The Colfax chronicle., 1904-06-11
SOME DESIRABLE BAToNs.
Those That Have Belonged to Famous
Orchestra Conductors Coveted
by Lesser Lights.

Batons welded by famous orchestra
conductors have a value nowadays
apart from their intrinsic worth. They
have entered the list of collectors
specialties and would sell at a high
figure If put on the market and auc-
toned off properly, states the New
York Times. Those who aspire to
possess them are, as rule, small-fry
musicians. chiefly conductors. Some
how they fancy that their own cir
cumscribed talents might blossom into
real genius through the association
of cOnsecrated batons are most strenu-
GUS.
A baton, to be desirable from the
collectors standpoint, must possess
one of two virtues-it must have been
the property of a popular conductor
red-letter operate or symphonic occa-
sion. The second condition presnp-
poses the first, because at most gala
performances the conductor is man
of previous achievements. Hence a
baton that has figured in star mu-
sical event acquires double importance
In the eyes of the collector.
II the famous batons now in New
York were to be passed in review prob
ably the prize would be awarded to the
magic wand welded by Conductor
Hertz. of "Parsifal' fame Mr.. Hertz
v,,iobf bova dona ,a,,oh for hin, calf IN,
a. financial way if he had realized his
opportunities. If he had been willing
to place commercialism on level with
art he could have made mint OF
extra money this season by selling
souvenir batons. Their christening, it
with the progress OF the music, bur
what of that?
The batons used by Sig. Mancinelli
In extracting from his orchestral
forces those dulcet strains for which
he is famous are in demand, and he
has received many letters requesting
the gift of Romeo and Juliet" CT 4
Faust" baton. Two seasons ago the
baton that led Paderewski's opera,
"Manru," to a tragic end was an object
Of veneration. Had not its owner been
above sordid consideration he might
have received a tremendous price for
1t while the Paderewski fever was
raging. Another conductor who could
make good thing out of selling ba-
tons is Theodore Thomas, who gets
many requests for his batons.
But, unfortunately, the men of power
among orchestra leaders have the in
convenient habit of forming an attach
ment for the batons with which they
beat their way up to glory. Still 1t is
possible. by means of cajoling, some
times to gain possession of the coveted
treasures. One woman, who has con-
Quoted number of singing classes
as well as juvenile orchestra in this
city, has in her collection 30 batons
with a history. She picked them up
here and in Europe Most of them she
considers too precious for ordinary
use, but the one she uses in public
Is baton that was flourished by Wall
ter Damrosch several years ago at an
especially brilliant performance of
"Lohengrin.' The stick itself is in
nowise extraordinary. but somehow it
has brought luck to the woman con-
ductor, and although she has others
commemorative of more important Oc-
casions, she likes this particular mas
cot best of all.
This scrimmage for celebrated ba-
tons is induced solely by a spirit of
hero worship. A baton good enough
for ordinary purposes can be bought
flrst-hand for so cents. 1t is plain
stick of white holly and seldom is used
on dress occasions. After rising above
that modest price the purchaser may
mount by 50-cent intervals all the way
up to SIS. The expensive variety Is
made of ebony and has an ivory ham
die and solid gold trimmings, but even
this splendor can be improved by the
addition of a few precious stones,
which are sometimes thrown in for
good measure. The demand for tn,
really expensive batons is small-ex-
cept on special occasions, when they
come in handy for presentation pur-
poses.