Unusual Italian record label (78 RPM)

[Zenger]

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a crate of 78's that came out of a family's attic. There were about 80 10-inch, 1-sided Zonophone records (I have no idea why or or how their ancestors 115 years ago bought only, or mostly, Zonophone records) and a few of these, which are actually 2-sided. I had never seen or heard of this label before, and the records actually measure 10 ⅝" in diameter, which deepens the mystery for me, as does the artist's signature engraved in the inner ring, which seems to indicate a high-quality (or at least high-price) product. Is anyone familiar with these?

[drh]

Michael Henstock has written massive volume detailing the history and issues of Fonotipia. It's out of print, as big as a major city's pre-White Pages.com phone directory, and not often up for sale on the used book market. In brief, Fonotipia was an Italian label that made a specialty of issuing operatic recordings. The 10+" size seems to have been its standard issue, as for Odeon and other European labels, but like Pathé it released records in up to 14". Some of the best sounding records of the acoustic era (and some of the finest singers) were on Fonotipia; I'd say it's the lateral label that poses the closest challenge to Edison's best level of sonic quality. In the United States, Columbia produced and sold Fonotipia records, with a slightly amended version of the Italian label, under license, and both companies had a habit of engraving the artist's signature into the matrix. If it's in good shape, yours should be a lovely record.

Link to an auction after action report for Henstock's book: https://www.popsike.com/FONOTIPIA-RECOR ... 12099.html

[52089]

These are Fonotipia records, an Italian company that specialized in opera records. Search the board and Google Fonotipia for more info.

If you're an opera fan, these are worth finding. The performances are usually quite good. I have about 2 dozen of them myself and am always happy to find more.

I will note that both Columbia and Okeh licensed and issued some Fonotipia records. These are more easily found in the US than the Italian versions.

[epigramophone]

Fonotipias have always been highly regarded, and have been passed from one collector to another for over 100 years.
They never seem to have passed through the "junk shop" stage, at least never in my experience.

As with other records, value is largely dependent on content, and an eBay search will give you a rough guide.

The artists autographed the waxes in the belief that this offered some protection against piracy.

[Inigo]

I was so fortunate, back in 2000 or so, to find a collection of fonotipias in their own storage album, made by a Spanish record store especially for mid sized Odeon and fonotipia records. It costed cheap, and found it in a thrift store... I've tried to locate it again, but they seem to be closed since the pandemic. This chain of thrift stores (Los Traperos de Emaús) I know since a child. They seemed to have a store in every city.... Emmaus International was founded in 1963, but their original are in France.

[Marco Gilardetti]

As already said by others, this label is not unusual, actually it's possibly the most regarded Italian label, which featured many of the best operatic singers of the time.

For how naive it may sound today, the signature over the record was considered a guarantee of originality back then. Most records feature the signature of the singer engraved in the master, others have it stamped over the label, sometimes (as is the case with the picture you uploaded) both are featured. As a side note, I have never come across a "counterfeit" record that tried to look alike a Fonotipia - so the signature was either very effective against counterfeits, or nobody ever actually thought of counterfeiting these records. In any case, I consider the signature a really appealing feature of these records.

In Italy (and Europe) Fonotipia was notoriously joint-ventured with Odeon label, while in US I often read that it was in partnership with Columbia records. Most of their records - if not all - are acoustic recordings (I have never come across an electric recording and I believe the company was already over when electric recording arose, although I can't rule out exceptions). As already well pointed out by epigramophone, Fonotipia records gained cult status many many decades ago; to some degree it seems that they never knew obsolescence, and since I have memory they have always been kept in high consideration.

About their quality, my experience tells me that the singers' performances are usually at top levels, while the sonic quality of the recording/pressing may vary from absolutely excellent for an acoustic record, to only fairly good on some issues. However, in turn, I also never miss to carry home a Fonotipia record whenever I come across one of them.

[52089]

Fonotipia partnered with both Columbia and Okeh in the USA. Here's a link to an earlier thread where I posted pictures of one of my Okeh Fonotipias. If I get a chance I will try to post similar pictures of a Columbia Fonotipia for future reference.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32730&hilit=fonotipia&start=10

[Menophanes]

Fonotipia were notable for their enterprising choice of repertoire, often recording passages which are not otherwise found on early discs and allotting two or even three sides to a continuous operatic excerpt; these policies were shared by Odeon, whose matrix numbers use the same codes as Fonotipia's (Xph for 27-cm records, Xxph for 30cm). The Fonotipia studio orchestra (from 1907 onwards) was of unusual quality. The conductor in Milan was Adolfo Bracale, who was originally a cellist (like Toscanini, John Barbirolli and Victor's Rosario Bourdon) and afterwards combined the roles of conductor and impresario; in this last capacity he gave Caruso one of his earliest engagements (Cairo 1895) and one of his last (Monte Carlo 1920).

Besides the signatures, Fonotipia (and Odeon) adopted another 'security mark' in 1907; towards the middle of the recorded side the pitch of the groove was momentarily increased so as to produce a gap of about a millimetre, without interrupting the music.

Most Fonotipias are individually stamped on the label with a serial number, an idea first used on Tamagno's Gramophone & Typewriter records of 1903. I do not remember ever seeing a number as high as 5000.

Playing speeds of Fonotipias require caution. Michael Henstock, in his book on Fernando De Lucia, gives 75 r.p.m. for De Lucia's Fonotipias of 1911. Odeons, which (again from 1907) have the speed printed on the label, range from 74 to 82 r.p.m. in examples that I have seen.

Oliver Mundy.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Besides the signatures, Fonotipia (and Odeon) adopted another 'security mark' in 1907; towards the middle of the recorded side the pitch of the groove was momentarily increased so as to produce a gap of about a millimetre, without interrupting the music.

Dearest Oliver, THANK YOU for this note! I have seen this on some (not all) of their records and always wondered how it came, as it is usually located at a random point - that is not between two important passages or at the and of an aria etc. Sometimes the "special" groove is so subtle as to be barely noticeable.

So it was intentional: another anti-counterfeit feature, great to know!

[drh]

...Most of their records - if not all - are acoustic recordings (I have never come across an electric recording and I believe the company was already over when electric recording arose, although I can't rule out exceptions). ...

According to the Henstock book, the company ledgers show recording as late as November 1933 (maybe a few sides even later) and electric recording starting in 1926. I agree, though, that I've never seen an electric Fonotipia. On the other hand, they aren't exactly frequent finds on this side of the Atlantic outside the venue of auction lists and such, so that may not mean much.