Presto

P R E S T O-T I M E S
Nov.-Dec, 1932
PRESTO
MUSICAL
TIMES
Esta blished
1881
Established
1884
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE JOURNAL
1 Year. .. .$1.00. 6 Months. .. .60 cents
CHICAGO, NOV.-DEC, 1932
Fifteenth of Publication Month
TRAVELERS' ACTIVITIES AND
HELPS TO DEALERS
How Dealers Advertise
and Appeal for Trade
T
HE daily newspaper advertising of
dealers over the country is interest-
ing to all of us and rather entertain-
ing, as goes entertainment of this
sort, and the variety of attractive
displays, the texts, variously worded
anagrams, mottos and slogans, and
the attractive pictures of new models, interior views,
etc,, appealing to the eye, all show the tremendous ac-
tivity manifested the country over toward moving in-
struments from factory and salesrooms to ultimate
user, by the use of printers' ink.
An especially interesting feature of these advertise-
ments is the lists of Used Piano Bargains, as showing
the comparative prices offered for standard makes, in
which the absence of certain pianos and the few price
quotations on others is noticeable. For instance, in a
list of eighty-five second-hands listed by a New Jersey
music house at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000, there
were only three Steinways offered and not one of
these at a price less than $650. Four Baldwins were
on the list, two Esteys, and several well-known makes
were not mentioned at all. The balance were made up
of about all makes, dead and alive; as many as fifteen
of some names carrying on business today.
A Pacific Coast list of "second hand and repossessed
bargains" does not vary materially from the Eastern
list.
Inducements Offered
The "inducements" offered in the newspaper display
advertisements attract attention. Quite a number of
these spread out before us stress the argument, "Re-
tiring from Business," as Fredericksen & Kroh were
advertising a while ago. Then comes the oft-used and
badly abused "Removal Sale," like a McEwen Music
Company, Charleston, W. Va., announcement, headed
"Bargains in our Removal Sale," and the "Stock Re-
duction Sale," as exemplified in a Knight-Campbell
announcement where a $1,000 (used) Chickering up-
right is offered for $195.00.
Grinnell Brothers used an eight-inch three-column
space headed, "Front Page News," which brought
them, as our correspondent writes, good returns in the
sale of a lot of upright piano bargains. But rarely
anything sensational emanates from Grinnell Bros.
Their advertising is normal, direct to the point and
most of it strengthened by the Steinway name which
appears in much of their regular advertising.
We have before us numerous other specimens of
the advertisements of Steinway representatives, among
them one from Jenkins Music Company, Kansas City,
Mo.; Pearson Piano Company, Indianapolis, Indiana;
Edmund Gram, Inc., Milwaukee; Schmoller & Mueller
Piano Company, Omaha, Nebraska; E. F. Droop &
Sons, Washington, D. C, all attractive and appealing
to a class of trade that demands quality.
The Wanamaker, New York, store has made a spe-
cial feature of purchases of various factory clean-ups
and clean-outs, such as the Ludwig & Co. purchase
and a big purchase of Brambachs. The attractive
prices at which these factory purchases were offered
have brought sales to Wanamaker that represent a
good percentage of the New York metropolitan dis-
trict retail piano sales during the past several months.
The Wurlitzer newspaper advertising, and it is
probably the most extensive in the piano trade, taking
the country at large, is, more or less, sensational and
given to headlines calling attention to special features,
such as "Six-Day Sale," "A Most Fortunate Pur-
chase," "Pre-Inventory Sale," "Grand Pianos at Prices
The comparatively few road men now traveling in
the music industries; the "men on the road," regular
traveling representatives, special salesmen and the
semi-official ones who devote part time to "contact"
work are, apparently, and so far as Presto-Times
has been able to get the "tip," doing fairly well this
season. Some carload lots have been sold, as the
Never Offered Before," "Red Tag Sale," etc., etc., ad report comes to us by men who speak truthfully and
infinitum. The Wurlitzer has a rather imposing line as borne out by other valid proof that carload lots of
of its own manufacture; the Apollo, the Melville pianos have been delivered this season and other car-
Clark, the Wurlitzer, the Schaff Bros., the Lingard, load orders taken for 1933 delivery.
the Farny, and later the control of the Julius Bauer
A Few Names Cited
and Mehlin names. A story of Wurlitzer newspaper
Harry
D.
Hewitt,
since he engaged with Kimball,
advertising could well be made a chapter in itself.
lias
given
90
per
cent
of his time to road work and
The Cable Piano Company branch at Minneapolis
has shown a good deal of enterprise in its attractive has developed a good deal of new business for his
house. Aside from other regular Kimball travelers,
and drawing displays.
