Nicole Records?

[JHolmesesq]

Hey everyone,

My latest purchase has arrived - a 190? Nicole record. I've done a bit of research and it has shown that Nicole records were pressed in England, and they were the first records ever to be pressed on cardboard, covered with a celluloid surface. The noise is a bit noticeable - I just find it amazing it still plays.

Does anyone have any advice on caring for the record? I will upload a picture when I can shortly, it's called "Departure of a troopship"

[Valecnik]

JHolmesesq,

Your description sounds similar to "Hit of the Week" records of the late 20s early 30s from the US. I'd like to hear more about your purchase.

[Roaring20s]

Here are few good search hits that may help...

http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/dancebands/in ... ex-N-P.htm

http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/dancebands/La ... Nicole.jpg

http://www.mainspringpress.com/porter.html

http://www.arsc-audio.org/awards/2002af.html

James

[gramophoneshane]

My only suggestion would be to clean the disc with a soft barely damp cloth, and to store it flat, between 2 shellac records to help prevent warping.(all in sleeves of coarse.)
I dont think warping will be as much of a problem as you'd get with Durium discs- I think (?) they were constucted more along the lines of Duophone discs, which had a much thicker substancial cardboard core.
I would also store it in a cool dry place, to prevent any seperation of the celluloid from the core.
I recently put a $35 bid on a 7" Nicole, but was outbid I didn't see the sale price unfortunately.
From memory, the Nicole label started very early in the 20th century but was gone by the first world war. I'm not aware of any online discographies that would help date your disc, but Im sure the CLPGS would have a list of matrix numbers & relevant information...at a price.

Edit: I found this link, which states Nicole records were made between 1903- 1906. I thought they lasted a little longer than that??

http://www.russian-records.com/categori ... cat_id=253

[JHolmesesq]

As promised here is a photo. The record is 10" which is surprising - Ted Staunton's 78 rpm label site states they are almost always 7" labels. I have quite a few duriums and it's obvious they perfected the technology over the later years - the Duriums are so much thinner and have greater capacity. I paid £15 for mine.

[gramophoneshane]

Nice find. I believe the 7" discs do turn up a lot more often. I guess the initial pricing had something to do with that? Apparently towards the end of production, they also made double sided discs.
I did find a little more info on the company. The London side of the company only survived from 1903 to 1906, but they also opened a banch in India, and it survived into 1909.

[JHolmesesq]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHj_9Dlhaw[/youtube]

Here is the disc. The sound quality is dreadful - it's no surprise celluloid records didn't catch on, but I equally find it amazing! It was a toughie to make audible, and I'm still having problems with some of the voices. Anyone wishing to give it a better go is more than welcome to - I can email you the MP3 for you to work with

[Valecnik]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHj_9Dlhaw[/youtube]

Here is the disc. The sound quality is dreadful - it's no surprise celluloid records didn't catch on, but I equally find it amazing! It was a toughie to make audible, and I'm still having problems with some of the voices. Anyone wishing to give it a better go is more than welcome to - I can email you the MP3 for you to work with

Whew that's one of the poorest sounding records I've heard. Is it record wear or has the celluloid deteriorated in some way?

[JHolmesesq]

Whew that's one of the poorest sounding records I've heard. Is it record wear or has the celluloid deteriorated in some way?

Wikipedia has a small line devoted to this type of record:

The mass production of shellac records began in 1898 in Hanover, Germany, and continued until the end of the 78 rpm format in the late 1950s. "Unbreakable" records, usually of celluloid on a pasteboard base, were made from 1904 onwards, but they suffered from an exceptionally high level of surface noise.

Other websites with articles on these records seem to confirm this - celluloid is an exceptionally noisy material to record on.

[Valecnik]

Whew that's one of the poorest sounding records I've heard. Is it record wear or has the celluloid deteriorated in some way?

Wikipedia has a small line devoted to this type of record:

The mass production of shellac records began in 1898 in Hanover, Germany, and continued until the end of the 78 rpm format in the late 1950s. "Unbreakable" records, usually of celluloid on a pasteboard base, were made from 1904 onwards, but they suffered from an exceptionally high level of surface noise.

Other websites with articles on these records seem to confirm this - celluloid is an exceptionally noisy material to record on.

Interesting. I'm not sure about the correlation but Edison argued that celluloid cylinders, (indestructibles)were noisy too, compared to wax. They surely can sound loud and clear today, though not quite as pleasing as a wax record.