Label Photo
Originally a German-only label, launched in 1907, Dacapo appeared in Britain in 1910 with a catalogue starting at 1, priced at 2/6 (12.5p). The label was not dissimilar to Zonophone to look at. In 1913, the company became part of the Carl Lindstrom group. Production in Britain ceased soon after the outbreak of WWI with some later issues having the place of origin (Berlin) expunged from the label.
A rare and rather mysterious label, Dandy drew on Emerson and Grey Gull for their masters in a similar manner to Clover (q.v.) and was on the market at the same time, but the source of the label itself remains unknown to me. The label gives no clue as it shows no place of origin.
Decca had been manufacturing gramophones in Britain since 1914, but didn't start in the record business until 1929. Despite the economic situation, the record company flourished and signed many established big names such as Ambrose and Jack Hylton, also giving chances to new names like Roy Fox, eventually becoming the only other major record company with EMI.
Decca was formed in America by UK Decca chief, Edward Lewis and Jack Kapp, of Brunswick records in 1934, and Kapp immediately filled the catalog with top-flight artists, many of them film stars. Bing & Bob Crosby, The Dorsey Brothers, Guy Lombardo, The Mills Brothers, Ted Lewis, Casa Loma Orchestra, Ginger Rogers, Frances Langford, Dick Powell, Gene Kelly... the list is endless. Decca catered almost exclusively for the popular market, and very successfully too. The catalog numbers started at 100. The company was bought by MCA in 1974
Derby records were available in 10" and 8" sizes. The 10" ones at least seem to draw from Carl Lindstrom masters in Germany. They seem to date from the early to mid 1920s. The 8" ones I've seen seem to date from about 1929.
A 10½" vertical cut disc produced by Pathe from 1915 for the Diamond Disc Record Company Ltd of 81 City Road London. Like Pathe records of the period, it had no paper label, but the details were etched in blue in the label area. Unlike Pathes it was an "ouside start" record. They were cheap at 1/6 each. In 1916, Pathe took over completely and for the next few years the record had paper labels until it's demise in about 1918.
A rare flexible picture record available at irregular intervals from 1930 until about 1935, Diamond records, like their forunner above, cost just 1/6. The records were very similar to (and shared a patent with) the similar "Trusound" picture records, and you could have the record custom-pressed with your own choice of picture pressed between the clear plastic sides.
An Edison Bell product, rather like the small "Bell" record, Dinky is very much rarer, though was probably available during the same time span. The only example I have uses a 3-digit catalogue series in the 400s, and the record is a little under 5½" in size.
One of the many labels available in Britain before the first World War. They were pressed for J. Blum & Co from 1911, initially by Edison Bell, then by Kalliope and finally by the Disc Record Company of Harrow. There were three separate designs, too!
Diva was one of Columbia's budget labels, similar to Harmony and using a parallel catalogue series (2000 higher than the equivalent Harmony issue). The first ones appeared in 1925 and, like Harmony, the records were mainly acoustic until 1930 (some vocal performances were electrically recorded). From then until 1932, most were electric; a superior product at a budget price.
Dixy was a 6" record produced by The Gramophone Company during the mid-1920s. Most, if not all, were acoustically recorded. The dance band items seem to all be by a military band, sounding rather old-fashioned and raggy for 1925-6. Numbering started at 501-D and it is believed only 25 different ones were issued.
Dominion records were produced between 1928 and 1930. The company was part owned by Cameo records (of America) and the records seemed to be made of the same rather poor quality material. There were three series; the cream-labelled A-1 to A-267, the blue labelled "classical" B-1, and the C-300 series mainly with red labels.
These were a product of the Plaza group, who produced Banner and Regal in America. Domino records were available between 1924 and 1933, though there was a break in production between 1930 and 1932. Some early Domino records have unique performances not available elsewhere; otherwise they were also available on the various other labels in the group.