Mr. Sill and Mr. Duvall and occasionally Secretary
VARIOUS ARGUMENTS FOR BUYING
Whittemore, make trips often on some kind of special
Numerous other clippings have been sent us show- work. H. A. Stewart, of Gulbransen, averages two
ing advertising of such houses as Emahizer-Spielman, days a week away from his desk; which means eight
Topeka, Kansas, advertising Schaff Bros., Emerson: to ten days a month that bring in an array of orders
Hiltbrunner Music Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ad- to help a long way toward being the cause d'etre for
vertising Conover; C. A. House & Company, Wheel- whatever activity exists in the piano making depart-
ing, W. Va.; Collins Music Shop, New Orleans; Neal- ment of the big Gulbransen plant. Gordon Laughead,
Clark-Neal, Buffalo, now extensive Baldwin and Hard- of Wurlitzer, has been "head over heels" in strenuous
road work all through this season. He, too, can say
man, Peck & Co. dealers; Orton Brothers, Butte,
Mont., advertising Kimball; Froess Bros. Music something about carload lots inasmuch as the Wur-
House, Erie, Pa., offering 100 music lessons free with litzer factories, fifty miles out of Chicago, have been
each purchase; San Antonio Music Company, advertis- going good and strong for weeks past with consider-
ing Kimball. Thearle Music Co., San Diego, Calif., able overtime. Whether widespread advertising, spe-
say, "The world's finest pianos at prices adjusted to cial sales, bargain sales and bargain prices, or any
one or all of them have been the compelling factor
meet today's demands."
in this rare case of piano factory activity is only con-
The Birkel Music Company, Los Angeles, have been jecture, but the fact remains that Wurlitzer-produced
doing some remarkably consistent publicity present- pianos keep moving on and on, and while Gordon
ing arguments that must certainly attract a worthy Laughead and Vice-President and General Manager
trade. The Birkel Music Company appeals have been Cyril Farny sit "good and tight" as among the hap-
argumentative, consistent and timely and the results, piest men in the trade and certainly among the most
as our correspondent writes, have been commensurate contented of the Wurlitzer ensemble. And John C-
with their efforts. Mr. George Birkel believes that Henderson of the Eastern Wurlitzer territory, whose
any effort put forth by any music house to stimulate headquarters are at the New York Wurlitzer store
interest that will develop pupils will work to the ad- at 42nd street, comes in for a share of credit on Wur-
vantage of all of us.
litzer piano output. Mr. R. A. Burke, general sales
A remarkable advertisement, comprising one page manager of Story & Clark, goes out once or twice
space, comes to us from Quackenbusch's, Patterson, a month and, begging pardon for this reference to
N. J., in which some notable bargains are offered, the the hog, "brings home the bacon."
leading one being what they advertise as "Aeolian-
Episodes in a Baldwin Traveler's Territory
made and Aeolian-guaranteed," baby grands. In this
same list a precedent seems to be established for the
While other piano ambassadors are not men-
price of Weber baby grands at $695.00.
tioned at this writing because of lack of sufficient
Notable among the houses named in this story on data, we do have an interesting account of some
newspaper advertisements some space used a while splendid Baldwin sales in the territory covered by
ago in the Los.Angeles papers by the Southern Califor- J. M. Wylie, a district manager for the Baldwin of
nia Music Company is worthy of particular mention Cincinnati. Mr. Wylie's territory takes in Minnesota
because of the force of the argument presented, as and Wisconsin, where the notable sales referred to in
indicated in the caption with these advertisements; this story were made, as reported by a Presto-Times
YOU CAN HAVE A PIANO. It would almost seem correspondent.
that there are times when many people will doubt this
One of these agencies, the Duluth Music Company,
statement; that, as they shop around for an instru- sold eight new pianos the last week in November
ment, they feel convinced that they cannot afford one, and twenty-six the month previous. Recent purchases
but the forceful salesman, nine cases out of ten, will of grands from the Duluth company are a grand by
show the prospective buyer that he can afford a piano the Loyal Order of Moose No. 505, the Bradbury
and put this buyer in a frame of mind to buy. A School of Music, the Flaaten College of Music, and
salesman for this house says, "There is magic in these Prof. Andrew Immonens Finnish Studio, all at Du-
five words, 'You can have a piano,' and I hardly ever luth; the Methodist Church at Eveleth, the Arrow-
fail to impress a customer with the truthfulness of the head Academy at Virginia,, and several public schools
statement." Evidently this great Los Angeles music in and about Duluth.
house and its salesmen know the value of persuasion
Speaking of the activities and successes of his busi-
and in another advertisement they emphasize to home- ness,
Mr. W. H. Fowler, president of the Duluth
makers that, "There is no substitute for music."
Music Company, says: "We have tried to conduct
The Baldwin Piano Company a few weeks ago our business in a way as to attract a good class of
started furnishing their dealers some Ready Prepared customers and carry on business in a way that would
Display Advertising; electrotypes of various sizes par- be an inspiration to piano dealers elsewhere. How-
ticularly adapted for dealers selling the Baldwin ever, we do not take all the credit ourselves but give
pianos. These advertisements are models in appear- our good friends, the Baldwin Company at Cincinnati
ance as well as in the texts accompanying the illustra- and their able representative for a considerable
tions. In supplying these electrotypes they emphasize amount for their cooperation during these perilous
their distrust in representations of pretended distress times."
merchandise by stating that such a line of advertising
In other localities of Mr. Wylie's territory notable
which is deceptive to the purchaser has lost its appeal sales are reported: one to the University of North
and is rapidly passing out of the picture. A further Dakota, a style "D" concert grand, which makes the
description of this Baldwin dealer's publicity service is music department of that university completely
given on another page of this issue of Presto-Times equipped with Baldwins; another sale to the High
to which the reader is respectfully referred.
School Auditorium at Detroit Lakes, a Baldwin grand;
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