Finding non-English Records

[MisterGramophone]

Hello, how would I find pre-1925 records in the format of either four inch two minute brown or black cylinder or lateral-cut disc that is in a language other than English? Any tips that don’t involve going to a country where the language is spoken and if so, do you have any tips for less spoken languages like Fârsi or Mandarin? Edison had practically nothing that wasn’t either English or instrumental, so, what about Pathé, Columbia, or His Master’s Voice/Victor?

[CarlosV]

Hello, how would I find pre-1925 records in the format of either four inch two minute brown or black cylinder or lateral-cut disc that is in a language other than English? Any tips that don’t involve going to a country where the language is spoken and if so, do you have any tips for less spoken languages like Fârsi or Mandarin? Edison had practically nothing that wasn’t either English or instrumental, so, what about Pathé, Columbia, or His Master’s Voice/Victor?

I presume you are talking about records issued in the USA: both Columbia and Victor issued records in several European languages, targeted to the immigrant market in the US. There are records in Italian, German, Polish, Yddish, Spanish that you can find if you search for. Edison issued diamond discs and blue amberols in German, French, Spanish and other European languages as well. I don't know if they issued Asian language records in the US, though. A good start point for your research is Kurt Nauck's record auction web site: flip through the past catalogues, each one of them has a foreign language section.

[drh]

And to add to that, I assume you mean *popular* records? Most records of opera or classical song will likely be in Italian, German, or French. But, yes, Pathé is promising for French; it issued lots of French music hall type stuff. For starters, try looking for "Charlus" on eBay. He recorded an extensive catalogue of ditties from the French musical stage. Pathé also recorded a couple of complete French plays--Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire on 14 records and Corneille's Le Cid on 17 records--in its "Your Theater at Home" series. Good luck finding either of those complete, though!

[MisterGramophone]

And to add to that, I assume you mean *popular* records? Most records of opera or classical song will likely be in Italian, German, or French.

Did anyone issue records in languages like Persian, Arabic, Hindi (Labeled as Urdu), or Mandarin (Labeled as Cantonese)?

[epigramophone]

And to add to that, I assume you mean *popular* records? Most records of opera or classical song will likely be in Italian, German, or French.

Did anyone issue records in languages like Persian, Arabic, Hindi (Labeled as Urdu), or Mandarin (Labeled as Cantonese)?

I recommend reading the accounts of Fred Gaisberg's early recording expeditions for G&T/HMV. As early as 1902 he toured the Far East, opening up new markets, establishing agencies and amassing a catalogue of native records.

[MisterGramophone]

And to add to that, I assume you mean *popular* records? Most records of opera or classical song will likely be in Italian, German, or French.

Did anyone issue records in languages like Persian, Arabic, Hindi (Labeled as Urdu), or Mandarin (Labeled as Cantonese)?

I recommend reading the accounts of Fred Gaisberg's early recording expeditions for G&T/HMV. As early as 1902 he toured the Far East, opening up new markets, establishing agencies and amassing a catalogue of native records.

What languages did Fred record? Persian? Chinese (All dialects collectively labelled as Cantonese)? Hindi (Labelled as Urdu)?

Also, imagine if someone quotes this to make a quote of a quote of a quote of a quote?

[ChesterCheetah18]

I have this one listed on eBay right now. It ends tonight. I also have a couple of Japanese records listed. I do have a couple of Arabic, and maybe one Hindi record here someplace. Not real common here in the States though.

Steve

[MisterGramophone]

I have this one listed on eBay right now. It ends tonight. I also have a couple of Japanese records listed. I do have a couple of Arabic, and maybe one Hindi record here someplace. Not real common here in the States though.

Steve

What languages were common in the states?

[ChesterCheetah18]

As would be expected, there were records pressed here in many, many languages. As Carlos mentioned, both Victor and Columbia had domestic "international" series records. German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Polish are probably the most common. I also have Hungarian, "Bohemian", Swedish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Hebrew/Yiddish, Irish and others.
As a suggestion, you may do some research into the area where you are to find out about different ethnic populatins. For instance, I'm my home state of Michigan, the Detroit area probably has the most diverse ethnic population in the state, particularly Arabic, and Farsi speakers. The Upper Peninsula once had a large Welsh and Scandinavian population. The west side of the state had a large Dutch population, and those types of records are easier found there. California had areas with large Asian populatons. There were "pockets" of immigrants all over, so those may be the areas to look into.
Please send me a PM if there's anything you're particularly interested in. I may be able to help.

Steve

[MisterGramophone]

As would be expected, there were records pressed here in many, many languages. As Carlos mentioned, both Victor and Columbia had domestic "international" series records. German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Polish are probably the most common. I also have Hungarian, "Bohemian", Swedish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Hebrew/Yiddish, Irish and others.
As a suggestion, you may do some research into the area where you are to find out about different ethnic populatins. For instance, I'm my home state of Michigan, the Detroit area probably has the most diverse ethnic population in the state, particularly Arabic, and Farsi speakers. The Upper Peninsula once had a large Welsh and Scandinavian population. The west side of the state had a large Dutch population, and those types of records are easier found there. California had areas with large Asian populatons. There were "pockets" of immigrants all over, so those may be the areas to look into.
Please send me a PM if there's anything you're particularly interested in. I may be able to help.

Steve

How common was Chinese, Persian, and Japanese with the Columbia international series? Also, isn’t “Bohemian” just Czech?