Scan 27
Musical Courier 1892-12-14: Vol 25 Iss 667, 1892
101 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 28. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1Another Wing Lie.
2THIS ridiculous card is found in the Austin, Tex., "Statesman" of Sunday, November 27, reproduced here verbatim:
4Public Notice.
5Hirelings of a certain piano dealer are instructed by the crop furnishers to use any kind of means, no matter how degrading, to run our pianos down. They also claim to be our state agents. We warn people to look out for these kind of swindlers. They do it because they do not possess any piano to compete with ours in quality and price and want to monopolize the piano trade for themselves to extort still higher prices. It is impossible for them to sell at such low figures as we do, as we sell a far better piano 50 per cent cheaper than they do. We invite visitors to New York to call at our lately enlarged factory, 245 Broadway, New York and see some of the finest kind of machinery wherewith the Wing & Son pianos are manufactured, with the latest patent rights, pronounced by the most eminent pianists and prominent parties, as, Mr. Edward Hoffman, (pianist), New York; Hollenberg's Musc Co., R. W. Green, of S. F. Green & Co., Bankers, Kune, Ills.; David's Musical Institute, Warren, O., and a good many others, is having no rival concerning touch, tone, key-action, durability and keeping in excellent tune. If you want to secure one of our elegant pianos go to Ed Pfeifer & Son of Austin, our general agents, who are practical piano-makers themselves. Respectfully,
6WING & SON,
7New York.
9For some time ago I bought a Wing & Son piano from Ed Pfeifer & Son of Austin. I had a notion to buy a Steinway piano, as it was recommended to me as the only best, but the low price of the Wing & Sons piano has defined me to get one. I must say that I possess an elegant piano in every respect, 50 per cent cheaper, which is the only difference I see, to my greatest pleasure.
10Mrs. F. C. Moore.
12The letter is too apparently the product of an ignorant person to need comment upon the comparison of a Steinway and a Wing piano. That in itself is funny. But it is not funny to see falsehoods printed over the signature of Wing & Son—falsehoods deliberately calculated to deceive the public of a city thousands of miles away. It should be known to the citizens of Austin, and the "Statesman" which prints the above card should counteract its effect by publishing the fact that Wing & Son are not manufacturers of pianos. They buy up cheap goods, upon which they put their name, and they have no factory in New York or anywhere else. Further, they have no interest in any piano factory, but merely buy their goods where they can obtain them for the least money.
14"We invite visitors to New York to call at our lately enlarged factory, 245 Broadway, New York, and see some of the finest kind of machinery wherewith the Wing & Son pianos are manufactured," &c. This is a lie made of whole cloth, and anyone who has purchased a Wing & Son piano under the representation that it was made by them in their so-called Broadway factory need not continue payment, on it, or if fully paid for can commence action for obtaining money under false pretenses. No. 245 Broadway is a large office building, in which the Wing Brothers occupy desk room in the rear part of a rear office. It is a place to operate from, nothing more. Their whole outfit consists of a couple of desks and chairs, a letter press and a small safe, in a 9×10 portion of someone else's office. The Austin papers should join in exposing such a swindle.
16Some Indian Stories.
17ATLANTA, Ga., November 30.
18AMONG the large number of Indians that have visited this city during the past month has been the rotund form of our friend C. L. Ament, who was with us last week. He had his usual concert grand smile with him and his usual number of marvelous sales that have made him famous among the piano salesmen of the South, and given him the reputation of being somewhat of a rainbow chaser with the truth; all good naturally, of course.
20Ament had just got off a particularly sky blue story of a sale he had made in Tennessee, when he was interrupted with the assertion by one of the Indians present that he had kept "tab" on the number of sales he had been telling about during the past 30 days, and that of these 53 sales he had in every instance received a check, and that in no case had he received any cash. It was suggested by another Indian present that probably all Ament's customers had bank accounts and that he would not talk piano to anyone who had not. Still another member of the tribe then proceeded to relate a story Ament had told in Macon, in which Ament had said he had the old woman all right, but that he could not crowd the old man to the point of giving him a check for the instrument, and as it was to be all cash he was particularly anxious to close the trade before he left the house.
22"You see," said Ament, "I knew I had to rush the thing through, and when I did get the old man down to giving me a check, I did not have time to hunt up pen and ink, so I just had him make it out with a pencil. I was in such a hurry to get away and get the check cashed before the old man changed his mind that I forgot to blot it, and in folding it up the ink all blurred and it wasn't worth a d——n when I presented it at the bank. I tell you, boys, it don't do to get excited."
24Another good one comes to me from New Orleans, and has to do with the organ business. No cleverer Indians are on the road than Gilbert Smith, of the Kimball Company, and Will Price, of the Farrand & Votey Company. They are great friends and whenever it is possible they travel together. Last month they both entered New Orleans and made tracks for Werlein's, where their respective lines are handled, visions of large orders flitting through their minds. They were greeted with the information that the house had carried off the honors at the Shreveport fair, and they were shown a Farrand & Votey organ covered with blue ribbon. Price was rather rubbing it in on Smith, when that individual asked where the Kimball was "at" during all this circus business.
26"Oh, we sold the one we had there for cash, and there was a freight bill of $13.65 on the Farrand & Votey when it came back with the blue ribbon." Price never recovered fully until after the election.
28Gilbert Smith is something of a wit, and his dry sayings often cause a great deal of amusement among the Indians. The question of who should get the advantage of excursion and cut rates, the house or the traveling man, came up the other day, when Mr. Crew, of the Phillips & Crew Company asked:
30"Gilbert, who do you think ought to get the advantage?"
