The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1906)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. 57 TRADE NOTES FROM BOSTON, Business Continues Satisfactory — Some Difficulty in Getting Certain Goods — Language Study at Eastern Talking Machine Co.'s Store — Read & Read's New Store — Columbia's for Skating Rinks. (Special to the Talking Machine World.) Boston, Mass., Nov. 9, 1906. All the talking machine stores might well put out the sign, "Standing Room Only," business is so good this month. Both the jobbers and the retailers make the same report, and a glimpse of the number of customers on the floor proves it to be true. The chief trouble is, as it always has been, the inability to get goods from the factories, and especially now the VictorVictrola is the thing most demanded. It can't be had for love or money. "Crowded for room" is the cry at the Oliver Ditson store, where Manager F. W. Winkleman is pushing the Victor goods. "We could sell twentj^-flve Victrolas this month if we could only get them," he says. The Victor goods are the kingpins here, and Mr. Winkleman has formulated a system whereby each record is put into an envelope as soon as it is received from the factory, and remains in it until it reaches the customer's home. This saves all danger of its being scratched or marred, especially during shipment. At the Winchell Co.'s Summer street store a number of interior changes have been made. The business office has been transferred to the balcony, leaving more room for the display of goods. This company has recently secured the agency for the entire Regina line, and will be virtually the New England headquarters of this firm. A fine business is done here on the ZonopUone and on the Victor and Edison records and machines. At Houghton & Buttons, Manager Howe reports a phenomenal business, especially during the last three weeks when he says that he has done more business than in the three months previous. He has put in the Victor line and reports a great sale on the Edison records. A change is being made in the method of keeping records, the tray system being installed. At the Columbia Phonograph Co., Manager Blakeborough has made a change in the location of his office, which is a marked improvement in the general appearance of the store. He reports business as particularly good, and the number of customers in the store at the time the writer called was ample verification. Mr. Blakeborough is enthusiastic over the extended use of the Columbia phonographs in the various skating rinks of the New England States, in place of orchestras. He showed the writer a number of letters from skating rink managers, indorsing the phonograph as a medium for enlivening the rink and furnishing music for skaters. The fact that it is much cheaper than an orchestra is a great factor; in fact, one rink manager, who is also the manager of an orchestra, has displaced his own musicians by an instrument. Mr. Morse, of the wholesale department of the Columbia Co.. has been in Boston this week, looking over affairs at the local warerooms, A demonstration of the advantages of the talking machine in the study of foreign languages is to be made at the Eastern Talking Machine Co.'s store this week. Victor-Victrolas are a minus quantity here also, although a large number have been ordered. General Manager Taft declares that he has never known of the time when business was generally so good as at present, and he predicts that the talking machine is to be one of the greatest factors in commercial progress. A unique idea in window advertising was adopted recently by the Columbia Phonograph Co. The lower half of the window was covered with a white cloth, in which a peek-hole was cut, and over this was painted the words, "For Men Only." It was a sight to witness the crowd of men — almost a continuous line — who took turns in looking through this peek-hole, only to find confronting them, inside the window, a sign which read: "November Records For Sale Here Now." It made a hit along the street. The firm of Read & Read are preparing to remove to their new store on Essex street, opposite the big Siegel store, within a week. This will be a big improvement, as it is on the ground floor and is nice and light. Business here has increased greatly in the last month. CURIOUS AUXETEPHONE EXPERIMENT. A curious experiment was tried with an auxetephone in a New York wareroom recently. It is well known that when the bellows are not in operation, the tones die away and become very faint. A duet record was placed on the revolving table, and by shutting off the power at the proper moment, the effect of great distance between the singers was produced. Some of the hearers could not believe until proof was forthcoming that such was not the case, and some seemed to prefer the effect to the proper way in which the record should have been reproduced. A perfect echo effect was accomplished by using a record on which a line was repeated wholly or in part. "II Trovatore," Verdi's great opera, complete in twenty records, is among the latest offerings of the Victor Talking Machine Co. The records were made by the entire company of La Scala Theatre, Milan, Italy, and contain the entire opera from opening chorus to last act and finale. The new set of records has been advertised extensively and direct to the consumer, the retail price being $21.60 per set. J. R. Challen, inventor of the whisperphone attachment to the telephone, and an old-timer in the talking machine business, was in New York recently visiting the trade. Mr. Challen is now manager of the Philadelphia branch of Collier's Weekly. INCREASE YOUR RECORD BUSINESS THE TRAY SYSTEM FILLS THE LONG-FELT WANT Every dealer will readily see the advantages obtained by using this System of carrying records in stock. It is concise and appeals at once to the prospective customer. Every dealer using this System speaks in the highest terms of its convenience and selling power. By actual experience sells as many records as a first-class salesman, attractive looking stock than can be obtained by any other method. Sold to the trade in complete outfits, consisting of 1350 Trays and Labels for every Edison record listed in the Domestic catalogue. Makes a more m.....™b. boston cycle & SUNDRY COMPANY, ^ 84 Hanover Street, BOSTON, MASS