The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1912)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD, 43 THE EXHIBITS AT THE JOBBERS' CONVENTION. (Special to The Talking Machine World.) Atlantic City, N. J., July 5, 1912. The annual gathering of talking machine jobbers from all sections of the country under one loof, and the opportunity thus presented for the manufacturers and agents for appliances to display their wares with a minimum of effort and with a maximum of result, was fully appreciated by the members of the latter fraternity, and the short hall leading from the lobby of the hotel to the meeting room of the association was filled with samples of cabinets, automatic stops, needles, etc., and other things that add to the convenience and pleasure of the talking machine owner, and incidentally bring profit to jobber and the ..dealer. Clement Beecroft a Busy Man. One of those early on the ground with enough lines to keep him very busy was Clement Beecroft, who has a host of friends among the jobbers, having been connected with the trade for a number of years in various capacities, and who was displaying and representing the excellent line of needles made by W. H. Bagshaw, Lowell, Mass., which under the trade-marked name of "Duplexetone" have attained wide vogue among the trade and the public; the products of the George A. Long Cabinet Co., Hanover, Pa., with their several interesting features, Mr. Long being present to aid Mr. Beecroft. The Long cabinets have appealed to the trade owing to their salable qualities, their finish and general attractiveness proving a strong inducement to the talking machine owner. The cabinets are made to harmonize with the various styles of machines and the interiors are fitted up along approved lines for both disc and cylinder records. The cabinets alone took up the greater part of Mr. Beecroft's time. He was also displaying the new line of record envelopes of special form made by Wolf Bros., Philadelphia. The Elaborate Display of Pooley Cabinets. There were also shown in one of the suites at the Chalfonte the complete and elaborate line of cabinets made by the Pooley Furniture Co., Philadelphia, . Pa., with the ever-popular and always versatile H. M. McMenimen, very much on the job to display their strong points and original features. The Pooley line has already found an excellent foothold in the trade and there were few jobbers who had not seen at least one of the styles. The automatic arrangement for picking out the record desired by simply pressing a small lever smacked of enchantment until the process was explained and its simplicity and general convenience demonstrated. What has been a prime factor in gaining fame for the Pooley cabinets is the finish that is applied to each piece. As an outsider remarked, "The Pooley Co. couldn't make a poorly finished cabinet if they wanted to, for their years of experience in furniture manufacturing has shown them what first-class work means." The Pooley line includes a variety of cabinets suited to practically every purpose and of a class that makes them lit in with the furnishings of most sumptuous apartments. A Device That Starts as Well as Stops. Of the four automatic stopping devices displayed the Simplex start and stop device, manufactured by the Standard Gramophone Appliance Co., for which the Talking Machine Supply Co., New York, is sole sales agent, was the only one that both started and stopped the machine, and a great many of the jobbers visited the exhibit of the device in operation in one of the upper rooms of the hotel. The Simplex bears out its name and is far from being complicated either in construction or operation. The Simplex brake is attached to the cabinet of the machine by two screws and does not interfere in any way with the permanent parts of the machine except when it is in actual operation and is stopping the turntable. Bringing the tone arm over to the starting point of the record automatically starts it, while the tone arm striking the other side of the device releases the trigger operating the stopping brake. It is handsome in appearance and effective in operation. The exhibit was in charge of Max Landay and Thomas W. Kirkman, the inventor of the device. The Condon-Autostop on Exhibition. Another automatic stop, more generally known to the trade, was the Condon-Autostop, manufactured by the Condon-Autostop Co., New York. The Condon stop has been on the market for some time and has been tried out thoroughly by the trade and the public. A special room was secured for the display at the exhibition of the stop at the convention, and those in attendance were William A. Condon, treasurer of the company; E. T. Condon, vice-president; Harry P. Carlton, Chicago representative of the company, and Scott Sinclair, New York representative. The exhibit was visited by a great number of the jobbers, the majority of whom were familiar with the device, and in view of the character of the gathering an excellent volume of orders was booked. The Condon-Autostop is fitted to the pivot in the center of the turntable and over the record, and operated to stop the machine by tripping the needle at the last line and checking its progress. Efficiency of the Alto Brake. A new brake of original and clever design was that shown by the Alto Sales Co., San Francisco, the chief feature of which was that it need not be regulated to operate properly with the different sizes cf records, but was made effective simply through placing the tracer at any desirable point of the record. When the tracer reaches the last line it is struck by the needle and releases a