Victor "Patti" label records

Discussions on Records, Recording, & Artists
melvind
Victor IV
Posts: 1313
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 am

Victor "Patti" label records

Post by melvind »

I was going through my records and found the only 2 Victor "Patti" label records I have. As far as I know in the very early days there were only 3 special Victor record labels. All 3 were by famous Opera singers. Francesco Tamagno, Nellie Melba, and Adelina Patti. The Tamagno and Melba records also had special sleeves. The Patti records, as far as I know, did not have special sleeves.

Here are two songs. I do not have any of her "Patti" label records with Opera arias, but those do exist. The only Opera recordings of her I have are on later released Victors without the "Patti" label. Recorded under a less than ideal situation in her home at the end of a career that started in 1859, these 1905 and 1906 records do not capture what has to have been a wonderful voice very well. But, they are interesting and important recordings of a voice that was performing Rossini while Rossini was still alive!


[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzar9Ybjfpo[/youtubehd]
https://youtu.be/Fzar9Ybjfpo

[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9D_DAZuzp4[/youtubehd]
https://youtu.be/M9D_DAZuzp4
20180519_070953 copy.png
20180519_070325 copy.png

Pathe Logical
Victor II
Posts: 399
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:50 pm

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by Pathe Logical »

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting The videos and images of these Victor Patti Records. In 30+ years of collecting I have never run across an example of this special label type in the wild, although I have several of her later recordings on the common Victor/Victrola labels.

I am aware of the special Melba label and have an example or two, but what is the "special" Tamagno label you allude to? Is Tamagno the only artist on this "special" label type? I have two Tamagno records, each with a different label styles, but I never realized one might be a "special" label style used exclusively on his early discs.

As you know, I have examples of the special Melba and Tamagno sleeves. I have never seen, or heard of , a special Patti sleeve.

Thanks for the education,
Bob

melvind
Victor IV
Posts: 1313
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 am

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by melvind »

Tamangno records look like other Victor red seals but were numbered sequentially as they were produced and came in a red sleeve with a clear opening that showed the label. When the record is removed an image of him appears through the opening. Look for a stamped number to the left and above the title of the record. Melba's records had a pinkish special label but came in a black sleeve with the same picture effect. I will post an example of those when I get home from work.

User avatar
Wolfe
Victor V
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by Wolfe »

I have one Victor'Patti Record' - Old Folks At Home - single sided with the recording angel embossed on the back. No sleeve.

User avatar
Wolfe
Victor V
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by Wolfe »

The Collectors Guide To Victor Records says that the Patti records had a $ 5.00 list, like the Melba and Tamagno sides. Nothing about a special sleeve. Patti's records remained in Victor's regular catalog through 1925, but the special Patti label had been discontinued in 1908.

CarlosV
Victor IV
Posts: 1835
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:18 am
Location: Luxembourg

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by CarlosV »

I have the English version of the Patti, see below. It was one in a bunch of acoustic records I bought two weeks ago. Not in the best of shapes but being rare as it is, I don't complain. The G&T record was the original issue, followed by Victor.
Attachments
HMV Patti.JPG
HMV Patti.JPG (75.48 KiB) Viewed 1784 times

52089
Victor VI
Posts: 3745
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:54 pm

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by 52089 »

Wolfe wrote:The Collectors Guide To Victor Records says that the Patti records had a $ 5.00 list, like the Melba and Tamagno sides. Nothing about a special sleeve. Patti's records remained in Victor's regular catalog through 1925, but the special Patti label had been discontinued in 1908.
Pictures of the sleeves can be found in this thread:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... tti+sleeve

User avatar
Wolfe
Victor V
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by Wolfe »

^ Right, but no PATTI sleeve seems to exist.

melvind
Victor IV
Posts: 1313
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 am

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by melvind »

Imagine that the "Patti" records as well as the Tamagno and Melba records cost $5 each at the time. A fairly limited audience would have bought these and it makes them all the more rare.

Here is a pictures of the Melba black sleeve and the record that goes with it. I took this picture with them hanging on the wall so it isn't the best. But, you can see what is there.

To enlarge the pictures you can click on them and then click a second time to enlarge them if you like.
20180519_210509.jpg
Here is a picture of an early Tamango sleeve and Monarch Victor record. The label is dark and faded, but it is original to the sleeve. Again, the picture was taken with them hanging on the wall.
20180519_210520.jpg
Here is a closeup of the Monarch record label. It is still hard to see, but the serial number is 362.
20180519_212136.jpg
Here is a later Victrola Tamagno record with a different version of the sleeve. Notice the picture behind the record is also a different one. Serial number 6976.
20180519_210558.jpg
20180519_210623.jpg
The original Gramophone & Typewriter versions of the Tamagno records used a different method for the serial numbers. At the top of the label there was a little square extension with the number on it. I don't have one of these, but examples are fairly easy to find online.

User avatar
gramophone-georg
Victor VI
Posts: 3984
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:55 pm
Personal Text: Northwest Of Normal
Location: Eugene/ Springfield Oregon USA

Re: Victor "Patti" label records

Post by gramophone-georg »

Interesting. I have a couple of those Tamagno discs somewhere in my hoard. They came from a university library collection and I always assumed those numbers were library reference numbers stamped on. In the famous words of Bugs Bunny... "Whatta maroon"!!! :lol:

I have a Gramophone Melba disc from the UK- did the Euro discs have a special sleeve as well? Maybe since they gave her her own gramophone over there they figured she didn't need a sleeve.
"He who dies with the most shellac wins"- some nutty record geek

I got PTSD from Peter F's avatar

Post Reply