Meteor records

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Zenger
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Meteor records

Post by Zenger »

I found these in a very large lot of 78's I picked up recently; I'm less than halfway through sorting them, so there may well be more in there. It's a label I've never seen before, in several decades of collecting, though I have come across several Meteor phonographs. (Never owned one, but I love their logo, and the mention of Piqua, Ohio!) Sutton/Nauck says these were likely produced for less than a year (1920-21?), and I can't find a single picture of one online, but I would like to know more about them, including a sense of how many there are out there, and what some other titles may be. One thing I love about these is the way the label tells you what's on the other side of the disc! Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Meteor record 1.JPG
Meteor record 2.JPG

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Orchorsol
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Re: Meteor records

Post by Orchorsol »

Thanks for posting! I love seeing unusual record labels - even though I'm across the pond!

Perhaps surprising if Meteor is a scarce one, but the online 78 discography has a list: https://78discography.com/Meteor20.htm
BCN thorn needles made to the original 1920s specifications: http://www.burmesecolourneedles.com

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vintagetenor
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Re: Meteor records

Post by vintagetenor »

I have a copy of Meteor 1105. The label is identical to the one in your photos, from what I remember.

At the moment, my 78 rpm collection is packed in boxes for relocation. I could dig it out and post photos but I might not be able to do so for a couple of days.

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Re: Meteor records

Post by colmike1 »

I have owned a Meteor upright phonograph (looked like a Brunswick) but have never seen the records. Thanks for sharing.
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Inigo
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Re: Meteor records

Post by Inigo »

Nice label, thanks for sharing!
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GlensterTX
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Re: Meteor records

Post by GlensterTX »

Very little is known about the Meteor Phonograph Co. - it was a side-venture of the Meteor Motor Car Co. of Piqua, OH. References to it began to appear in the early 1917 issues of “Talking Machine World” and there is a note in a 1926 issue that the Meteor Phonograph Co. was moving into a brand new building, so it’s probably safe to say they ran for close to 10 years - making Phonographs. The records appear to be a part of Meteor’s history, perhaps from 1917 to 1919 or so. There aren’t too many still out there, and the label design is certainly different!

Here’s the only ad that I can find theat Meteor bought in “Talking Machine World” on pages 62 and 63 of the May 1917 issue, available for download from the World Radio History site: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-T ... 917-05.pdf

Note on the second page of the ad : the Meteor had adjustable stylus pressure!
0941C225-63FB-48B8-B197-636DDEBEBF06.jpeg
C94E1A8B-1D5B-4EAC-B1BF-024289FA3775.jpeg

vintagetenor
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Re: Meteor records

Post by vintagetenor »

I dug out my only example of the Meteor label:
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DSC07626.JPG
DSC07625.JPG

Zenger
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Re: Meteor records

Post by Zenger »

Thanks for the info, everyone; very interesting and helpful. I gather that that discography is incomplete, since my second record (#1115) isn't even on it! Still, it seems that Meteor put out very few titles -- kind of surprising, considering they went to all the trouble of having someone design and print up labels!

I still can't get over that "reverse side" listing -- what a great idea! Do you think anyone else ever did that?

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Inigo
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Re: Meteor records

Post by Inigo »

Some of the Grey Gull brands, maybe. British Goodson records also listed the back side.
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Re: Meteor records

Post by vintagetenor »

I just took another look at the Meteor page on the Online 78 rpm Discographical Project site. It seems that their 1100 series was used for vocal recordings and the 1200 series for dance music.

To the best of my recollection, I have never seen an example of the 1200 series.

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