The First Columbia Disc Recording

[oldphonographsteve]

Hello all!

I decided to transfer the rarest record in my collection today. It is the first disc recording by Columbia called "In the Clock Store." It is a Climax "broken ring" label pressing with a brass grommet on the label. Several years ago I had uploaded a video of it playing on a Grafonola, but now I have the equipment to do a proper transfer and equalize the sound accurately. Let me know what you think!

-Stephen
[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DQEoC3dN_U[/youtubehd]

[EdiBrunsVic]

It was a great transfer. Thank you for sharing it. I am using the Victor version of the record this week at an elementary school near me as part of a special lesson using my VV-VI and the portable VV 2-55. The second graders like this selection.

[bfinan11]

Is that a 7" disc or did Climax/Columbia go straight to 10"? I've certainly never seen one in the wild...

[Rastus10]

Great job! It was a pleasure to listen to this nice early recording. I wish all my pre-1904-ish records sounded that good.

[oldphonographsteve]

Is that a 7" disc or did Climax/Columbia go straight to 10"? I've certainly never seen one in the wild...

It is a 10 inch record. This is a slightly later pressing from 1902, and the broken ring climax label is hard to come by. In the dead wax area of the disc it says 1-1, which I take to mean the disc number and the take. Since Columbia started pressing discs in 1901 I think it's entirely possible that they were pressing 10 inch discs right from the beginning.

PS

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the transfer!

-Stephen

[Pathe Logical]

Great record to have in your collection Stephen --- thanks for sharing Columbia's lowest-numbered, 10-inch record (bearing the black-with-silver print, broken-ring style label)!!!

I wonder if this record was initially released in the 10-inch format with the Burt Companies Globe Record Co., black-with-gold print, Climax label (the first-style, paper label used by GRCo in late 1901). As I understand it, your disc bears the second variety of the GRCo.s Climax paper label (from late 1901 to early 1902). Pictured below is the same record bearing the fifth-style, Columbia paper label (introduced late 1902 to early 1903).

Ref.: Note the Notes, An Illustrated History of the Columbia Record Label, 1901-1958; Sherman and Nauck

Thanks again,
Bob

[oldphonographsteve]

Pictured below is the same record bearing the fifth-style, Columbia paper label (introduced late 1902 to early 1903).

Ref.: Note the Notes, An Illustrated History of the Columbia Record Label, 1901-1958; Sherman and Nauck

Thanks again,
Bob

Wow! It even has the same matrix number and everything, so this must be the same exact recording. Thanks for sharing. So is is this not Columbia's first disc recording? I know Columbia did some toy brown wax discs in the 1890's, but I'm not sure if that would count. I would suspect that this disc would have initially been on the gold and black Climax label, but perhaps it was even an etched label record, which came before the Climax label.

-Stephen

[bfinan11]

Brown-wax discs from the 1890s? That certainly counts for something. Where did you find out about those?

[Phototone]

Brown-wax discs from the 1890s? That certainly counts for something. Where did you find out about those?

Along with their cylinder machines, Columbia made a childs phonograph that played vertical cut brown wax records, small about 3 or 4 inches in size. More of a novelty than anything else. Similar to the Stollwerk toy phonographs that played chocolate discs.

[oldphonographsteve]

Brown-wax discs from the 1890s? That certainly counts for something. Where did you find out about those?

Along with their cylinder machines, Columbia made a childs phonograph that played vertical cut brown wax records, small about 3 or 4 inches in size. More of a novelty than anything else. Similar to the Stollwerk toy phonographs that played chocolate discs.

Here is an image for reference.

-Stephen