Sidewalks of New York 1895 Berliner Record

[solophoneman]

Here is a little bit about the artist. George J. Gaskin, very prolific in the 1890's.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he became one of the most popular singers the United States in the 1890s and was nicknamed the "Silver Voiced Irish Tenor". His earliest known recordings done for the Edison North American Phonograph Company on June 2, 1891. Some sources report that Gaskin may have been only the second vocalist to make commercial records for Edison (the first may have been former slave George W. Johnson, recorded just one day earlier, on June 1). [1] Some of his songs included "After the Ball" (1893), "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" (1897), "On the Banks of the Wabash" (1897), "My Old New Hampshire Home" (1898), and "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" (1900).

Some of his recordings that are known to still exist are: I Don’t Want to Play in Your Yard (1895), She May Have Seen Better Days (1896), Yankee Doodle (1897), It Don’t Seem Like the Same Old Smile (1897), The Best in the House is None Too Good For Reilly (1897), She Was Bred In Old Kentucky (1898), Uncle Sam, Why Are You Waiting? (1898), What is Home Without Love (1899), America (1899), While the Band is Playing Dixie (1901), When the Harvest Days Are Over (1902), I’m Wearing My Heart Away for You (1903), If A Girl Like You Loved A Boy Like Me (1905)

[gramophoneshane]

I have a Berliner disc with a second spindle hole. The second hole is about half the size of the first. I have no idea what purpose this served.



Rocky

Wasn't there a company (busy bee?) that had a second spindle out from the centre. I can only guess it was drilled to fit the turntable?
You'd think it would be easier to file the lug off the turntable

[EdisonSquirrel]

Here's George J. Gaskin singing "After the Ball" on a U.S. Phonograph Company cylinder about 1893:

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/mp3/8 ... l8097d.mp3



Rocky

[Shane]

"Wasn't there a company (busy bee?) that had a second spindle out from the centre. I can only guess it was drilled to fit the turntable?
You'd think it would be easier to file the lug off the turntable."


Yes, it was busy bee, but it really wasn't a spindle that was out from the center. It was more of a rectangular shape with rounded corners.

[phonogfp]

I have a Berliner disc with a second spindle hole. The second hole is about half the size of the first. I have no idea what purpose this served.



Rocky

Rocky,

That second, smaller hole was done by Frank Seaman's people to accommodate the pin of a Zonophone turntable. You can read the whole story in a free download of the Sound Box at www.ca-phono.org.

Just click the "Sound Box" icon at the left, download the entire issue, and look for the Berliner article.

Best,

George P.

[EdisonSquirrel]

Thanks George! Interesting article. The secondary hole on the Berliner disc portrayed in your article is located to the right of the main spindle hole, while it's located to the left on my record. I imagine that the secondary apertures were drilled in a variety of locations on the discs. It would be interesting to see a photo of a Berliner disc seated on a Zonophone turntable.



Rocky

[EdisonSquirrel]

George Gaskins was also known as "the boy tenor." I have a cassette recording of his Berliner disc "Sweet Marie." The announcer states: "Sweet Marie, as sung by Master George Gaskin, the boy tenor." I assume that he must have been very young when he began his recording career.



Rocky

[phonogfp]

It would be interesting to see a photo of a Berliner disc seated on a Zonophone turntable.



Rocky

Rocky, your wish is my command!

George P.

[EdisonSquirrel]

Thank you George. I note that the disc is seated on the main spindle hole. It appears to the naked eye that the secondary aperture is merely a cosmetic flourish, but considering that the secondary aperture was necessary, it must be serving some function?



Rocky

[OrthoSean]

I'm pretty sure the purpose was to keep the disc from "slipping" on the turntable from the weight of the reproducer while being played on a Zonophone machine.

HTH,

Sean