A Recent HMV Find

[gramophone78]

This year has been a great year for many of us. Lost or unknown treasures still come out of the woodwork and surprise us all.

A few weeks ago luck was on my side again and allowed me to acquire an item I could only dream of owning.

A little history about this first....
On Oct. 17th 1899, the Gramophone Company Ltd received the sole rights of Francis Barraud's "His Master's Voice" painting for the purpose of "reproducing the picture on trade circulars, on catalogs and heading of notepaper".

Plans were made immediately to produce fine reproductions of the image and negotiations for the copyright began. Although the actual transfer of the copyright was not completed until Jan. 1st 1900.

By Dec. 5th 1899 proofs of the first reproductions were available. These reproductions were printed by Rembrandt Intaglio Printing Co. of Lancaster England. (see company history at the end of the thread)

These first prints were not plate marked.

The following week perfect copies were printed and by the end of the month, were in general circulation to the trade.
These first engravings were printed is sepia and the plate mark around can be seen clearly.
The overall size was 25.5"-19.5".
It is known that 5000 copies of the first prints were made. All of which carry the "His Master's Voice" in English.
France & Germany each received 1000 copies of the first printing and the London office held the other 3000.
Dealers in the UK could purchase a copy for 2/6d (12 ½ P) and in France for 3 Francs each.

By Feb. 1900 a further 3000 copies were ordered from Rembrandt Intaglio. 1500 went to Germany and the balance remained in London.
It seems that all of these still retained the title in English.
However, by March 1900, Germany had been sent another 1000 copies with the title in German. 100 of these were sent to Vienna.
Although speculation, copies were also printed in French and believe to have been printed around this same time.

The following year two sizes were offered to the trade.....32"-23" and 17"-13".

Rembrandt Intaglio also printed (after Dec. 10 1900) a version with the Gramophone & Typewriter Co. name on the lower left. The Co. being a typo . The company was never officially known as such (it should have been Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd.). We will get back to the typo in a minute.

It has been suggested over the years that Rembrandt Intaglio also printed copies for the North American Market. However, to my knowledge and the knowledge of other HMV collectors a copy has never been seen.

Well, that was until recently.

It is with great excitement that I can show the members a Rembrandt Intaglio print specially made for the Victor Talking Machine Co.
Clearly this recently discovered print was issued after the incorporation of VTM Co.(Oct 3 1901). This North American version is identical to the UK versions with the exception of the addition of the Victor Talking Machine Co. name on the lower left side.
Regarding the typo I mentioned earlier....this North American version also has a typo. Camden N.Y. not N.J. .

Also of interest, is the serial or inventory number (W0806170) that was branded into the back edge of the oak frame. This branding was done "after" the print was framed and sealed for display. You can see the paper is burned as well.

A lot of research will need to be done with this piece. Some HMV experts are already looking into this new discovery.

If by chance a member has one of these prints...I would be very grateful to hear from you with any information you can share. Also, if a member has a HMV print or ?? with a numbering branded like shown....please let us know.

I hope the members enjoy seeing this new discovery and with further luck.....we all may learn a little more... .

Thanks to Ruth Edge & Leonard Petts 1984 book "A Guide To Collecting His Master's Voice "Nipper" Souvenirs"pages 11-13. Also to Joan & Rob Rolfs for further information on these first HMV prints to be circulated. Thank you.... . You can also view another Rembrandt Intaglio HMV print in the Rolfs book "Nipper Collectibles Vol. 1" page 1-8 a great book... .

My humble apologizes for such a long thread.

*Rembrandt Intaglio Company history*


Rembrandt Intaglio Printing Co.

The company was formed in 1895 by Storey Brothers of Lancaster (calico printers and sail and cloth makers) on the advice of artist, photographer, and engraver Karl Klic. Technical development was carried out under the direction of Klic and Samuel Fawcett, a former Storey Bros employee, and by 1900 Rembrandt was producing gravure prints commercially and in large quantities. The firm enjoyed a de facto monopoly for several years. Examples of the work produced at Rembrandt at the turn of the century are the exquisite Burlington Art Miniatures, made for The Fine Arts Publishing Co. Ltd. of London. The monopoly crumbled after WWI as other gravure printers began to compete, using newer methods and offering a wider range of products. Rembrandt Intaglio moved to London in 1926 in an attempt to reinvent itself, but was relatively unsuccessful in developing new techniques. The company was bought by the Sun Engraving Co. in 1932 and renamed Rembrandt Photogravure Ltd.

