover piano and a
THE PRESTO of the incident, said: "It is a rare prominent member of the ft. mo as house of Cable, the
treat, but enjoyed by only a few. Paderewski gave largest piano and organ nutters in the world, is in
quite an impromptu while selecting his instrument and Charleston on a visit to tl ; agency of The Cable
he showed himself to be possessed of more power Company, and is now eon trading a tour which has
than ever. He looks healthier than when here before covered nearly the entire South and a score of
and seems to have even more vigor."
agencies have been visited.
We take great pleasure in presenting herewith a
Edward H. Jones & Son l a \ e leased the building
portrait of Mr. W. G. Vaughan Robinson, of the Rob- at 416 East Locust Street, i)es Moines, Iowa, and
inson Piano Co., Hong Kong. The Robinson Piano will open a new piano and music store similar in
Co., which was established in 1875, has branch stores many respects to the one cotiducted by them in the
at Singapore, at Shanghai, at Delhi, and other points. Marquardt building, Iowa City.
We present herewith a fac-simile of an advertise-
ment of the house of Jose Mendes Leite & Co., of
Para, Brazil, as it appeared in a recent paper of
Brazil. It shows that the art of advertising is under-
stood in that country and that the music industry is
not behind in its application.
(From the San Juan, Porto Rico, "News.")— Vivid Historical High-Lights Touched Upon Which
THE PRESTO, the musical trade paper published
Presto-Times Would Extend.
in Chicago, has produced one of the loveliest and
largest editions ever undertaken by a weekly news-
A very interesting article written by Arthur Bis-
paper. It is endeavoring to enter the Porto Rican sell, piano man of Chicago, appeared one day last
field and it should be welcome. Thirty-nine pages are month in the magazine section of the Chicago Daily
in the Spanish language.
News, under the title, "My Musical Memories." He
(From "The Anglo-American," Mexico City, Nov. mentioned meetings with Theodore Thomas, Mme.
26.)—The Trade (Export) edition of THE PRESTO Nordica, Fritzi Scheff, Paderewski, Calve. Carreno,
has been received at this office. It is exceedingly Florenz Ziegfeld, who founded the Chicago Musical
well gotten up and deserves the appreciation in which College in 1869, Frederick W. R >ot, and many others.
it is held throughout the republic of Mexico by music
All this is adapted to excite historical curiosity, but
dealers and others interested in music matters.
there is a field for another chapter if Mr. Bissell
Clarence Eddy on the Lyon & Healy Harp.
cares to write it. He could leil a great deal more
A letter recently written by the great organist con- about pere Ziegfeld, father of "Flo" Ziegfeld, and
tains the following spontaneous tribute to the play- also of this son's great success . s head of the Zieg-
ing of Clara Murray on the Lyon & Healy harp:
feld Follies; of Lillian Russell a >d her visits to Chi-
"At Cincinnati, O., last evening I had the pleasure cago; of Anton Dvorak, the Bol;< mian composer, who
of listening to some remarkably fine harp playing by often visited Chicago during hi; .several years' resi-
Mrs. Clara Murray. Her superb Lyon & Healy harp dence in this country, and of 1 s ( compositions com-
was in excellent tune, and she produced many charmr posed here.
ing effects with truly admirable skill. The large
Mr. Bissell in his next artieV could speak of the
audience filling the great music hall, was enthusias- time when Paderewski's celebrate 3 minuet was played
tic and recalled Mrs. Murray several times after each by him in Chicago for the initial time in public and
selection.—Clarence Eddy.
at the Chicago Auditorium during the World's Fair
of 1893.
He could tell something about Reginald De Koven,
composer of "Robin Hood" and other light operas
(From THE PRESTO, December 15, 1904.)
that were successful. Surely a second or even a
The Baldwin piano is very prominent in the con- third chapter will be necessary from the typewriter
cert room this season. At the recitals of DePach- of Mr. Bissell.
