Presto
Issue: 1933 2270-B - Page 7
PRESTO-TIMES
July-August,
AN EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST
there. Germany and England are now enjoying a
pretty fair foreign business and France has been gain-
ing rapidly in her foreign trade ever since the World
War.
Reference is occasionally made to the spectacle of certain and sundry piano manufactur-
ing concerns that added radio making- to their activities, such as their activities were at the
time; some with disastrous results financially, others not so badly hit, hut everyone of them
proud of the fact that what they did make, the goods they did produce, were of fine quality.
Several deaths which have occurred in the piano
industries during the last month will be a shock and The big excuse for most of those failures is that they built too good; that the instruments
a surprise to many. Among these are the passing of the}- made were too expensive to produce and too costly to sell.
Gottlieb Heller, the senior member of the house of
The result of this condition was that cheap instruments and cut-price competition of the
Winter & Company, New York; Jacob Hackenheimer,
formerly of C. Kurtzmann & Company, Buffalo; over-production crowd of radio makers which has been going on in the radio Held could not
Ernest Leins, well-known old-time piano manufac-
turer and formerly co-wcrker with many prominent be overcome by quality production.
piano makers of New York, and Albert Strauch,
Then came the debacle; cheap goods competition, mass production and all the tremendous
former president of Strauch Brothers, piano action losses; hardly a single instance of profit. Our manufacturers who started in under somewhat
manufacturers, New York.
auspicious circumstances could not fall in line with the over-production radio tactories which
The American Piano Supply Co., New York, feel kept on going with enormous losses.
deeply the loss of Mr. Howard who had been asso-
Some of the estimators in the music industry reckon losses to these venturers at Irom
ciated with Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co. to; up-
a
few
"grand" to something like a third of a million dollars. Their "trial trip" was not of long'
wards of forty-six years. His death occurred July
duration,
but it was a hazardous route from the first, and now a thing of the past.
27. Mr. W. F. Schlemmer speaking of Mr. Howard's
IOMJI record with the house says that his was "a record
However, piano manufacturers may salute radio for the manner in which the piano has
which very few have attained in uninterrupted and
extremely faithful service and, needless to say, we been held in that field of public performance a n l radio activity in general for no studio, no pro-
gram is complete without the piano and almost everything musical over the radio utilizes the
shall miss him more than words can express."
piano. The piano is regarded so highlv and is used so continuously in radio that its use is an
incentive to continue in the study of piano playing and to excel in that art, and to perform
as well as main' of the broadcasters do.
* * * *
HARDMAN-
91 YEARS
of
Absolute Reliability
Manufactured by
HARDMAN, PECK & CO.
433 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y.
APOLLO-
An Apollo grand piano justly
carries with it a sincere pride of
ownership and will bring a lifetime
of both musical and decorative
enjoyment.
Sortie Valuable Territory Open Can
Now Be Secured
ADDRESS
APOLLO PIANO COMPANY
DE KALB, ILL.
In announcing a new location and better facilities for business a correspondent in a city
of about 40,000 inhabitants adds to his letter:
"Possibly you know of a good piano agencv for this territory."
The inquirv above, contained in a letter recently received at Presto-Times office, similar
to others that reach this paper, is printed here because it gives opportunity for a few words
about this and that sort of piano agency.
At first reading it seemed as if this correspondent had in mind to just get a piano agency,
but in following up correspondence with him it was revealed that he was seeking a piano that
would go "half and half" with him, as he put it. He had learned that just securing "an agency"
is quite a simple thing if one has the wherewithal to purchase a "sample" or two. Hut his chief
concern, he writes, was "where can I get a piano that will sell itself and make money for me?"
lie said that he is entirely conscious that no piano in existence will wholly and entirely "sell
itself" or make a customer without human aid; but he also had found that some pianos are
easier to sell and others are "hard to move." He cites the names of several pianos that would
be easier to sell by fifty percent than anv that he has ever handled.
This correspondent went on to point out certain interesting observations and conditions
linked with a piano agency. He said that, as for himself, he would "prefer an instrument not
too liberally 'agencied.' Two or three, even only one, active sales headquarters in the state
is preferable. Agencies in two adjoining counties often bring about price-cutting, unfair
competition and ill-feeling, while widely scattered agencies often work to advantage and
closely farmed out territory to disadvantage."
The correspondent, who seems to be quite a live wire in point of activity and observation,
further said that he favored, in many ways, the so-called "distributor's" plan of promoting
sales. "An agency for a piano, the sales management or ownership of which is in the hands of
a concern controlling branch houses or distribution centers, is greatly helped bv such relation-
ship. It these branch stores are owned or controlled by the parent house, a considerable pres-
tige and benefit may accrue to that piano; particularly does the advertising of the parent
house and its branches work to especial advantage. I am going to look into a piano agency
thus identified." Later reports from this correspondent indicate that he has been contacting
in the manner suggested.
EDITION OF
1933
PRESTO BUYERS' GUIDE
Contains Full Lists with Concise Classification and Description of all
American Pianos, Players and Reproducing Pianos, with Sketches of
Manufacturers. Essential to All Salesmen. Price 50cents, postpaid.
NO PIANO DEALER OR PROSPECT CAN AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT IT.