trigger which sets the brake in operation. In this instance the record is stopped through the pressure of a felt-covered foot which depends from the tone arm and strikes the surface of the record instead of the side of the turntable. The brake mechanism is fitted to the tone arm near the sound box and is so well balanced that it increases the pressure of the needle in the record to an extent that is practically incalculable. A scale weighing to the eighth of an ounce could not register the added pressure. The Alto brake exhibit was in charge of W. L. Weinmann and W. T. Ellis, both of San Francisco, in which city the brake has made a decided impression. A factory will be opened in New York and orders sent in by telegram to California will be paid by the company and repeated by wire to New York, thus saving time. Electric Stop Attracts Attention. The only automatic brake operated by electricity was the "Sesco" electric stop, manufactured by the Standard Electric Stop Co., of Philadelphia. A contact point is fastened to a special arm, which is set at the last line on the record. Another contact point is placed on the tone-arm, and when the two points touch as the needle reaches the last line a circuit is completed and an electro magnet releases the brake. The "Sesco" equipment is very attractive in appearance and the extra contact arm and the brake itself are all that show above the cabinet. The brake is operated by means of dry batteries, which are placed in the lower part of the cabinet itself. The "Sesco" brake exhibit attracted much more than passing interest from those in attendance at the convention, and was in charge of Joseph H. Potsdamer, who was, by the way, a clever demonstrator. The Udell Veteran Proves Welcome. A gentleman whose presence was heartily welcomed by the jobbers in both a personal and a business sense was Daniel G. Williams, the veteran representative of the Udell Works, Indianapolis, Ind., manufacturers of talking machine record and piano player music roll cabinets of quality. Mr. Williams was probably taking orders for cabinets before many, perhaps the majority of the jobbers, had been weaned, for as a rule they are a youthful bunch, but nevertheless he has lost none of his vitality or salesmanship ability and is well able to uphold the Udell products against the field. Mr. Williams did not have a line on exhibition at the convention, but contented himself with the usual portfolio of photographs of the new and the older accepted styles of cabinets, feeling that there would be no question regarding the finish of general quality. Judging from the number of times the portfolio made its appearance and the interest apparently manifested, the Udell Works received some goodly orders 'in the early mails. Cabinets from Saginaw. A less familiar but to all appearances excellent line of record cabinets was that of the Opportunity Manufacturing Co., Saginaw, Mich., which was displayed by D. H. Moore, who has several styles placed in a passage off the lobby of the hotel and others in one of the rooms. The feature of the Opportunity cabinets was that they were shown in the rough in order that they might be finished to meet the individual requirements of the jobber and dealer. M. A. Carpell and the Herzog Line. Still another veteran line of cabinets was shown by M. A. Carpell, the prominent and popular Eastern sales manager of the Herzog Furniture Co., Saginaw, Mich., and the Saginaw Table & Cabinet Co. Mr. Carpell also considered the qualities of his line as being so well recognized that samples of the actual goods would prove superfluous, and consequently appeared on the ground armed only with a portfolio of photographs showing the styles with ample descriptions and an ample order book. The Herzog people have shown an excellent understanding of the needs of the talking machine trade and have built up their line of cabinets from the viewpoint of the man who has to sell them instead of following their own ideas exclusively. Mr. Carpell's personal understanding of the importance of the cabinet and what it must represent was well set forth in his address at the open meeting of the association on Tuesday afternoon. Puritone Needles Make Many Friends. Among the prominent line of needles represented were the "Puritone" needles manufactured by John M. Dean, Putnam, Conn., who was represented on the ground by J. T. Collins, a young man who has spent a number of years in the talking machine trade in various capacities and knows about what is required by the jobbers and dealers. The jobbers were not asked to take the statements made regarding the Puritone needles at their face value, but were presented with sample boxes containing a thousand of assorted styles for various tones. A Novel Form of Needle. Another novelty that attracted much attention was the new needle offered by the Bell-Hood Needle Co., of New Haven, Conn. This needle was particularly original in design and had fastened to it about half way from the point a tiny brass bell with the mouth of the bell pointed downward and toward the record. It was claimed for the Bell-Hood needles that they succeeded in capturing many of the tonal effects that were usually lost while close to the surface of the record and carried them to the soundbox through the needle itself. While the jobbers were in session the representatives of the supply houses held little informal meetings among themselves on the outside, where they discussed various trade questions and general matters of interest. It was. suggested that they form an association on their own account, but no one would volunteer to act as president.