Help identifying the singers, Edison 12268

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drh
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Help identifying the singers, Edison 12268

Post by drh »

Two minute wax cylinder 12268 from the Edison German catalogue was the duet "Wer uns getraut" from Johann Strauss's The Gypsy Baron. I don't have the original box/lid, and the singers' names are not included in the title information engraved into the cylinder. I did find a December 20, 1908 Edison notice to dealers giving last names only as "Walter and Hofmann" and stating this cylinder was scheduled for deletion in the United States the following month. The spoken announcement at the beginning of the record refers to the artists only by last name. Anybody know full names for them? Before I can enter this cylinder into my catalogue, I need them, especially one for Walter (absent better information, I'll assume Hofmann was "Hans," a pseudonym for a Joseph Lichtenstein who made other cylinders in this series), so that the record won't end up falling in with those of *Bruno* Walter. Many thanks for any help!

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WDC
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Re: Help identifying the singers, Edison 12268

Post by WDC »

While I don't know the first name of Frl. Walter either, Hans Hoffmann (often misspelled by omitting one 'f') was a pseudonym for Marian Alma. That song was re-recorded later with Alma again, but this time with Marie Dietrich.

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drh
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Re: Help identifying the singers, Edison 12268

Post by drh »

WDC wrote:While I don't know the first name of Frl. Walter either, Hans Hoffmann (often misspelled by omitting one 'f') was a pseudonym for Marian Alma. That song was re-recorded later with Alma again, but this time with Marie Dietrich.
Now, that's interesting. According to Girard & Barnes, "Hoffmann" was a pseudonym for Joseph Lichtenstein. No connection between "Hoffmann" and Alma is mentioned. Neither is one between Alma and Lichtenstein.

Many thanks!

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