Interesting Victor Record Label

[JerryVan]

I came across the following label. By the record number it's maybe a typical 1925ish batwing Victor. But the inscription on the label references RCA Manufacturing Co. The RCA refrence would suggest a much later pressing, yet the batwing label remains. Also, RCA Mfg., not RCA Victor? As Oliver Hardy would say, "Well, what about it?"

[Henry]

See https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/ ... ctor_19742. Note release date of 10/1925 and delete date of 1940. This is apparently a later issue of the recording dating from around the transition period c. 1928-29-30 when the Victor Company was in process of merger with Radio Corporation of America.

And that's my speculation for today

P.S. I'd be interested to learn whether the pianist here is the same Lawrence Brown who played trombone on several Louis Armstrong recordings.

[Wolfe]

Release date of 10 / 25. It is acoustically recorded ? Don't see a VE stamp. Batwing labels were retained for some later issues of acoustically recorded sides, well into the electrical era.

[Wolfe]

It is electrical. So it looks like some early electricals were also later reissued with the Wing label, as they were originally. I had it that it was just acousticals.

(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)

[shoshani]

The recording (from July, 1925) is electrical, as evidenced by its BVE matrix prefix. The pianist, Lawrence Benjamin Brown, is no relation to the trombonist in Duke Ellington's orchestra; in fact, the former toured with Paul Robeson in the 1940s while the latter was touring with Ellington.

RCA did use a batwing label modified with the RCA name for late pressings of acoustic recordings, but older electrical recordings usually were issued under whatever the current standard Victor label was at the time.

[Henry]

Thanks for that info!

[JerryVan]

Thank you all! Always learning... or trying to

[ChesterCheetah18]

Great thread. I too learned a few things I was unaware of. Here's another "unusual" variant, an acoustic recording reissued with a scroll label.

Steve

[Wolfe]

^
DAHR has that as being recorded in 1923 but only gives a release date of 1935. May have been a master that Victor / Rogers decided not to release originally. Will Rogers died in 1935.

I have heard of the odd cases of acoustically recorded records getting out with scroll labels though.

[ChesterCheetah18]

Well, the original was released in May '23 as (blue label) 45347. Victor had reissued them on the black bat wing label as 25126, with the "RCA Victor Co." logo at the bottom, dating them from 1930-mid '35, a photo of which can be seen in Michael Sherman's book. They didn't start using the "RCA Manufacturing Co." logo until the summer of '35, and Rogers died in June or July of '35. I seem to recall reading that the scroll reissues were made after his death, but didn't put much stock in it, but maybe there's some truth to it.