The Almost Complete 78 Rpm Record Dating Guide
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THE ALMOST COMPLETE 78 RPM RECORD DATING GUIDE (H) , COUJMBlfe CRtfHOfflO®’ *“*“*“ by jssnsso^-;. «**o**Sf***‘'*^ r STEVm G BARR 0> " , ^ 2; 1940 tr <?' N 6 ^ 8 to 0^1936^ ^*^ 1917 ’«« CVJ i 931 S zeei -21 5 - T Cn 1 ^ 1361 1905 7 SC61 f\. 1928i933 0O6Xa £^251 1fO02E6r Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from The Archive of Contemporary Music https://archive.org/detaiis/aimostcompiete7800barr THE ALMOST COMPLETE 78 RPM RECORD DATING GUIDE (II) by STEVEN C BARR Published and Distributed by: IJcsterbay (©nee (Again P.O. Box 6773 Huntington Beach, California 92615 (714) 963-2474 1992 G)pyright 1979, 1980, 1992 by Steven C Barr. All rights reserved. No porti(Hi of the book, may be copied by any means whatsoever without the permission of the copyright holder, excepting brief cpiotations embodied in reviews, critical articles or scholarly works not intended for profit All such uses shall credit the book in full N.R Any violation of the above shall result in every recording in the posession of the offender being immediately transmogrified into F* copies of Patti Page’s Tennessee Waltz" or Homer Rodeheaver Victors with 3" wide cracks! So there! And you have to take all my extra kittens, toa Especially the one that can’t figure out what the litter box is for. And your children will form a Led Zeppelin tribute band and rehearse in your basement THINK AGAIN! TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ii INSTRUCTIONS ir NOTES ON SPECIAL RECORDS vi RECORD SERIES vii SOME WORDS ABOUT RECORD PRICES Tiii NOTES TO THE USER ii INDEX AND INDEX INSTRUCTIONS i HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY 1 SECTION 1 - MAJOR LABELS 7 SBCnON 2 . MAJOR INDEPENDENT LAmS 38 SECTION 3 - INDEPENDENT LAffil5 19001916 .... 68 SECTION 4 . INDEPENDENT LABELS 1916.1934 .... 73 SECTION 5 . INDEPENDENT LABELS 19341942 .... 85 SECTION 6 - POeT.1942 LABELS 91 SECTION 7 - CANADIAN INDEPENDENT LABELS .... 99 SECTION 8 . BRITISH LABELS 105 LABEL DESIGN GUIDE 147 RECORD ERA GUIIffi 165 GUIDE TO ELECTRICAL RECORDINGS 166 GLOSSARY 168 MATRIX nffiNTMCATION AND EXCHANGE 170 AIH)ENDA 172 NOTES ON DBOOGRAPHY 174 BIBUOGRAPHY 175 4 The A lmost G)mplete 78rpm Ke/iord l)»Hn^ Guide first apjiearexl in S«-pteml»er, 1979, at the suggestioii of a number of collectors who had seen my txjpious, if flisorf'anizexi, doUt, on the is^ue and retarding dates of various record labeLs. It was placed on sale at a re<x>rd show, and I was overwhelmed by lh«; resjMjnsc, as 1 still anr A revised se<x>nd edition was offerexl to collectors by mail, and again, the response was overwhelming, with the book being praisetl in auction lisL\ on radio shows featuring vintage recx)rdings, and in discographic publications. Two printings of this exlition ;Hold out rapidly, but personal circumstances kept me from con tinuing the projex;t at that point. Since then, I have been beseiged by inquiries from collectors, and conges in my circumstan(£s along with new computer technology that makes it simple to create a finishfxl work have allowed me to satisfy the many inquirers with a new edition of the b(x>k. The title still applies in the sense that the book, like any referemo work, is still not (ujmplete. I'or example., I am still trying to arrange the time, finances and permission where nroe-ssarv to explore record company files as they still exist. As well, there are many types of recordings which have either gone unresearched (popular vocal, standard and semi-classical, for example) or where considerable research has taken place but the results remain unpublished (country music, for example, where no comprehensive discography has yet appeared, or ethnic recordings, or dassicjil recordings, where discographies usually cover one artist or composer and are usually maddeningly incomplete). Information is welcomed from anyone who can fill gape in existing listings or provide informaion on labeLs or series not herein covered; I hope to be able to make revisions available on a regular basis, to make the book even more useful to collectors. Please note, however, that the primary aim of this book is to cover the 1900-1942 period, with supplementary post-1942 listing-, provided for common labels and a few of collector interest I do not intend to sort out the morass of post- 1942 labels, as this was more than adequately done by Bill Darnels, whose work mav still be in print While I can use such data for my personal files, it will probably not apptear in future editions of this guide. After three editions and twelve years, it is impossible to find space to thank all of those who assisted me from the beginnin g, even if 1 could remember them alL