A rather eccentric record label, with more different series than you can shake a stick at! They were made of the usual shellac to start with before Noel Pemberton-Billing devised the unbreakable manufacture involving a layered paper core covered with some sort of plasticised rubber. Unfortunately for us, this material has tended to perish with age and they have become probably the most fragile records you can find!
Click here for more pictures, information and label listings
Britain's equivalent of "Hit-of-the-Week" records were available, like their American counterparts, weekly from news-stands. They were only available between April 1932 and January 1933, however. Made of cardboard with a thin celluloid coating, the recording quality was quite good, but a bit thin, probably due to the fine grooving to allow two (almost) full-length tunes to be put on one side. The series ran from EN-0 upwards and were mainly British matrices, with just a handful of American ones, some from Hit of the Week, and some recorded in America specifically for Durium in Britain, the latter being so rare, I'm not aware of anyone who has seen one!
These were a vertical-cut disc produced by the Clarion Record Co just before WWI. They were long-playing (5 minutes each side) but short-lived, thr catalogue numbers starting at 10000 and finishing at 10006.
This was a 9" disc produced in France, and made of an unbreakable material, similar to Duophone, mentioned above.
A pre-WWI disc pressed in Germany for the British market..
The 8" Eclipse record was launched in 1931 and was available at only 6d (2½p) from Woolworth's. The recording quality was good, as was the material. To keep the costs down, one side was usually a non-copyright song bought outright from the composer or publisher. All matrices were English, and the catalogue started sensibly at 1 and ran to just over 1000 by 1935 when they were discontinued. There was also a blue-labelled SC-1 series for more serious music.
Thomas A. Edison's name is synonymous with the development of sound recording, but his foray into record producing seems eccentric nowadays. His records were 1/4" thick and could only be played on specific machines. The recording quality, however, despite being usually acoustic, was far superior to almost all other manufacturers. Edison gave in, eventually, and produced a few normal needle-cut electric discs, but the company ceased production soon after.
An interesting historic recording. Apart from all the build-up about Florence Nightingale, the record concludes with a dubbing of Nightingale's own voice, taken from a very much earlier recording (she died in 1910; this record dates from the early 1930s). The words she speaks are quoted on the sleeve (see photo). The label describes the record as "19th century celebrity series No 1". As far as I am aware, this was the first and only issue in this series!
Click here to hear the recording of Florence Nightingale's voice (dated 1890)
Note: The records issued as "Edison Bell Winner", "Edison Bell Radio" and "Edison Bell Electron" will be found under Winner, Radio and Electron.
The Ekophon label was produced by the German Carl Lindström AG especially for the Swedish market. The name was registred at the Swedish patent office on July 6, 1920 and the first records issued the following spring. There were to be 20 different catalogue number series for various kinds of music, most of them in four number series prefixed NS.
The music included local recordings as well as imports, generally from OKeh in America.
Click here for more information & pictures.
Label scans and information kindly suplied by Fredrik Tersmeden, Lund, Sweden
Another rare pre-WWI disc record using the latest "buzzword" as it's name. They were NOT electrically recorded, of course.
Electron records were a superior product from J. E. Hough's Edison Bell company, to replace the acoustically recorded "Velvet Face" records. Electrons were all electric recordings and all British matrices. Their price means they did not sell well and are rarely found today, compared with Winner records. They were available from 1927 to 1929 and the catalogue ran from 0150 to 0303
If anyone can tell me anything about Elephone records, I'd be very grateful. I have not seen them mentioned in any publications and the only clue is the label stating "Universal Talking Machine Company Limited", but no address. The records date from pre- WWI, probably about 1909, and use a 1000 series catalogue.
Victor Emerson formed this record company in 1916, having worked for Columbia records for 17 years! The records were various sizes, the usual 10" ones first appearing in 1919. The recording quality and surface of the records was generally excellent. The electrical recordings from 1926 are rather thin and distant, however.
There were at least 6 different Empire records in Britain at various times. Three in the pre-1920 era, including one which was a double-sided "Nicole" record and one which was a Edison Bell product. The colourful one pictured here was a Piccadilly subsidiary, appearing briefly in 1931, with a catalogue running from E-1 to E-12. Subsequently there was a flexible record, similar to Filmophone in material and then another shellac subsidiary of Octocros, produced for Metropolitan Stores during 1935-37, with an E-100 catalogue series.
