Puck — January 15, 1879 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PUCK, THE YOUNG COLBLER'S BILLET-DOUX. d (Bors years I'd gladly peg away [To gain yourlove, fair Mary Anns G-™ Your eye is bright as break of day, Your brow like marble Parian. You are to upper circles born— With countless thorns my pathway bristles; But let your heart not look with scorn On mine, pierced through with Cupid’s missiles. T hammer simple cobbler’s lad; My awl is but a meagre pittance, Yet worlds I'd give, if worlds I had, If to your heart ’twould win admittance. My brogan accent are not fine, My roll of bills is but a thin roll, Bat richer treasure shall be thine— My inmost soul—that is, my insole, * Though you have suitors well-to-do, ‘My love for you shall wax the stronger; Eyelet my heart still cherish you ‘Till there is room for hope no longer. Alast! to think I am not rich, ‘And that my wooing may be fruitless— That I have not the gold with which The cobbler’s love might not prove bootless. JARRING. JEWS-HARPS. THE BATTLE OF THE RIVAL MANUFAC TURERS. NM USICAL circles in New York have for ASA some time been agitated over the sa- vage controversy raging between the ‘wo largest manufacturers of Jews-harps in this city. Not alone have the special artistic merits of each instrument been hotly discussed; but the two rival firms have taken pains to adduce the character of their personal patronage in proof of the quality of their wares. Mr. Isaacs, the famous Jews-harp builder of Fifth Avenue, has published the long list of artists who em- ploy his Jews-harps, and his only, for private use; while his competitor, Mr. Moses, of 14th street, has proudly produced the certificate of Mr. Volunteer-Coionel Mapleson, who would not for any consideration allow any Jews-harps other than that of Mr. Moses to be used in his Hopera House. sEach maker further supports his claim to popularity by special testimonials from various Jews-harp virtuosi, and these, to the vulgar eye, _ denote a wide—a significantly wide—difference of opinion among musical authorities. Some of the authorities, indeed, seem to be able to get up a difference of opinion, each man for himself. Some apparently prefer the Isaacs Jews-harp when in-one frame of mind, and accord artistic superiority to the Moses ar- ticle when differently disposed. Others, how- ever, go the whole hog, select their favorite Jews-harp, and hang on to it, As matters of public interest, we reprint portions of the manifestoes issued by the two jouses, Mr. Isaacs To THE Front. While I think it totally unnecessary to take any further steps to prove to the honored ‘pub- lic the absolute and unquestionable superiority of myJews-harps over those of all other and inferior houses, yet I deem it my duty to crush imposture wherever found—a duty enjoined on me by my religion, my devotion to my coun- try, and my respectability as an individual. A low and despicable rival and imitator of my wares has seen fit to issue a proclamation to the effect that his third-rate Jews-harps were used by the members of Her Royal Nibs's Hopera Company during their stay in this city. This I intend to disprove— 1. By the artists themselves: Katamazoo, Micu., Dec. 3oth, 1878. Dear Mr. Isaacs: Allow me to say that I used your Jews-harp and yours only and no other, without excep- tion, steadily and persistently, during my stay in New York; and when I was not practicing on it, the hotel chambermaid generally took a lick at it. Iam, my dear sir, yours multitudinously, Bartolo Campobello. Adelina Patti. Martinelli. Moretti. Riccadonna. Sparghetti. Smith. Napoleon Campana. Oliri. rus Ornithoryncus. Michelo Mulligani. ‘A. von Beethoven, Guglielmo Bircho. Pazzi Bolivar, Maldoono (if solide). Giovanni Chelli. Giorgio Francisco Locomotivo, 2. By the Hotel Chambermaid: Sweeny’s Hort, Jan 2d, '79. My dear Mr. Isaacs: During the stay of Her Royal Nibs’s Hopera Co, in this city I used one of your Double Ex- tra Grand Jews-harps with frequency and vigor. For breadth, depth and width of tone, sustained sonority and singing quality with the soft pedal on, purity of the tonic sol-fa and perfect grada- tion of the arpeggios, especially in the middle and lower register, I prefer it to all others. The vox humana and back-action crescendo stops are peculiarly effective, and the entire ab- sence of reediness or globularity in the bottom part of the adagio strikes me as an especially valuable quality. Yours sincerely, i Mary + O'BRINE. mark The above facts d lead to the following re- flections: g 1. Dosome of my competitors find it neces- sary to bolster up their waning popularity by certificates from artists who never used them— some who never sounded them ? 