The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1910)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. S3 QUAKER CITY HAPPENINGS. Business Exceptionally Good — Opera Season Has Helped High Class Trade — Many Dealers Find Difficulty in Getting High Priced Machines and Records — The Reports Made by the Leading Houses Are Most Encouraging and Prove That Philadelphia Is a "Live" Talking Machine City. (Special to The Talking Machine World.) Philadelphia, Pa., April 10, 1910. The talking machine business in Philadelphia, in spite of the general conditions that may exist in other lines, has been exceptionally good all through March. The latter end of the month there was a slight falling off, but not to any great extent, and was more due to the actual conditions of the period than any other reason. It got warm suddenly, people began preparing for spring, the Easter excitement upset things slightly, and from all this there will no doubt be a speedy recovery, and already the firms have evidence that April is going to be a very satis factory month. The musical season in Philadelphia closed with the end of the Hammerstein opera season, and it was one of the most active in the history of music in Philadelphia. Naturally all this will tend to help the talking machine business. Each season of the opera the patrons make new favorites, and when they have passed out their friends want to retain the pleasure of their voices, and will resort to the talking machine to do this. It is for this very reason that the talking machine dealer wil{ tell you that the operatic records are having an increased sale. Louis Buehn & Bro. report that their business in March, particularly the first part, was exceptionally good. And even although the last two weeks were not up to the first two, the month shows a healthy increase. The firm have just gotten in a number of new Edison Amberolas, which their patrons say are the best toned and the best finished they have ever offered. They have also been having a heavy sale on cabinets, and as to records, the demand for the disc and cylinder records have about evened up. Among the out-of-town visitors here this week were Fred Kramer, of Allentown, and William Warner, of Easton, Pa. Edward Buehn started on Thursday of last week on his first April trip through the southern part of the State and Maryland, and has been sending in some good orders. He reports that he has found conditions in that section most satisfactory. The two new Edison special records, "Cubanola Glide" and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," have been selling very well with the Buehn firm. At the end of last week there were a number of representatives of the National Phonograph in Philadelphia, William Pelzer, Frank Madison, Frank Stanton, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Pike. The object of their visit was a legal proceeding in which they were attempting to restrain Mr. Weinberg, a Kensington avenue talking machine dealer, from selling second-hand Edison records at cut prices, as it is alleged he has been doing. The hearing was in the United States Circuit Court, and a decision in the matter will no doubt be rendered very shortly. Through some source or other, it was alleged that the Kensington dealer was able to obtain some records, in many instances of the very latest, which he would offer at cut prices. The Penn Phonograph Co. report that their March business was excellent, and that the chief difficulty they experienced is not in selling goods but the difficulty they had in securing them. They have been having very great trouble in securing sufficient stock to fill orders, and they believe they would have been able to have done even more business had they been able to get the instruments. They say that as a matter of fact they have not received one order for records which they could fill complete. They do not complain particularly over these conditions, for they say that the demand has been so great at both factories that they have been unable to get out the instruments fast enough, even by working day and night. They find the condition of affairs to be worse than it was during the Christmas rush. This same trouble of scarcity of goods is noted by the manager of the Heppe department. They also claim that their demand is considerably greater than their supply, and that they have been forced to lose business for this reason. D. D. O'Neill, in charge of the Heppe department, was away several days last week in the northern part of the State, where he was calling on their dealers, all of whom reported that they were looking for a very heavy business for the next few months. In March they had the biggest month they ever had in a wholesale way. They are looking to enlarging their department considerably in the nex~t few months. In spite of the different enlargements that have been made of their department in the past few years they are still handicapped for want of space. In their talking machine department they devote considerable space to a line of small musical instruments, such as violins, cornets, etc. They have a fairly good business on these instruments, but have never properly pushed them, and they are thinking some of abandoning that department entirely and devoting the space it now occupies to still further enlarging their talking machine space. They have not completed their talking machine salesrooms on the fourth floor and will not do so until fall. These two rooms they were going to furnish as a smoking room, mostly for male customers who might want to enjoy a smoke while they were hearing records. They do not believe they will have much use for it during the summer, and in consequence will not hurry its completion. The Heppes, as well as their customers, think very well of the new attachment gotten out by the National Co. It is an attachment to play the Amberol records. They are advocating it very strongly to their customers. The Columbia Phonograph Co. have the same report to make as the other large firms, that THE NEW IDEA Combination Disc Record Cabinet vie .-TOR top A unique and practical cabinet with ngeable cover to fit and match Victor III, IV, V or VI. Dealers who handle ew Idea Cabinet need carry but one wo in stock, and with extra tops, at a small expense, be in a position to pply customers with a cabinet for any Victor Machine. A Jobber with ten New Idea Cabinets and a few extra tops, will be able to fill orders more promptly than he is to-day with a stock of 1 00 of the present style Disc Cabinets. The New Idea Cabinet holds 180 10-in. or 12-in. RecordsThere are twelve sliding files with indexed interiors, each holding fifteen records. Files are wood faced and finished to match cabinet, oak or Mahogany. Sold through the Jobbing Trade only. Write for Catalog and Prices NEW IDEA CABINET COMPANY 441-443 National Ave., Milwaukee, Wis.