The talking machine world (Oct-Dec 1921)

132 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD November 15, 1921 BIG HOLIDAY TRADE EXPECTED BY DEALERS IN BUFFALO Every Indication Points to This Conclusion — Talking Machine Men Attend Festival at Sharon — Association Banquet November 16 — New Stores and Changes — Trade Situation Analyzed Buffalo, N. Y., November 9. — A good holiday business is anticipated by Buffalo talking machine men. All signs point toward it, they say. The way trade has picked up recently fills them with optimism over the future. Throughout the Fall business conditions in Buffalo have been steadily improving. The volume of sales has constantly been on the up-grade. The employment situation here is very much improved, and the chances are that it will be still better as Christmastime draws near. Big plants are increasing their forces in large numbers. Dealers report that collections are better and that the demand for records has picked up. C. N. Andrews reported large advance orders for Victor records of various popular numbers, including "Ma," "Wabash Blues," "My Sunny Tennessee," "Tuck Me to Sleep in My Old 'Tucky Home" and "Secondhand Rose." The Columbia branch here tells of big sales of "Sunny Tennessee," "Ma," "Say It With Music" and "All by Myself," Ted Lewis' rendering of the last-named making an especial hit. The Brunswick dealers state that there is a strong demand for "Wabash Blues" and "Ma." Victor dealers here report a big demand for the new "30O" type of machine. They state that they are not able to supply this style fast enough, so strong is this demand. The manager of the local Brunswick branch informs The World that the three new console types are proving very popular in Buffalo. An interesting music festival was held the week of November 7 at the store of W. C. De Foreest & Sons, Sharon, Pa. This is the third festival of this kind, an annual affair, which has been held at the store. There were special days for various nearby cities in which the concern has stores — Warren, Sharon and Greenville, Pa., and Niles, O. Managers of the stores in these towns brought large delegations to the festival on these days. Some splendid Victrola concerts were among the features of the week. Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Andrews and C. M. Logan, traveling representative of the Victor Co., were visitors at this festival. The Kurtzmann music store, now located at Main and Goodell streets, will be moved into the Pierce Building as soon as that structure, now being erected, is completed. The new store will be a spacious one and much attention will be devoted to making it one of the finest talking machine departments in the city. This move gives the store a location further downtown. The Pierce Building is located in Main street, near Chippewa street, in a rapidly developing section. The Buffalo Talking Machine Dealers' Association will hold a banquet November 16 at the Ellicott Club. Final preparations are being made to have the dinner a monumental success and a large attendance is expected. At this dinner the name of the organization will be changed to the Victor Talking Machine Dealers' Association of Western New York. Another of the Landau music stores has been opened at Pittston, Pa. This is one of the finest stores in that section of the country. It is an exclusive Victor store. There are a large number of record booths. Charles Heinike, manager of the Victrola department of Denton, Cottier & Daniels, has been passing out cigars and receiving congratulations from his many friends. He is the proud father of a fine young son, his second. George F. Crossmire, of the Kane Furniture Co., of Kane, Pa., well known also as a talking machine dealer, died recently. He had been ill for about two years. He had many friends in the trade. The Stramburg Music House, at Jamestown, is being remodeled and enlarged. Elwin Glantz, formerly of Danielson's Music House, at Jamestown, will have charge of the Victrola department. Robert Porter, field sales manager of the Columbia Graphophone Co., was the principal speaker at an interesting sales conference, which was held at the Columbia branch in this city on November 1. When Mary Garden and Geraldine Farrar visited Buffalo recently many of the dealers found new business by featuring their records. A Columbia artist, Cyrena Van Gordon, was among those ■ here during the week of the American Music Festival, which was held October 3-8. Fritz Zimmerman, Swiss yodler, another Columbia artist, has been giving a number of concerts in the Buffalo territory recently. With the assistance of one of the company's educational representatives and Assistant Manager Peace, a Buffalo Columbia dealer was successful in securing a contract to place a goodsized number of Pushmobiles and Grafonolas in the Buffalo public schools for educational purposes. William Spalding & Co., Columbia dealers at Syracuse, have just completed the remodeling of their store, which includes a complete and upto-the-minute Van Veen installation of hearing rooms and equipment. AT AMERICAN LEGION CONVENTION Philadelphia, Pa., November 3. — L. Hammond Crabtree, assistant sales manager of the diaphragm department of the International Mica Co., of this city, attended the convention of the .'\merican Legion at Kansas City, Mo., held during the early part of this month. At the close of the convention Mr. Crabtree went to Chicago and worked his way back to headquarters in this city, calling upon the Middle Western talking machine manufacturers, and others, en route. Mr. Crabtree is taking up with the various manufacturers their requirements for 1922, in order that his company may know exactly how to approximate next year's possibilities in advance on account ofimportation from India. If your nose is on the grindstone of your own business it isn't in other folks', anyhow. It's not too late Last minute orders on Bubble Books get express service! Dealers whose stocks have run low — dealers who haven't a Bubble Book in the house — can order now and have a complete selling display for the buying weeks. Bubble Booics "that Sing nationally advertised — well made — a new low price. 3 big features, colored pictures, fairy stories and 3 phonograph records which sing the songs in the books. Your order today means a big Christmas sale that will continue throughout the year. "When You Sell One You Sell A Habit." Order now. HARPER & BROTHERS Bubble Book Division 130 West 42nd Street New York