32"Oh," replied Gilbert, "I'm not at all interested in that. The only thing I am concerned in is keeping the money from the railroads and circulating real lively in the music trade."
34The following program was rendered at the Y. M. C. A. Hall, Atlanta, Tuesday night, November 29, to a large and appreciative audience. Miss McGill was prevented from appearing owing to a severe cold, which was a disappointment, as she had made a very favorable impression here before. Miss Pomeroy made a hit, as did Mr. Blumenfeld and Mr. Burbank:
36Violin solo—
37Romanze in F………………………………………Vieuxtemps
38Mazurka No. 1………………………………………Wieniawski
39Mr. Natorp Blumenfeld.
40Soprano solo, cavatine from "Romeo and Juliet"………….Bellini
41Miss Alice McGill.
42Piano solo, sonate op. 7………………………………………Grieg
43Allegro moderato………………………………………Menuetto.
44Andante molto………………………………………Finale.
45Miss Mae Pomeroy.
46Violin solo, "Trovatore-Fantasie"………………………..Verdi
47Master Isaac Lieberman.
48Baritone solo, "Oh! Promise Me"………………………..De Koven
49Mr. Sam Burbank.
50Violin solo—
51Intermezzo sinfonico from "Cavalleria Rusticana"……..Mascagni
52Serenata……………………………………………..Moszkowski
53Hungarian dance, No. 21……………………………….Brahms-Joachim
54Mr. Natorp Blumenfeld.
55Piano solo—
56Chasseresse…………………………………………..Sternberg
57Le Papillon……………………………………………Lavalle
58Miss Mae Pomeroy.
59Soprano solo, "Doris," with violin obligato…………………Nevins
60Miss Alice McGill.
61Violin…………………………………………………Mr. Natorp Blumenfeld
62The Knabe concert grand has been kindly loaned by the Phillips & Crew Company.
63WM. GEPPERT.
65Bad Piano Man.
66INDEPENDENCE, Mo., November 20, 1892.
67THIS usually quiet little city was most thoroughly worked up this morning on account of a sensational attack made on a well-known man by a woman with a blacksnake whip. The man was T. I. Volrath, a piano tuner. The woman who held him was his wife, and the woman who wielded the whip with such effect was Mrs. Wasson, wife of Dr. Wasson. Dr. Wasson and wife and Volrath and wife at one time lived in the same house. Mrs. Wasson said when she began to use the whip: "I'll learn you to talk about me!" She then reversed the whip and beat him in the face until bystanders separated them. Volrath is a Russian by birth and spent last year in his native land. He is a well educated man and has held several positions of profit. He is badly bruised and complains of internal pain. Mrs. Wasson was arrested and was sent to jail for one day. She charges Volrath with having insulted her.—St. Louis "Globe-Democrat."
69SUPPORT THE ASSOCIATION.
70IF the dealers in small towns and in cities other than New York imagine that they alone suffer from the tramp tuner they need only glance at the following from the pen of Mr. E. E. Todd, secretary of the Tuners' Association in New York, to see that this city is as much pestered as any by worthless fellows who impose upon the credulity and ignorance of the general public in the matter of piano care. The instance is only one of many, and there are to-day scores of just such men, who travel about under false pretenses and make a living by their wits.
72Whenever this man does a job which he has obtained under the pretense of recommendation by any one of the firms whose names ornament his card he does an injury to that one—an injury which they cannot trace, but which may turn many a future sale against them.
74Manufacturers should support the Tuners' Association. They should give it their indorsement and practical aid. It can but benefit them in every way, and a little help now, when a few earnest men are endeavoring to establish and maintain the legitimacy of their calling, will be appreciated and will redound to the benefit of all concerned—and those concerned are the makers, sellers and tuners of pianos.
76This is Mr. Todd's story.
78ORDERS PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. FIRST-CLASS WORK WARRANTED.
80S. A. Brissman,
81Professional Piano Tuner.
83REFERENCES.
84PIANO AND ORGAN TUNERS' ASSOCIATION,
85HARDMAN PIANO WAREROOMS,
86EMERSON
87DECKER BROS.
88HALL & DAVIS,
89HORACE WATERS,
90SCHLEICHER & SONS
91NEW YORK CITY.
93Pianos and Organs Tuned and Repaired.
94Bargains in New and Second-Hand Pianos and Organs.
96New York:
97"The above card fell into the hands of Secretary Todd, of the Tuners' Association, who at once scented fraud. He began investigations, with the following results:
98"At the Hardman warerooms he was authorized to quote them as saying, 'Brissman has no authority to use our name in any way.' At the Emerson warerooms he was told, 'You can quote us as saying that Brissman has no permission to refer to us. He worked for us a short time, but we should hesitate to recommend him.' Horace Waters & Co. say, 'Quote us as saying that Brissman has no right whatever to use our name in any way. He did a little outside work for us covering a period of about one month. We do not indorse him.' At Decker Brothers, Brissman was unknown, but the books were examined for twenty years back, which brought out the fact that he was never in their employ. Brissman's use of their name is pure impudence.
99"Wm. F. Tway, of the Hallet & Davis Company, says, 'Brissman worked for me some time. I lately discharged him for cause. He is a fair wareroom tuner on new pianos, but on general outside work where repairs might be necessary he is not in it. He has no permission to use my name for reference.'
100"Brissman wrote me March 31, saying, 'Please use my name as member of the Tuners' Association.' This is as near as he ever came to being a member. He has attended none of the meetings, has not paid one cent for initiation or dues, and is not a member."
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