This was a pre-WWI Beka product, pressed in Germany (where it was marketed under the name of "Veni-Vidi-Vici"). The record's feature was two titles each side, rather like the later "4 in 1" disc. Unlike "4 in 1", though, Encore still only played for the normal 3 minutes or so, so each title was only about half as long as usual.
Originally a Beka product, made in Germany prior to WWI with a very artistic colourful design and catalogue numbers matching Beka. Subsequently, Era became part of the Carl Lindstrom group and the new, simpler design incorporated the "£" symbol later associated with Parlophone.
Produced by the Everbodys Record Company on New York, it was fairly short-lived. Less than 90 different records were issued in 1925. The masters were mainly from Emerson and some from Paramount, but a handful were originals using an SAH- series of matrices. The catalogue numbers were in the 1000-series and all were acoustically recorded. It is quite a rare label.
These were produced by Edison Bell from about 1912 onwards for Bornand Freres of Devonshire Square, Bishopsgate, London.
This was a British label marketed on in Australia. The records all date from before 1920 and made for J. G. Murdoch & Co (London). Several companies were involved in providing the masters, including Edison Bell and Invicta. The basic design was similar for all, though some are believed to be just pasted over "Guardsman" records.
My thanks to Derek Kell for providing the label scan.
This appears to be a "shop" label, sold by Moorhouse's of Padiham, Lancs. The style shown here is stencilled from a "Bell" record, but other types are known - see Norman Field's website for a more colourful style.
There were two distinct labels using this name, but both were 5½" in size. One was an Edison Bell product, like "Bell" (see first label, near right) and the other a Vocalion product, like "Little Marvel" (see far right). They are both rare labels and, as you'd expect, much of the material on these records are Nursery Rhymes, but there are some of the usual dance band & popular items which can also be found on the respective "Bell" and "Little Marvel" issues also.
One of the many record labels made for J. Blum & Co of 220 Old Street, London, Famous records were initally pressed in Germany, later, with WWI intervening, pressed by The Disc Record Co of Harrow. The label was only in existence from about 1912 to 1914 and is not easily found. Later issued apparently had purple labels.
A major record manufacturer in the early years, the German-based Favorite record company began exporting to England in 1908. From WWI they were pressed at the Mead Works in Hertfordshire until about 1920 using a variety of different matrix sources. Many Favorites have no catalogue numbers, just single-sided-type numbering.
A rare pre-WWI disc pressed in Germany for the British market.
One of the many eccentric products associated with Noel Pemberton-Billing, Fetherflex records were lightweight and unbreakable, make of a similar material to the later Duophone unbreakables. Fetherflex date from the early 1920s and were very short-lived and are very rare nowadays.
The quest for unbreakable records (see above) continued with Filmophone. The problem is they went too far, they were too flexible! They certainly could be rolled up into a tube. Trouble is, they tend to do it of their own accord, making many completely unplayable. Those that are flat do play very well. Many were original recordings by some excellent British musicians. American masters were provided by QRS and Banner (the latter mainly dubbed).
Another of the many cheap pre-WWI records broduced by Beka of Germany for the British market. There were about 500 issues, with catalogue numbers matching Beka-Grand records.
4 in 1 (a British Homophone product) was a genuine attempt to give more value for money. The records do have 4 full-length tunes on every record, each side playing for at least 6 minutes (some are longer!). The groove is fine and the quality is not bad considering the technical limitations. Each is a master recording and not dubbed from an existing "normal" 10" record. All matrices are English, and mainly dance bands. The catalogue ran from 1 to about 90 and all date from 1932-34.
An (almost) Complete listing
A very difficult to find label, Fox Movietone were available during the mid-1930s and used masters from ARC and Bluebird. Some of the masters were not available elsewhere, making them even more desirable.
