These pages are just notes about the labels which may be found on 78s. Click on the label to see a larger image. Many labels have more pictures, information and sometimes listings which may be found by clicking on the link.  I have included labels from all periods, not just the 1920s and 1930s, just because I find them all interesting!  
         All label scans are from my own collection unless otherwise noted. Information about the labels is from various sources, including my own researching, but Brian Rust's "The American Record Label Book" was very useful as was Don Taylor's "The English 78 Picture Book" and various articles by Frank Andrews and Arthur Badrock in "Hillandale News" and "The Talking Machine Review".           
        In order to make the pages more managable (and quicker to load), I have split this section into alphabetical parts. Click on the appropriate letter below to see the section you want.      

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z   Non-UK Labels

Label	Label Photo
National A Pre-WWI German produced record using Beka masters. Some copies have a sticker (where the copyright stamp is on my example) which states "Scala Special Issue" and a catalogue number, possibly of the standard Scala issue. Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Neophone A Label scan would be welcome
Neptune These were produced by Crystalate for Curwens, the music publishing company, around 1917. The masters were from Invicta/Guardsman. Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Nicole One of the very earliest disc records, Nicole records were made from a semi-unbreakable material which looks a bit like linoleum. The sound is rather rumbly because of the material. Nicole Freres of Ely Place, Holborn Circus, London had been musical box manufacturers since 1815, so it was natural that they should branch out into records. Nicole records were available in 7" or 10" size and were initially single-sided. By the start of WWI, Nicole records had ceased to be produced.
Nursery Rhymes A 5½" disc produced by Crystallate to "compete" with the two "Fairy" labels used by Edison Bell and Vocalion, Nursery Rhymes issued just that during a short life in the 1920s. There were no catalogue numbers as such, each disk was identified by a letter (the one shown here is "D"). Whether a full 26 discs (or more?) were issued, I don't know.
Octocros Octocros records were produced as a result of a dispute between Cinema operators and the Performing Rights Society, when cinemas were prevented from playing records to the public without paying a fee. So, Octocros records were made specially for use in cinemas only, and were produced for Synchrophone Ltd. These records first appeared in 1934, using old masters from the defunct Piccadilly label, issued anonymously on an orange & white label (similar design to the later blue one shown right) with a 30-digit catalogue number. The following year, a new series of specially recorded item started, issued on the more-familiar blue & white label. he catalogue numbers started at 1001, and the matrix numbers at 5000 (Piccadilly had nearly reached 4700 before their demise a few years before).  A 2000 series catalogue issued some French recordings, from companies such as Ultraphon (mainly by Leon Kartun and his Orchestra). The main series almost reached 1400 (the matrices over 6000) when the label was discontinued in 1937.  The label concentrated on dance band recordings (usually by bands who had no other contract) and it is a gold-mine for enthusiasts of the period. There were also many organ recordings (as you'd expect of a cinema-based company).
Oliver Another of the Crystalate mini disks, Oliver seems to vary in size between 5½" and 6", similar to Mimosa, but I have one 7" dating from about 1930, using masters also available on Victory. Like Mimosa, they were available from the early 1920s until about 1930.
Olympic Olympic records were produced by the Sound Recording Company for Levy's Phono and Cycle Stores of High Street, Whitechapel, London. Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Operaphone Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Oriole This was another attempt at the record market by Levy's of London (see Levaphone). The first of 4 different series of Oriole records were released in May & June 1927, and 15 different records were released, though the recordings generally dated from a year or two earlier. They were all from American Vocalion's "race" catalogue and numbered 1000 to 1012 plus 2000 and 2001 for 4 sides by white cabaret artists.
Our Flag Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Palladium Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Panachord Launched at the same time as it's American counterpart, Melotone, in May 1931, Panachord also looked  very similar with it's striking silver-on-blue label. The numbering started at 25000 and ran up to 26046 when it was discontinued by it's then owners, Decca, in November 1939.  (A short-lived 12" Panachord with numbering from 9001 was also produced). Recordings were mainly American, from Melotone and later ARC and Decca, but there were a few home-grown recordings, mainly done by Levy's specially for the label, then subsequently by Decca, again exclusively for Panachord, though one or two were also released on Decca as well. Some of the early Warner-Brunswick issues are rather gritty, but generally, they are smooth-surfaced and play very well throughout. Initially priced at 2/-, they soon dropped to 1/6 and then in 1935 to 1/- before being increased back up to 1/6 in September 1937 for the last couple of years.
