Belgian made Pathé Record

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Josh Cattermole 1999
Victor I
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:43 pm
Location: Leicester, England

Belgian made Pathé Record

Post by Josh Cattermole 1999 »

Hello.

I recently bought a trio of Pathé records on ebay which arrived today. They are all pre-1916, since they have an engraved label as opposed to a paper one. 2 of them had ''Made in France'' stamped on them. But one of them had ''Made in Belgium'' stamped on it instead. This immediately piqued my interest, since Belgium was almost entirely overrun by the Germans in the early stages of the First World War on the Western Front. Since Pathé was a French company, I presume the German occupiers would have shut down their operations in that country while they were there. As a collector of military antiques (as well as records and old record players) and a enthusiast of military history I thought this was a super interesting story to go along with this record.

As to the record itself, the seller pic is a bit shoddy, so I will write down what I can see:

The A side says: 7253-Tesoro Mio- (Becucci)- Valse italienne-, Disque Pathé, Brevete, S.G.D.G, N 3835G.R., 7208 [in a diamond], Made in Belgium [also in a diamond, and stamped].

The B side says: 7254. Les Amourettes- (Gung'l)- Valse-, Disque Pathé, Brevete, S.G.D.G, 64383.RA, 7208 [in a diamond], Made in Belgium [in a diamond, and stamped].

Is it possible to tell when this particular record was manufactured? It would be pretty interesting how close it was made to the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914. Also, any info on the Belgian branch of Pathé during this period would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
Attachments
Map showing the Western Front in WW1 around 1916/1917, about the time that Pathé stopped issuing engraved centre-start records. You can clearly see just how much of Belgium had been overrun by the Germans.
Map showing the Western Front in WW1 around 1916/1917, about the time that Pathé stopped issuing engraved centre-start records. You can clearly see just how much of Belgium had been overrun by the Germans.
Pathe Disc 3.jpg

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

Re: Belgian made Pathé Record

Post by CarlosV »

Pathé had a Belgium factory that made records and gramophones. I have one Belgium-made machine and a some records made in Belgium. They all pre-date 1914. As you infer, probably Pathé closed their factory during WWI.

Josh Cattermole 1999
Victor I
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:43 pm
Location: Leicester, England

Re: Belgian made Pathé Record

Post by Josh Cattermole 1999 »

Cheers Carlos.

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