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The Victor "Arch/Batwing" label becomes 100 years old this year, an official antique! It was introduced in 1914 to replace the "patents" label.

Victor "Arch/Batwing" label(red)-circa 1914: -(black)
Victor "Patents" label-circa 1913: Info on what the new label design is for:

Interesting!

Now I know why some of my 78's have hand written letters and numbers on them (not on the gold "batwing" part, though).

Back in the days of type-written ( or perhaps word-processed ) paper stuff, some one had created a Victor Records Label Guide, and they referred to the "new" 1914 label as the "Arch Label"...


I guess that monniker never caught-on...


I'm having a little trouble warming-up to the term "Bat-wing"...


I did not know that Victor intended the gold "widow's peaks" in the Arch to be used for labelling purposes...

I have a couple records that were marked in the "correct" location by their original owners: I know there are better examples in my collection somewhere, but I can't remember which records they are on.

I think the patent line on the original "Batwing" pressings have the words "See Conditions" rather than 1908 at the end. Some have Victor written on the side of the machine in the logo.
Howard

edit: The label in the green picture is the one I'm talking about.

I would never besmirch my lovely batwings by writing on them.

howardpgh wrote:I think the patent line on the original "Batwing" pressings have the words "See Conditions" rather than 1908 at the end. Some have Victor written on the side of the machine in the logo.
Howard

edit: The label in the green picture is the one I'm talking about.

First picture (Red Seal) also.

The Collector's Guide to Victor Records by Michael W. Sherman indicates that all batwing pressings initially had "Victor" on the side of Nipper's phonograph until it was removed in 1916. The price to the left of the spindle hole was removed in 1918; by 1924 the space was used to suggest Tungs-tone needles. Some very late batwings from 1926 had "Orthophonic recording" to the left of the hole. According to Sherman, the highest domestic batwing (other than special pressings and the like) was 20101.

The batwing design (or "acoustic circle" as it was officially called in later years) continued to be used as late as the early 1950s for custom pressings of deleted sides, special purpose recordings and other miscellaneous discs. In Canada, however, it remained the standard label until 1946 or '47.

Similar "arch" designs can be found on Arto, Everybodys/The Electric and Cleartone.

-HA

20101 was recorded in June, 1926.