PRESTO PUBLISHING CO,
417 S. Dearborn St., CHICAGO
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/
July-August,
AN EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST
there. Germany and England are now enjoying a
pretty fair foreign business and France has been gain-
ing rapidly in her foreign trade ever since the World
War.
Reference is occasionally made to the spectacle of certain and sundry piano manufactur-
ing concerns that added radio making- to their activities, such as their activities were at the
time; some with disastrous results financially, others not so badly hit, hut everyone of them
proud of the fact that what they did make, the goods they did produce, were of fine quality.
Several deaths which have occurred in the piano
industries during the last month will be a shock and The big excuse for most of those failures is that they built too good; that the instruments
a surprise to many. Among these are the passing of the}- made were too expensive to produce and too costly to sell.
Gottlieb Heller, the senior member of the house of
The result of this condition was that cheap instruments and cut-price competition of the
Winter & Company, New York; Jacob Hackenheimer,
formerly of C. Kurtzmann & Company, Buffalo; over-production crowd of radio makers which has been going on in the radio Held could not
Ernest Leins, well-known old-time piano manufac-
turer and formerly co-wcrker with many prominent be overcome by quality production.
piano makers of New York, and Albert Strauch,
Then came the debacle; cheap goods competition, mass production and all the tremendous
former president of Strauch Brothers, piano action losses; hardly a single instance of profit. Our manufacturers who started in under somewhat
manufacturers, New York.
auspicious circumstances could not fall in line with the over-production radio tactories which
The American Piano Supply Co., New York, feel kept on going with enormous losses.
deeply the loss of Mr. Howard who had been asso-
Some of the estimators in the music industry reckon losses to these venturers at Irom
ciated with Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co. to; up-
a
few
"grand" to something like a third of a million dollars. Their "trial trip" was not of long'
wards of forty-six years. His death occurred July
duration,
but it was a hazardous route from the first, and now a thing of the past.
27. Mr. W. F. Schlemmer speaking of Mr. Howard's
IOMJI record with the house says that his was "a record
However, piano manufacturers may salute radio for the manner in which the piano has
which very few have attained in uninterrupted and
extremely faithful service and, needless to say, we been held in that field of public performance a n l radio activity in general for no studio, no pro-
gram is complete without the piano and almost everything musical over the radio utilizes the
shall miss him more than words can express."
piano. The piano is regarded so highlv and is used so continuously in radio that its use is an
incentive to continue in the study of piano playing and to excel in that art, and to perform
as well as main' of the broadcasters do.
* * * *
HARDMAN-
91 YEARS
of
Absolute Reliability
Manufactured by
HARDMAN, PECK & CO.
433 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y.
APOLLO-
An Apollo grand piano justly
carries with it a sincere pride of
ownership and will bring a lifetime
of both musical and decorative
enjoyment.
Sortie Valuable Territory Open Can
Now Be Secured
ADDRESS
APOLLO PIANO COMPANY
DE KALB, ILL.
In announcing a new location and better facilities for business a correspondent in a city
of about 40,000 inhabitants adds to his letter:
"Possibly you know of a good piano agencv for this territory."
The inquirv above, contained in a letter recently received at Presto-Times office, similar
to others that reach this paper, is printed here because it gives opportunity for a few words
about this and that sort of piano agency.
At first reading it seemed as if this correspondent had in mind to just get a piano agency,
but in following up correspondence with him it was revealed that he was seeking a piano that
would go "half and half" with him, as he put it. He had learned that just securing "an agency"
is quite a simple thing if one has the wherewithal to purchase a "sample" or two. Hut his chief
concern, he writes, was "where can I get a piano that will sell itself and make money for me?"
lie said that he is entirely conscious that no piano in existence will wholly and entirely "sell
itself" or make a customer without human aid; but he also had found that some pianos are
easier to sell and others are "hard to move." He cites the names of several pianos that would
be easier to sell by fifty percent than anv that he has ever handled.
This correspondent went on to point out certain interesting observations and conditions
linked with a piano agency. He said that, as for himself, he would "prefer an instrument not
too liberally 'agencied.' Two or three, even only one, active sales headquarters in the state
is preferable. Agencies in two adjoining counties often bring about price-cutting, unfair
competition and ill-feeling, while widely scattered agencies often work to advantage and
closely farmed out territory to disadvantage."
The correspondent, who seems to be quite a live wire in point of activity and observation,
further said that he favored, in many ways, the so-called "distributor's" plan of promoting
sales. "An agency for a piano, the sales management or ownership of which is in the hands of
a concern controlling branch houses or distribution centers, is greatly helped bv such relation-
ship. It these branch stores are owned or controlled by the parent house, a considerable pres-
tige and benefit may accrue to that piano; particularly does the advertising of the parent
house and its branches work to especial advantage. I am going to look into a piano agency
thus identified." Later reports from this correspondent indicate that he has been contacting
in the manner suggested.
EDITION OF
1933
PRESTO BUYERS' GUIDE
Contains Full Lists with Concise Classification and Description of all
American Pianos, Players and Reproducing Pianos, with Sketches of
Manufacturers. Essential to All Salesmen. Price 50cents, postpaid.
NO PIANO DEALER OR PROSPECT CAN AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT IT.
PRESTO PUBLISHING CO,
417 S. Dearborn St., CHICAGO
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).