Presto

PRESTO-TI MES
other outstanding Rotarians from various
parts of the world and his election at the con-
vention of Rotary International to be held at
Atlantic City will be greatly desired.
The building at 329 S. Wabash avenue. Chi-
cago, which has been the home of Wurlitzer
for more than a quarter of a century and which
was one of the structures of the Wurlitzer
building projects during the super-boom days
of Wurlitzer and a dozen other music trade
and industrial concerns. This five-story build-
ing will be laid low as rapidly as workmen
can tear it down and the lot on which it now
stands will be added to an automobile parking
gound which now extends south to Van Bu-
ren street. The removal of Wurlitzer to 109-11
Wabash leaves Bakhvin, next door north;
Adam Schaaf and Cable Piano Company at
the corner of Wabash and Jackson Blvd.. the
three sole piano houses on the east side of the
street in that block.
John Eshelby, manager of the London house
of Steinway & Sons, and Theodore Ehrlich,
factory manager of Steinway at Hamburg,
who came to New York for a conference with
the Board of Directors of Steinway & Sons,
could not remain long in this country, in fact
they had to return to their posts of duty im-
mediately after the directors' meeting and
conferences. They regretted exceedingly that
they could not visit other cities, especially Chi-
cago, where they have many friends and per-
sonal acquaintances.
The Eshelbys have figured prominently in
the activities of Steinway abroad for a long
time. John Eshelby, the manager at London,
was the assistant manager when William R.
Steinway was at London, before he went to
Hamburg to make his headquarters. The late
George W. Eshelby was manager from 1912 to
1921. There are also two of the Eshelby boys
at the Hamburg factory. Mr. John Eshelby,
the London manager, made a flying trip
through the United States in 1928.
Charles M. Stieff, Baltimore, carries a well-
worded and well displayed advertisement
showing a Stieff concert grand attractively
priced, but immediately following the adver-
tisement is a notice marked "Special: A Stein-
way used upright at $165.00." Apparently this
price attached to a Steinway piano, although
the instrument must be a dozen or more years
old, possibly a score of years, indicates the
tremendous pull of the Steinway name.
The plan accepted by the National Association
of Piano Manufacturers as submitted by Law-
rence H. Selz, Chicago, provides a line of pub-
licity to be reached through the columns of news-
March-April, 1936
throughout the country given in connection with the Selz cooperation was fully
up to expectations. It was shown that in January 101 clippings were sent in, 145
in February, and that an extent of reading matter space used in January showed
that over 850 inches was reported and in February nearly 1,900 inches. This pub-
licity embraced publication scattered far and wide all over the country and many
illustrations and reproductions of photographs appeared in daily and weekly news-
papers and in several National monthly magazines.
L. P. Bull of the Story & Clark Piano Co., Western member of the executive
committee of the Piano Manufacturers Association, was gratified at the results
of the work of the Selz organization in spreading music publicity relative to the
piano. Some of this newspaper publicity has embraced entire pages of newspapers
and much column matter.
* * *
Interest in music lagging? Take a stroll through the main floor of the great
Lyon & Healy establishment at Wabash Avenue and Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
any day, especially on a Saturday, and observe the mass of customers and onlook-
ers passing to and fro, and observe carefully the groups of teachers, students, ama-
teurs, collecting music. Take advantage of a delightful occasion like this and the
onlooker will join this writer in reply to the inquiry by repeating the refrain, "No,
No, a Thousand Times No"; interest in music is not lagging.
A peculiarly anomalous condition exists in the music industries just now, par-
ticularly as regards piano and band instrument manufacture in that, while strenu-
ous activity prevails in some places, no perceptible improvement is shown with
others. Some of the more fortunate piano factories, for instance, have been gain-
ing steadily for a year or more past and show marked increases even in the snow
blocade months of January and February this year. With several factories the gain
is continuing week by week in current output, a condition which, if it keeps up as it
probably will do, we can enjoy a trade like that existing before the late so-called
depression.
papers, national magazines, trade and class
publications.
This publicity means stories,
articles about the piano and tbe advantages of
being able to play the piano. It will tell of the
advisability of having a child seeking a well-
rounded education learn to play the piano.
After this, articles and terns will be supplied
the press with stories on the piano as a piece of
furniture and stories of the piano manufacturing
industry itself.
An Authority on Piano Values Com-
pliments the Gulbransen
K. H. Droop, secretary, E. F. Droop & Sons Com-
pany, one of the "Real Quality' music houses of the
country, in writing about recent special piano sales
going on at their store says this of the Gulbransen
piano which they have been handling for several years
past. Here is what Mr. Droop writes: "In conclu-
sion and speaking of our Chicago piano agency, wish
to inform you that we have been doing a splendid
business with the little Gulbransen upright and with
their small grand piano. During the years that we
have handled the Gulbransen we have found them
very reliable and excellent values throughout."
Disastrous Grinnell Bros. Fire at
Ypsilanti
The Ypsilanti, Mich., store of the Grinnell Bros, was
damaged by tire and water to the extent of about $30,-
000 on Sunday. March 8. The tire burned out the first
floor and ruined everything in the basement. Twenty
large pianos were spoiled by water, as well as the
stock of radios, phonographs, small musical instru-
ments and merchandise. It was the first big fire at
Ypsilanti in ten years. Mr. Rapp, general manager
at the Detroit store, was at Ypsilanti checking up on
the loss, damage, etc.
Various improvements have been recently made
to the McGinnis Piano Company's store located at
number 17 Eighth Street South, Minneapolis. The
double store front has been entirely remodelled and
new piano salons added to the salesrooms. Mr. L. A.
Dunaway. who was recently appointed sales manager
of the piano department, has been identified with the
piano business in managerial and promotional capacity
in and about the Twin Cities for upward of thirty
years. M r. Dunaway says that here is a marked in-
crease in piano interest and sales and that 1936 will
show continued improvement.
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/