Parlophone The introduction of Parlophone in Britain marks the resurrection (as far as the record industry is concerned) of trading with Germany after WWI. The Lindstrom Company (of Germany) set up the new factory in Hertfordshire in 1922 or 23. From that the company grew to be a major label, merging into EMI, but always seeming to keep its own identity, and is still occasionally used even today (2003). American masters from Okeh, and German ones from Odeon were used plentifully. The main catalogue series were the E-5000 (red label), E/R-3000 (this series seemed to be given either prefix), the R-100 (purple, later blue and still in use today) and the F-100 magenta label.
Pathe Pathe Freres (of France) introduced their discs (vertical cut, naturally) in October 1906, having already established studios in London, Milan & Moscow. The first discs varied enormously in dimensions from 7" to 20" in diameter and usually playing at 90 rpm, with a wide u-shaped groove, starting at the centre. By 1914, when the American branch was set up, things had become more standardized and records were 10" to 12", 78 rpm, and outside-start, though still with a u-shaped vertical groove. The British and American records looked almost identical (see illustration of British label). The vertical groove format was retained until about 1925, after which, the lateral-cut Actuelle became the main Pathe product outside of France.
Paxton One of the very last 78 labels to appear, in the 1960s and still available in the early 1960s, Paxton appears to be like a music publishers label (similar to Chappell), in that the music is generally orchestral, varying from classical to big band, usually by lesser-known composers. Bandleader Eric Winstone made some recording foir this label; at the other end of the scale, the London Philharmonic Orchestra (as the London Promenade Orchestra) also made many records for Paxton. The Recordings were made by Levy's in London.
Peacock Peacock records were pressed by Decca and British Homophone for sale in Peacocks Stores which were (and still are) based in the Midlands (in England). All three series date from 1933-34 and may well have been available at the same time. They are extremely rare, not surprisingly as no catalogue, adverts or record sleeves pertaining to Peacock Records has ever been found. More details, photos and label listings
Pelican One of the many short-lived pre-WWI labels available in Britain, Pelican records, costing 1/1, later 1/-, were first produced in 1913, lasting until early 1914. The records were made abroad for the Universal record Syndicate and later for J. Blum & Co and the masters were drawn from, among others, Jumbo & Edison Bell. The catalogue numbers used a P-1 series. Oddly, despite the name of the label, the obvious trade-mark of the bird, though shown in adverts for the records, never appeared on the label. Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Perfect Perfect records were quite short-lived in Britain. It was introduced in late 1927 and was available for about a year. The masters were from almost all from American and French Pathe. Only a few, early on, were were recorded in England, and they were acoustic. A number of masters with English matrix numbers (N90000 series) were used throughout Perfect's life, but these were all recorded in France specially for the label, and, as far as I know, unavailable anywhere else. The Catalogue number started at P-300 and ceased at P-435. Columbia bought the company in 1928 and some of the last few Perfects may be found pressed by Columbia, with smooth laminated surfaces  playing beautifully. In 1983, Arthur Badrock, in conjunction with EMI, produced a booklet with an (almost) complete listing and a history. I think this is now out of print. For further details on the European dance band recordings on Perfect, click here
Perophone (sold in Australia) Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Philharmonic Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Phoebus Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Phoenix Launched in 1913, Phoenix was Columbia's answer to the cheap imports; they cost 1/1 and were a good challenge to the likes of Coliseum, Scala et al. The fare was the usual mix of popular music - vocal, marches, ragtime, xylophone & banjo solos. The catalogue was numeric with a 0 or O prefix. starting at 01, and with an X-series matrix. Some were made in USA and the labels stated this under the label's name. Phoenix records were available for about 2 years.
