The Rugby gazette and east Tennessee news. (Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn.) 1884-188?, 1885-04-18
PAWN SHOP STOCK.


Family Bibles Como From-Some Musl-
cal Relics OF the War.
There are seventy-one pawnbrokcrs
In Philadelphia and one hundred and
ten secondhand clothes-dealers. In
the window of every one Of these stores
are displayed one or more banjos, vio-
Inns and comets. Besides these musi-
cal instruments no pawnbroker's or
secondhand clothes-dealer's store
window appears to be complete without
an ACCORDION, large family-bible and
two OF three boxes of mathematical in
strumcnts.' None OF these articles are
ever of the best material or workman
ship, and they all appear to be new, or
nearly SO. where do they all come
fromp" said a reporter to Winfield
Radcliff yesterday. He replied:
81 can tell you something about the
comets and the banjos. The comets
are relics of the war. No. they were
not picked up on the field of battle; in
deed, 1t is probable that they were new
er favored with powder and never got
nearer to call to arms OF an order to
fix bayonets and charge than hall
over some saloon in the city, This is
how it was: During the war every man
who could play an instrument was i'm
bued with the idea of forming a band to
lead conquering Northern regiment
through the South. One-fifth of these
patriots went out, and others didn't.
Their comets and other wind instru-
ments were left on their hands, and be-
ing only of cheap description origi-
nally, they could only find market in
the pawn-shop Not that the things
were bought. by the brokers. We don't
buy things of that sort They were left
| and never redeemed, because the would
be trumpeters did not mean to redeem
them. The banjos come to us in SIM
liar way. AT certain period in the life
Of nearly every young man the desire
to be variety actor or a minstrel
comes on very strong. The banjo is
supposed to be the appropriate iDstru-
ment to start with.
1.-TWO or three months is sufficient
to drive sill the neighbors mad and to
cure the variety stage struck youth of
his mania. The pawnbroker offers the
only way Of getting rid of the now OBJ
noxious banjo. OF course il is never
redeemed. There has been craze fol
boxing-gloves among the young men OF
this city for the past two or thee years
that is, ever since John L. Sullivan
made such reputation. These young
fellows have bout or two, get severe.
| ly punched in the face two or three
times, and grow tired of the mittens
Uncle comes in useful again, and
numerous pairs Of the padded sparring
apparatus appear in the window of
the pawnbrokers' stores.
with the violins it is different.
These instruments are made wholesale.
They are turned out of factories by the
dozen, made on regular pattern, all
alike. Sometimes there happens to be
fairly good one among them, and it is
| placed in the store of music-dealcr;
the others are left with pawnbrokers
and secondhand dealers, who receive a
commission on their sale. There is a
large factory of these violins on Edge
ware road, London, Eng. don't know
the name of the firm, but they turn out
thousands annually and send large num-
bers over to this country. Dyes, there
are such firms in this country. One
way by which these musical instruments
come into our hands is by our buying
up bankrupt stocks. don't see much
use of doing so, however, for they only
represent capital invested and interest
lost. We very seldom get rid of them
except at the auction sales, when we sci
our unredeemed pledges. Then they
90 into the country, and if every pur
chaser of banjo, cornet, or ACCORDION
learns to play the number Of budding
musicians in the United States must be
unaccountable. Lots of them must b,
like the violin, born to blush unseer
and waste its sweetness on the deser
air."
| "How do the second hand stores ge
hold of the Instruments"
| ''Oh, they buy them at our sales o
unredeemed pledges. They are deat
stock to them, but they serve to orna
ment window and attract passers-by
l dare say they manage to sell some o
them, too. Sailors are great people TO
buying musical instruments. Whel
Jack is starting on cruise he will bu,
q banjo or an ACCORDION to play in hi
leisure hours. a~t
II nevec heard sailor play any
thing, but I bet they get some fun on
of their purchases. Farm laborer
have great notion of being musica
geniuses, too. Market days are goot
days to get rid of the snide banjos ant
violins. But there is an instrumen
which has become great favorite O
late years, which imagine has sounded
the death-note of the cheap banjo an,
ACCORDION. l mean the orguinette
Anybody can play that. 1t requires nj
learning and is not very expensive. AL
that you have to do is to slip in per
forated sheet of paper, something like
weaver's pattern-card, turn handl
and there you are. The harmoniun
was great enemy to the banjo, but
; cost too much money and required
lot of carting about.
"Well, how about the big family Bi
blesP What does q pawnbroker wan
with them?"
You'd be astonished at the numbe
sold. A wave of revival meetings i
all that is necessary to create regula
: boom in family Bibles. They are opene
half dozen times. the name and birth
!. days of the family inscribed in them
and back they come to US. From u
: they always go to the second ham