The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

The Antique Phonograph Society continues to provide examples of the benefits to APS membership, including access to the extensive database Search capabilities. Here is one more example from a satisfied member:

Occasionally, the BA cylinder 1819, A Wee Deoch an' Doris, Harry Lauder appears on eBay or elsewhere, nothing I’d be particularly be interested in owning or hearing.
However, I remembered seeing something in-print many years ago that explained the cylinder title and also long-ago forgot.
When I happened to notice it listed again the other day, it bothered me that I couldn’t remember the title meaning, or where I even saw it, although I assumed it may have been an In The Groove issue.
Using the single-word Search phrase
Deoch
resulted in a handful of publications, including the 1998 August and September issues of ITG.

September, 1998
Letter to the Editor

A Wee Deoch an' Doris Explained

Hi Phil,

Another great issue of ITG; especially enjoyed that
great Zonophone photo on the cover. One of your writers,Doug Houston, on page five, wanted to know what Harry Lauder meant by "A wee deoch an' Doris." This is Gaelic for "a drink at the door," specifically a parting drink as one says good-bye.


Best
Allen Konigsberg

Perhaps not the best example of the utility of the APS search engine, since we can all use the internet to directly find gaelic translations:



So the term (and thus the song) refers to what we used to call "one for the road" - the last drink of an evening with friends, served as one went out the door or even on horseback just before setting out. And the singer mentions that his "wee wifey" is waiting; let's hope she's not too mad at him.

Before we had the interwebs I was lucky to have my Scottish grandmother, born in 1902 and who as a girl used to see Sir Harry perform "when ah had a spare copper" (an extra penny) in Glasgow's vaudeville theatres, just a phonecall away for translation services. She's gone now, but lived well past 90.

[today's extra credit quiz question: define "saftest" as used in Harry's "He's The Saftest of the Family"]

But back to the topic, yes, definitely, the APS site just keeps getting better and better...and is an invaluable (and hopefully close to permanent) resource. I believe a lot of us think of, and use, this forum as a similar resource...but it can literally disappear tomorrow from factors out of our control. APS has a more robust guarantee of safety and longevity.

I wonder how easy/feasible it would be to get a backup of the data for this forum. Wayback machine does a variable job of scraping and archiving sites, so it would be a shame to have to rely upon it.

You're right Peter - - the APS web site does not belong to one person, but to a registered not-for-profit organization. As Board members (President, Vice President, Treasurer, etc...) transition in and out of office, the organization will not change in its mission or benefits to members. Every Board member has fall-back, meaning other Board members have oversight of activities and correspondence of each Board member. Everyone knows what's going on, so in the event of the sudden loss of a Board member, others can step in and keep things moving until a replacement is found. This means that the APS web site is as permanent (or more so) as anything on the web.

George P.

Here's a Victor postcard I chanced upon a couple of hours after I posted:

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I neglected to mention a very important point in my earlier post. Much of the value of APS membership is the quality and reliability of the content of its journal articles, many of which are researched and written by people who have studied the field for decades. Most of these articles provide content and context not available anywhere else - - even elsewhere on the internet.

The member who conducted his search for that Lauder title could have just as likely discovered other detail of historical significance not available via Google, the TMF, Wikipedia, etc. There are literally hundreds of topics that have appeared in the journal since 2004 where this would happen - - the information can be found nowhere else. Just check out the Topic Index at the bottom of this page:

https://www.antiquephono.org/back-issue ... honograph/

George P.

The ad says Harry Lauder was strictly Victor. Hmm, I know he also recorded on Edison.

He certainly did. A number of early recording artists were "exclusive" for one company or another...until they weren't. In Lauder's case, he recorded for Edison (and others I expect), then later became an "exclusive" Victor/HMV artist. Of course, Edison would still have its molds and could continue to offer Lauder's records...just nothing new.

George P.

Lauder's contract with Victor was only for disc records; hence, Edison was able to re-release his earlier cylinder recordings on Blue Amberol. With the Diamond Discs, however, they had to use an imitator, Glen Ellison.

Bill

APS is fantastic....

Definitely an excellent investment....

The best $30 spent all year of any of my investments!


)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer