St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-15
FIVE HUNDRED OF THEM GO TO
THE BOTTOM WITH A
CRASH.
IN THEIR MAKERS HANDS.
Z
ONE HUNDRED OF THEM TO BE
EXECUTED AT ST.
PAUL. 4
ing Ever Attempted by
One Man. !

lne purchase OIL a DlanO, L nave Il Slate-
ment extraordinary to make, and one
that l believe, has never heretofore
| been made by any other Piano manu-
! facturer in the United States; but as
| a preface to which announcement, eX-
| planning our position in the matter, and
| in justification of the remarkable fig
| ures l shall herein quote, wish first
| to briefly here state:
That owing to the hard times, most
Piano manufacturers, anticipating an
| off year in the Piano trade, curtailed
! their factory output for the year-'95,
about one-third-some sas much as one
half-rather than take chances on a
surplus to be carried over, thereby tie
ing up capital, or to be forced to cut
prices below living profit in order to
place them on the market. But the w.
w. Kimball Company, Piano manu-
facturerS, Chicago, and whom l repre-
sent, have never taken a step back
ward in the Piano manufacturing busi-
! ness, and the 31st day of December will
find that we have built eight thousand
Pianos in the year 1895, and which is
an increase of two thousand over the
year previous. Not man has worked
short hours at the Kimball factory this
year, nor has there been man laid off.
We preferred the factory running in
full force with every one of our seven
hundred skilled mechanics at his post,
thereby leaving us prepared to meet
the increased demand for Pianos that
is bound to come with the reaction in
trade, even though we had a surplus at
the end of the year, of half the factory
nttt, NI,4 t., E,11 @r,ts
mated surplus stock on hand for the
year 1895 of some five hundred Pianos,
or about per cent of the annual
product. Now here comes the "rub.''
1t has been somewhat of problem
with us, and hard one to solve, just
what to do with these five hundred eX-
ira pianos, or how to dispose of them
with the least possible loss to ourselves,
and least injury to our three hundred
or more agents throughout the United
States.
Should we, as manufacturers, sell
these five hundred surplus pianos to our
agents at the cost to build them, or any
other cut price below the present
wholesale figure, they would forever.
after expect us to supply them att the.
same price. even though they knew we
didn't make a cent. So we see clearly
it won't do to sacrifice them to our es--
tablished agencies, and to do so, or: tn
make cut to dealers who are not our.
regular agents, would be unfair to
those who are. So the company have
decided to dispose of these five hundred
instruments at retail themselves, in
cities where we have no regular local
agent to protect on prices, and where,
in order to dispose of them quickly.
they might be offered at any sacrifice
we saw fit, without interfering with
our regular prices or agencies else
where.
Five cities have been selected in
which to dispose of the entire surplus
st. Paul has been favored as one e6of
these, and to which has been shipped
one hundred as fine and beautiful New
Scale KimbalI Pianos as money and
skill can produce.
Mr.. A. E. Whitney, of this city, who
had been our local agent here for ten
years past, and who closed out his re-
tail business here a year ago last
March, for the purpose of becoming our
salaried special wholesale agent for
Minnesota, has kept for some months
past small sample stock Of our in
struments on sale here, but as Mr..
Whitney draws a yearly salary from
our company, the sacrificing of a hum
dred pianos here at this time, will in no
way interfere with his interests, which
therefore leaves st. Paul open to US
as one of the cities for sacrifice sale
of this kind, without injuring the
future prospects of a local agent on
our line of goods.
L being the head outside man, and
general wholesale agent of the COM
pany, have been detailed to personally
dispose of the entire years surplus Of
500 Pianos at retail,by the first day of
February-practially but six weeks
can it be done?
1t can! and in pursuance of which
undertaking I wish to make the follow
ing frank statement:
I have been with the W. w. Kimball
company from boyhood, now nineteen
years, and have never so far failed to
perform any duty imposed upon me.
To fail in this, would mean much to
me-more than words can express
and to succeed in this phenomenal un-
dertaking, of selling and delivering
five hundred pianos in six weeks, would
mean the right man in an emergency.
They shall be sold!
Six days is all the time I can devote
to the st. Paul sale, and while 1 regret
exceedingly to make such low figures,
or open cut on prices, as to disturb
or disarrange the immediate future
music trade here, [ feel obliged to
make such figures as will, even in these
Of inc r,Y1-
ment in these warerooms within the
next six days, at which time this store
will be for rent, and it shall be vacant.
have now here and for sale 100 new
upright pianos, mainly the now famous
'new scale KimbalI'' pianos {our 5oKn
make), besides an assortment off the
well-known "Hinze," Whitney, J, rs.
Hale & Co., Arien, Prince & Co., and
other cheaper brands; any and all Of
which [ offer at the exact manufactL
urer's wholesale cost-the cost of ma
terial and labor to produce them atIthe
factory-which means to you at least
one-half lower than these or any other
same grade of instruments regularly
retail for in this or any other city. 9AIi
The "Kimball' pianos are highest.
grade, and strictly first-class. I offer
MONDAY q DeduIll ul Id octave, IduCyT
mahogany, walnut or oak cased, high
grade upright piano, with carved 1egs
and three pedals Che third a soft prac
ticing pedaD for $685. which is less rhans
half price. Rosewood cases 500 Hess
money -oOI5
I offer the large size cabinet grand;r
fancy mahogany cased, 81. p. Hale, &
Co.." upright piano, standing four feet
eight inches high-brand new-for $145,
and the cabinet grand, "Arion,' up
right piano, same size, in walnut, ma
hogany or oak cases, continuous nickel
hinges, and three pedals-brand new
for $12S. The prince & Son." upright,
in mahogany or oak cases. largest size,
and brand new, for $115. "
All other styles at corresponding low
prices. -,s1a-ss'
In the stock Of 100 new pianos now
here, I have three large, fancy, hand
carved styles (two Of Which are exact
duplicates of our Worlds Fair pre-
MUM KimbalD, on which the actual
factory cost slightly exceeds $500; on