Rembrandt Photogravure Ltd.

In 1932 Sun Engraving Co. of Watford acquired the Storey Brothers’ interest in Rembrandt Intaglio Printing Co. when the Storeys made the decision to revert to producing strictly textiles. Sun Engraving moved the company from London to Watford, turned it into a sheet-fed gravure operation with modern equipment, and gave the firm its new name. Rembrandt Photogravure continued to operate as a separate entity in its new premises, producing high-quality art reproductions in colour, until 1961, when it was folded into Sun Printers Ltd., formerly the printing operation of the Sun Engraving Co.

*Edited for accuracy*

[melvind]

Terrific find! I love all the research you included in the post. A great story and a wonderful print. Congratulations!

Dan

[Starkton]

These reproductions were printed by Rembrandt & Intaglis Ptg Co. of Lancaster England.

Rembrandt Intaglio Printing Company

Edge & Petts misprinted the company name decades ago, and it is entertaining to see that this nonsense designation is still copied. Intaglio is a printmaking technique.

Eldridge Johnson first ordered "His Master's Voice" reproductions on 19th January 1901. An invoice in the HMV archive shows that 100 large and 100 small prints were shipped to the US on 3rd April 1901. The print shown is of course from a later shipment. The Rembrandt Intaglio prints are described in detail in: Ruth Edge & Leonard Petts, The Collector's Guide to "His Master's Voice" Nipper Souvenirs, London 1997, pp. 12-19.

[AllenKoe]

An invoice in the HMV archive shows that 100 large and 100 small prints were shipped to Victor on 3rd April 1901. The print shown is of course from a later shipment.

These are fascinating details about Nipper's first days in the public imagination and a reminder that some (many?) old reference books often contain data that has been directly repeated over the years (sometimes mistakenly). For example, on p. 17 of the 1997 printing of the Petts/Edge book, we see that a small quantity of these 'HMV' prints were definitely "shipped to Victor" on April 3, 1901. But surely, there is some poetic license - or foreshortening - involved here, as the 'Victor Co' did not exist until 6 months later, i.e. Oct 3, 1901. Hence these prints MUST have been shipped to Eldridge Johnson (on April 3, 1901).

On the same page, one also sees reference to "R. L. Thomas" on Chambers St in NYC but one will look in vain for this person, as he was really "R. L. Thomae." He would die under tragic circumstances while trying to save his daughter from drowning at Atlantic City (NJ).

Since Wayne's newly discovered photogravure specifically mentions the name of the VTMCo entity (at the bottom), that impression must date AFTER Oct 3, 1901. Of course, the $64 question is how much after ("later"). My own considered opinion is that it probably dates from 1901-1902. Hopefully, others will turn up, probably also printed by (or thru) the UK printer.

Allen

[gramophone78]

I just wanted to step in and thank those who have commented so far on this fantastic discovery. I haven't decided yet where to hang it. I asked my Wife if above our bed was too over the top obsessive ......I'm sure most of you know what her answer was... .

I appreciate Stephan for providing the correct name of the printing company. I only had the 1984 Petts/Edge book on hand.
The thread has now been corrected and edited accordingly.

It has been suggested by a UK collector that the numbering branded into the frame may well be a type of inventory code in order to keep tabs on the prints back in the day.
At this point, all we can say for sure is....the code was added after the print was sealed. So, one could easily assume it was company done.

I was asked to show a close up of the Camden N.Y. typo. I would love to read the thoughts of members if they think this is a "Y" or a "J". To me....it's a "Y". But, what do I know... . Click on the attachment to enlarge.

[alang]

If that's a J then it's a mighty fancy one

Congratulations to this great find and thanks a lot for everyone providing information about it.

Andreas