14" Victor record 1903

[gramophoneshane]

I just came across this video on youtube & thought perhaps some of you might not have seen it, as it's only been uploaded a few days.
I've never heard of a 14" Victor before, which plays for approx 6 minutes. This must be a Victor collectors dream, and must be one of the rarest Victor products around.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILU5VTMLyM[/youtube]

[Zeppy]

I've seen a couple of them pop up on ebay over the years....invariably went for far more than I could justify for a record (over $100...but don't quote me, the last one a saw was probably a year ago).

Just on a practical note...how would you store it? No binders made for that side, no record sleeves...there we go...it wasn't that I couldn't afford it, I just couldn't store it properly (how's that for a rationalization?)

[Viva-Tonal]

Doesn't Nauck's have 14" sleeves?

[OrthoFan]

I spotted this reference to the record from the Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound:

"From March 1903, the records were 14 inches, styled Deluxe Special Record; 12-inch releases began in June of that year. About 150 of the 12-inch Deluxe Records were made. Although they gave three or four minutes of playing time, their content was basically the same as that of the seven- and 10-inch records that had preceded them, except that the performances went on a little longer. Takes of varying lengths were made in the same session, and releases were available in some cases for all three sizes.

"For example, “Love Thoughts” by Sousa’s Band was recorded on 8 May 1902 in a 10-inch and 12-inch version. Cal Stewart’s “Uncle Josh Weatherby in a Department Store” was recorded for all three sizes on 21 July 1902. The 14-inch record, which sold for $2, was made to play at 60 rpm. It thus carried between five and six minutes of material, and may be considered the first attempt to produce a long-playing record. The extra playing time was not well exploited, however, since the repertoire consisted primarily of “selections” and arrangements, rather than of complete versions of longer works. Fewer than 50 titles were offered. The innovation was technically acceptable, but proved to be a commercial failure, and the series was dropped from the catalog by 1904. [Fagan 1983.]"
Deluxe Record from Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Second Edition - Volume 1 A–L. ISBN: 0-203-48427-4. Published: 11-04-2004. ©2009 Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

(URL for Google Book Preview Deleted; Page no longer available.)

[WDC]

Very beautiful but I would have problems to play this on my modern turntable. Anyway, very nice!!

[Viva-Tonal]

It's bad enough people sometimes drilled or carved the holes out of other records to fit them onto the infamous Standard machines, I hope nobody ever took one of these records and attempted to saw off the outermost radial inch in an attempt to make the remainder play like a 12" disc!

[Lenoirstreetguy]

He's playing it below 60 rpm I think. I'd like to hear one of these played with a modern system. A friend of mine had about 20 of these and of course could only play them acoustically. I've alaways wondered what the sound quality could be like.

Jim

[Viva-Tonal]

If I had one of them, we could find out.

[barnettrp21122]

He's playing it below 60 rpm I think. I'd like to hear one of these played with a modern system. A friend of mine had about 20 of these and of course could only play them acoustically. I've alaways wondered what the sound quality could be like.

Jim

Yeah, it's much too slow. I counted about 45 rpms watching the video. I'd forgotten how noisy the old-style motors could be!
Bob

[JohnM]

I think it sounds about right rpm-wise.

John M