My First Vogue Picture Record

[gregbogantz]

Vogue picture discs are a 5-layer sandwich. The core is a sheet of aluminum. A printed paper picture is on either side of the core, and the outside is vinyl. So you can't wear the picture away by "overplaying" the record. At RCA Records, we made some of the newer picture LP discs in the 1980s that became the rage for a while. Similar process, except that we used a black vinyl core instead of aluminum. So far as I know, all picture discs were made on manual presses - they do not lend themselves to automatic pressing. We made ours by starting with a sheet of clear vinyl laid out on the bottom stamper. Followed by placing the bottom picture paper on that clear sheet, both of which layers have holes in them that locate on the bottom center pin of the mold. The top picture paper and the top clear vinyl sheet are temporarily stuck via their holes onto the top center pin of the press mold. Then a warm shot of soft black vinyl is placed on the bottom picture paper. Close the press and wait for the black vinyl to melt and fill the press mold. At the end of the cycle, the clear vinyl sheets have melted and taken on the impressions from the top and bottom stampers. The melted sheets merge with the black vinyl melted core and completely seal the record around the circumference of the two picture sheets. Open the press and remove the sandwich, trim on a conventional edge trimmer, and you've got your picture record. I presume the Vogues were made in a similar fashion.

[reboot31]

amazing!

[SonnyPhono]

I didn't know I had a Vogue picture record. I found one in a stack of 78's I hadn't gone through before. Guess I do have one! It is interesting, but I don't have a phonograph to play it properly.

[Edisonfan]

I played mine, on my Audio-Technica turntable, with a SHURE 78 stylus, and it sounded good.

[Edisonfan]

Guess what? I just found a second Vogue Picture record with in a week.

[SonnyPhono]

I have never really looked into these before and after seeing some pictures of some and reading about their rarity compared to run of the mill 78's, I am intrigued. I may have to start looking to collect these too!

[Edisonfan]

I think they are very cool to collect. Not so much for the music, as for the art work and the rarity.

Paul

[gregbogantz]

Most collectors poo-poo the musical content of Vogue records. Their official blather is that "nobody ever listens to them, so it only matters what they look like". To which I say fiddlesticks. It's true that the music is not of earthshattering importance, but I have found several very nice performances on Vogues. My favorite Vogue to listen to is #R-781. It's one of the last ones in the lineup and they rather cheapened the cost (and appearance) by using monochrome pictures instead of full color. R-781 is green and black. But the rendition of "Sooner or Later" by the Art Kassel orchestra is the BEST version of this popular song that I have ever heard. I have it by several other bands and none is as pleasing as this one on Vogue. the girl singer is using just enough cuteness in her voice that you can easily imagine her grinning as she croons "I'll betcha if I letcha". Cute and popular song, very indicative of the late 1940s. The flip side with "Sentimental Reasons" is also very good. The Lulu Belle and Scotty records (R-718, 19, and 20) are some of the best that they ever recorded, and their "Have I Told you Lately" is the best version of this song that I have ever heard, too. And I think the King's Jesters sides are a lot of fun. Some of the jazz and blues sides from Clyde McCoy and Charlie Shavers are pretty good. R-707 with "Sugar Blues" is a McCoy record and evidently was the first Vogue disc released. Vogue must have made a zillion of these as they show up on eBay all the time for around $10. Contrary to the "official" pronouncements of today's collectors that the music is uninteresting, many of these Vogues have been played a lot and are now pretty worn. But if you find a really good one in near mint condition, it will play quite well with low distortion and low surface noise. These records can be very enjoyable.

[Edisonfan]

My two records have a lot of surface noise, so that's why I won't play them too much!