Phona-Disc Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a label scan
Phoneto (sold in Australia) Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.:Also a label scan
Phonycord Originally a German record, later Phonycord records were made in Britain. They were available during 1930 and 1931, and were pressed in a coloured celluloid-like material (available in many colours) very similar to Filmophone. The masters were a mixture of German Artiphon, English originals, and the American matrices were from Grey Gull. The English issues used a P- catalogue series running from P-74 to P-135, while the German ones used a series starting a 1, running to 691, but using only odd numbers! There were also German 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 series. The Grey Gull masters can be found in both series, while the British series also included German matrices.
Piccadilly One of the most attractive British labels, Piccadilly was introduced in October 1928 as the budget line for Metropole Records, though the labels all state "Piccadilly Records Ltd" with no mention of Metropole. They sold in huge numbers for 1/6 (initially), reducing to 1/1 in 1931, before disappearing in April 1932. The catalogue numbers started at 100 and ran to 934, and the English matrix numbers, initaially in an M-series (from Metropole) then switched to a 1000-series. American recordings were initially from Emerson, and subsequently from Grey Gull and finally there were a few from ARC/Banner.  Ther was also a red-labelled classical series using a 5000-series catalogue. The recording quality varied, but the pressing were usually very smooth, though rather brittle.
Pickofall Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. Also a Label Scan.
Pigmy One of the many tiny records available in the early 1920s, "Pigmy Gramophone", as they were styled, were 5½" in diameter and were pressed by Crystallate, using the same masters as their "Mimosa" records of the period. The catalogue numbers ran from 1 to about 70 and the records were the usual mix of early dance music and popular vocal & instrumental selections.
Pik-Nik An incredibly rare label, there were only 6 different Pik-Nik records ever issued. They were a type of card-backed celluloid, similar to Durium or Hit-of-the-Week, but thicker. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to have prevented them warping, but it is almost impossible to flatten them without destroying the record. All six items were dance band items, recorded specially and only for the issue on Pik-Nik. More photos and a label listing
Pilot Pilot records first appeared in 1913, having previously been called "Polyphon". The change of name is thought to have been due to the "Polyphon" beeing associated with the rather old-fashioned disc musical-box. Like Polyphone, Pilot records were German throughout and they used 5000 and 8000 catalogue series. As with most other German-made records, they disappeared from the market during World War One.
Pioneer First appearing in 1914, Pioneer records cost 1/6 each, but, if you traded in an old record in part-exchange, the price reduced to 9d. They were pressed for J. Blum and Co, initially in Germany, then subsequently  by the Disc Records Co of Harrow. The labels were initially black, later changing to red, and they were quite short-lived, being only available until early 1915. Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Plaza Plaza was British Homophone's main label entry for the 8" market.  They first appeared in 1933, and had the familiar "strobe" design of all other BH products of the period. To keep costs low, they usually had a non-copyrighted title on one side, often mixing dance band items with classical ones. The recording quality was good, but the very tight grooving (similar to, but not as fine a "4 in1") means they do often turn up excessively worn). Catalogue numbers ran from P-100 to just over P-400. ceasing production when BH sold out their record production in 1935. Click here to see a listing of this label.
Polyphon In Germany, the Polyphon label was available from the very early days of disc records, before 1905, until beyond the end of 78s, even into the 1970s. In England it first appeared in 1910 using a 5000 and 8000 catalogue series. Some issues were labelled "Klingsor" (generally the same design but with a black label), but the label name was finally changed to Pilot in 1913. (see above)
Popular Popular records first appeared in 1913, part of the onslaught of "cheap" labels which appeared at that time. Made by the Crystalate Gramophone Company using masters from the Sound Recording Co, they were initially an oversized 10" record, before settling to a standard 10". Catalogue numbers were in a P-series, starting at 1 and running to over 1200 by 1923 when it was superseded by Imperial. Click here to see more label pictures and my attempt at a listing.
Portland The Portland label was a Curry's product, the label being a paste-over upon existing (probably outdated stock) records, usually Edison Bell Winner records. The earliest seen are in a pale blue with an almost illegible gold print (and a 1000-series catalogue number) pasted over early (WWI) Winners, followed by the more familiar violet label (9000-series catalogue) which, amazingly has "Curry's (1927) Ltd" on the label. These records themselves usually date from 1923-24! Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records.
Possum (sold in Australia)  Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. also a label scan
Premier  Please e-mail me with details of ANY of these records. also a label scan