Enrico Caruso, HMV D.O. 101

[nostalgia]

Can someone please help me identify this record? I tried to google it, but I can't find it, neither on Ebay nor Discogs, or anywhere else...
It landed on my doorstep along with 9 other HMV records in a DB series, that I unerstand is a series of records with celebrities.
I hope it is not a bootleg.

[epigramophone]

Your record is perfectly genuine, a reissue of HMV 054204 originally recorded in March 1908.
It was not until 1924 that HMV finally offered their celebrity records in double sided format. Most were on the DA and DB red label, but there were also the DJ, DK, DM, DO and DQ series on buff, pale blue, pale green and white labels.
One exception to "doubling up" was Adelina Patti, whose records remained pink label single sided until their withdrawal.

[nostalgia]

Thank you, Roger. Much appreciated information.

[Orchorsol]

The late Eddie Shaw's D.A.T.E.S. lists it - the stated label colour doesn't agree, but sometimes there are errors in this publication and/or label/issue variants:

[nostalgia]

Thank you, Orchorsol....it is really old, from 1910. That was older than I expected it to be...

[Inigo]

That was first issue. But your label has the two golden lined corners left and right at the bottom, and this style of label appeared in 1925. So your pressing dates from this era. In 1926 these corners disappeared in favour of a more plain label.

[epigramophone]

The late Eddie Shaw's D.A.T.E.S. lists it - the stated label colour doesn't agree, but sometimes there are errors in this publication and/or label/issue variants:

There are indeed errors in this publication. As well as some confusion over the label colours, for the DO, DR and DS series it shows the approximate dates of the original recordings, not the dates of the double sided reissues.

[Governor Flyball]

https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/ ... _svegliare

[poodling around]

I don't know the relevance of this but I have the HMV 'DM' series in my collection (not any of the other series mentioned).

My 'DM' series also mainly have the two 'golden lined corners' but those made in Italy do not. (Photograph below).

I thought I would just mention this in case it is of any interest / relevance.

[Inigo]

This Italian label style belongs to the mid-thirties, as in Spain, and the rest of Europe (maybe not France, which sends to follow their own rules).