However, sj)ecial thanks go to the following; Those whose work I researched - primarily the indefatigable and irreplaceable Brian Rust who seems to have single-handedly organized the science of discography - and also others, .such as the late Ed Moogk and Alex Robertson; Allan Debus; Bill Daniels; the many contributors to Record Research, and countless others. Those who promoted the book, including Glenn T^oodcock, David nick Len , Len Kunstadt, Martin Bryan and Norman Stevens, among many others. Local collectors, such as Ross Brethour, Claude Arnold, John Black, Jerry Parker, the late Brian Boyd, and those members of the Canadian Antique Phonograph Society emd lAJRC who contributed uiform.rtion and assistance - there are many more as welL And - finall . th nap living or dead, who y , made the records upon which the hobby is based Special thanks go to Bill Erase, whose annotated copy of Rust’s Dance Band Discography was of value; to Jeff Healey, with whom I have exchanged data for many years; to Colin Braj', whose encour.3gement (read constant badgering) helped me decide to renew the project, and my good friend Anita Hoel, who, although not part of the hobby, provided much the same service; and to Big Cutlet Sid , my long-suffering feUne housemate, for not stepping on the computer keyboard too often, even when dinner was late. There are, as noted countless other individuals who should be but thanked some have vanished in the mists of twelve years of memory (or beer) and there is inadequate space to thank the remai nder. I do wish to send thanks in advance, though, to anyone who can assist in expanding or correcting future editions of the guide by providing missing infornLation - and in dosing, wish the best of luck to my fellow discophiles, except in the matter of fintUng that rare disc Tm seeking before I do ! STEVEN C BARR February 29, 1992 211 Pape Av. Toronto, CANADA .M4M 2\^ 2 INTRODUCTIOIN re^iched tens and From 1890 until 1960, 78 rpm records were manufactured in quantities which microgroove even hundreds of millions yearlj. When record poduction changed to the newer ty^ consigned to attics, in the lOSO’s, and record players no longer played the older records, they were Unlay being Itasements, garages and barns (or, all too often, to the trash] from where they are guide resurrecte-d by collectors and nostalgia buffs interested in the music of generations p^t This determining the age of is intended to affiist record collectors and others interested in old records in theii- discs. issued This book lists, by both catalog and matrix numbers, the majority of the 78 rpm records of in the United States, Great Britain and Canada between 1900 and 1942, and a large numlier those issued between 1942 and 1958, as well as other records using material recorded as noted. It allows approximate recording and issue dates to be determined for the many reconls that are not revered in the standard discographies. The user may wonder at the curious designation, ’’(Almost) Complete”. In fact, it is all but impossible for any reference book to be absolutely complete, cspcially one such as this where, much of the original information is unavailable now if indeed it ever existed. Certainly, the manu- facturers of these records never expected interest in them to outlast the popularity of the .songs recorde.d, and many of the record companies vanished without a trace, their files r.onsigned to scrap dealers. Further, the catalogs and supplements which are the only source for much of the information are themselves collectors’ items, hard to find and expnsive when found- Thu-s there are certain categories of recordings for which the information is not contained herein. These are, for the most part (there may be others) as follows: 1. Most indepndent record oompanies from the post-1942 era. While there is a substantial amount of (lata available on these, its inclusion would make the Guide larger and more expnsive.. Most collectors tend to be interested in one of the two priods, alsa For those collectors who are interested in these later recordings, it is recommended that they check the guide authored by Bill Daniels, which txivers most labels issued between 1940 and i960. While 1 cannot verify that the b(M>k is still in print, it may be available in libraries. Z Series of records comprised of speial, non-ppular material, such as classii'al, ethnic, educational oi other similar types of recordings. Much of this material has not yet been covered by diMographic works, or at least those including dates of recording or issue; as well, much of t his material is either of limited appeal to collectors or attracts only certain group of collectors outside the main body of dis(»philes, so that little information ha.s been published. d.