2. This seems to be an age of extreme smartnesss, when many people think a lie, with trimmings, is as good as the truth. ‘The last few years I thought I had exploded something; but it seems I have not. I now leave it to the suffrages of an intelligent public whether I have not more than proved the superiority of lews-harps conducted on a basis of truth and onor. That, at least, is the opinion of A. Isaacs,—Adv. Mr. Moses Proves us Case. The proud and lofty position which I have occupied for so many years as the leading Jews- harp builder on this mundane sphere, enables ine to look down with undisguised contempt and pity on the puny efforts of any miserable and pretentious Jewsharp house who would attempt to dislodge me from my elevated situa- tion; but my sacred regard for truth will not permit me to allow it to be so shamefully and abominably perverted as in the tissue of ab- surdities with bogus signatures with which the Jews-harp house above referred to has seen fit to publish, for no other purpose than to deceive an indulgent public, Mine were the only Jews-harps played upon by every individual member of Her Royal Nibs's Hopera troupe during their sojourn in this city, as the following certificates prove be- yond a shadow of a doubt : Keokuk, Iowa, Dec. 29, 1878. Sweet Mr. Moses: We could not leave New York without bear- ing testimofy to the surpassing beauty and ex- quisite tone of the Moses Jews-harp. We can say;-and we say it boldly, that in the whole course of our lengthened musical experience in Europe, Irup, Orup and Stirup, we never played ona more charming instrument. We feel assured that Her Royal Nibs’s Hopera Co. could not have achieved success without the aid of the Moses Jews-harp, and we may add that the diminuendo of the dominant, sub-dominant and ink dominant are absolutely unapproachable in their character. ‘The carved legs and over- strungness especially fit it for the tongue and drawing-room; and be assured, charming Mr. Moses, that no other Jews-harp but yours shall ever be used by us. Believe us always, beloved Mr. Moses, Very sincerely yours, Eucalyptus Omithoryneus, Giovanni Chelli, Muldoono (i? solide), Pazzi Bolivar, Guglielmo Bircho, A. von Beethoven, Michelo Mulligani, Georgio Francisco Locomotivo, A. Ricardo, Riccadonna, Moretti, Martinelli, Adelina Patti, Bartolo Campobello. Signor Mose: Carissimo mio—Since the day of my birth I have invariably used the Moses Jews-harp. I consider it far superior to all others from its ex- quisite chromatic scale qualities, the slantindi- cularity of its double-distilled keyboard, and especially the andante of its fortissimo in the middle states. No known Jews-harp has such perfect adagio in the carambole of its ricochet, and its orchestral effects are simply superb, while the patent tonguc-attachment is magnifigue in its beauty and simplicity. tuo sempre sincero, ARDITI, Conductor of Her Royal Nibs's Hopera. Prer 1, East River, Jan. 2d, 1879. My dear Mr. Moses: Your Jews-harp is the only one that I con- sider a perfect instrument, I never patrol the piers without one, and its dulcet sounds, so free from metallic quality, have been the means of saving many a life, I especially admire the Moses Jews-harp for its thorongh bass, itssecond base and short stop. My opinion on this sub- ject is shared by all my musical friends, Yours most truly, “Nan,” THE News-Boy, The above certificates speak for themselves, but I think it advisable to append the report of the jury on Jews-harps at the Philadelphia Exhibition Moses’s Jews-harps. For Overstrungness. “ Dominant qualities “* Sub-dominant qualities. “ Pink dominant qualities Average: 102 out of a possible 100,. Ep. Hansuck. _H. Hitton. F. Gevaert. KLArKa, } Judges. Surely this ought to satisfy all doubting Thomases. In conclusion, I would remark that I not only hold the order of the Legion of Honor for Jews-harps, but that | have been presented by some of my admirers with an earthenware mug, on which is tastefully em- blazoned in letters of gilt, “To B, Moses, for the best Jews-harp.” I now leave my case in the hands of the public, with the full assurance that I shall re- ceive justice at its hands, and that it will not be bamboozled into purchasing any other than the Moses Jews-harp, +102 +102 102 +102 B, Moses.—Ado, comicbooks.com