Easy credit vanished with the 1929 stock market crash. Out-of-work customers had no cash, and thousands of retailers declared bankruptcy. Resourcefulness was the only way to beat the economic odds in the early 1930s.
Retailers diversified their inventory. Jenkins Music Company of Kansas City turned their seven-story building into a flea market, where pianos harmonized with washing machines and lawn furniture. Lyon & Healy found that paintings of Mozart sold well, and many dealers included free music lessons with the sale of inexpensive or used instruments.
World War II presented new problems for music retailers. As war production cut availability of product, dealers responded by rationing or only offering rentals of scarce “big ticket” items. To create an instrument and record inventory, they purchased used product.
After the war, hundreds of returning GIs got into the music business. Most had a background in music, worked hard and gave large chain stores a run for their money by providing good service to their communities.
Street Address:
Museum of Making Music
5790 Armada Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Phone: (760) 438-5996
Fax: (760) 438-8964
Toll Free: (877) 551-9976
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