In the article referred to Mr. Bissell pays a trib-
mann, the Russian pianist, in Music Hall, Chicago,
this week the Baldwin aided largely in the delight of ute to one of the brightest men in the music pub-
lishing business, Aloysius Limbach, for many years
the audience.
At the recent explosion which wrecked the rooms with the Clayton F. Summy Company—a man who
of The Cable Company in Knoxville, Tenn., pianos has at his tongue's-end almost any musical compo-
and pig iron were juggled in strange fashion. A sition one could name. He is masterful as a com-
Mason & Hamlin grand standing in the window of pendium of useful information about all music and
the warerooms had a leg torn off, carried through the musical publications of the entire world.
window and up over through the building to the rear.
ADVERTISING THE WASHBURN.
It isn't fair. Here's a house in Northfield, Minn^
advertising a "Henderson" piano in which the firm
"Christmas time is piano time around the world,"
claims to be interested. The real Henderson piano says a Lyion & Healy ad in Chicago. "No other
has been produced and promoted for years by Mr. gift gives such a thrill—no other gives such long
J. C. Henderson, of Ann Arbor.
and continued pleasure."
ARTHUR BISSELL'S
MUSICAL MEMORIES
TWENTY=FIVE YEARS AGO
MUSIC SUPERVISORS
CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO
For Five Days, Beginning March 24, at Stevens
Hotel, This Will Be Great Meeting.
First facts on the forthcoming Music Supervisors'
National Conference have been made known by Miss
Mabelle Glenn, director of music of the Kansas City,
Mo., public schools and president of the conference.
The meeting will be held in Chicago for five days
beginning March 24, 1930. Headquarters of the con-
ference will be in the world's largest hotel, the*
Stevens.
An attendance of 7,000 school music supervisor 4 .
is anticipated. It is expected that every school iier-
son interested in the future of American music 'md
his own work will be there.
Chicago is planning to outdo herself in providing
entertainment for the visiting supervisors. Dr. 1 rod-
crick Stock will conduct his Symphony Orche-ii'i in
a complimentary concert. Two glee clubs from North-
western University will sing. The Chicago Univer-
sity Chorus will give a concert in their beautiful new
chapel, and arrangements are under way with the
Paulist Choristers for a concert.
A fine program is also promised by the Chicago
public school music department for its Tuesday eve-
ning concert.
ORCHESTRA CONTEST
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Competition for Camp Places at Interlochen Keener
Than Ever for Next Year.
Winners in the solo contest and ensemble playing
contests at the 1929 National High School Orchestra
and Band Camp. Interlochen, Mich., have been an-
nounced by J. E. Maddy, musical director. Gold,
silver and bronze medals, purchased out of contribu-
tions to the Camp's "blanket" fund, were awarded
to first, second and third place winners in the con-
tests. A special medal was awarded to Campsie Kil-
lam. of Duluth, Minn., as the "best all-round Camper."
Mr. Maddy reports that membership applications
are coming in good numbers. Selection of candidaacs,
he said, would begin immediately after the first of the
year. Because of the large number of students in
the 1929 camp who have expressed a desire also to
attend the 1930 camp, competition for camp places
next season is expected to be keener than ever.
Music teachers having pupils qualified to attend the
camp are urged to get in touch immediately with Air.
Maddv at Ann Arbor.
Mrs. Vilpha Barnes Wood, composer and conduc-
tor, died in her home in New York on December 11.
She once directed the activities of the Grand Opera
Society of New York, which she organized in 1915.
A Gift Your
Sales-
7
man Won 1 Forget:
PRESTO-TIMES
The Newsiest Paper in the
Music Trades
A gift that will in-
terest him all year,
remind h i m con-
stantly of y o u r
thoii£>httulness a n d
s p u r h i m on to
greater a c h i e v e-
ments in his chosen
Held.
Only $1.25 a Year.
With Buyers' Guide, $1.50
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