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Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:46 pm
by gramophone78
I have been going through some of my records and know very little about Red Seals. Some, are #1.75, $3, $3.50, $4 and $5.
One is labeled Deluxe.
The 10" records are neat. One is labeled "Concert Record".
You can click on the pic to read the labels better.
Are there any I should be keeping better care of..??. More than likely they are no big deal and can go back into the record cabinet....

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I appreciate any assistance.
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:28 am
by howardpgh
Nice looking records. The brown shellac and the red label make a great color combination.
Other than that I don't know much about the records.
$5.00 for a record, that was probably a whole weeks pay in those days.
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:57 am
by OrthoSean
None of these are exactly uncommon. The Schumann-Heink and Carusos are ones I see all the time. The red shellac is really neat, though, we don't see many of those here. Common or not, I always keep my discs in sleeves, though, so they don't get scratched, scuffed or damaged otherwise. The one thing different about Canadian pressing of these besides the shellac being red is the Berliner Co in Canada had a bad practice of using stampers until they were beyond worn out, so you'll find what looks to be a mint copy of something only to listen to it to hear a very muddy sound. I've got a couple like that and Jim T. (lenoirstreetguy) has told me he encounters this often up there.
Sean
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:43 am
by gramophone78
OrthoSean wrote:None of these are exactly uncommon. The Schumann-Heink and Carusos are ones I see all the time. The red shellac is really neat, though, we don't see many of those here. Common or not, I always keep my discs in sleeves, though, so they don't get scratched, scuffed or damaged otherwise. The one thing different about Canadian pressing of these besides the shellac being red is the Berliner Co in Canada had a bad practice of using stampers until they were beyond worn out, so you'll find what looks to be a mint copy of something only to listen to it to hear a very muddy sound. I've got a couple like that and Jim T. (lenoirstreetguy) has told me he encounters this often up there.
Sean
Sean, I can see that in Berliner. One thing he was, was frugal...

. The red (as you know) is a Canadian thing. I guess my way of displaying the records for the pics leaves a lot to be desired....sorry..

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Although as a group they weigh a ton physically.....I have never put much weight into them.
I prefer more up beat music.
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:29 pm
by OrthoSean
Oh no, wasn't offended, I was just hoping you sleeve them!
As I said, I love these things and I play them all the time.
Sean
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 5:24 pm
by VintageTechnologies
Those brown Canadian Red Seals are not common in the southern United States - I have never seen any. Something else to look for.
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:49 pm
by Torjazzer
Eldridge R. Johnson was not at all happy with Berliner's practice of using red shellac. Berliner also pressed popular music this way, using matching brown labels. He finally relinquished to Johnson and returned to using black shellac. However, he had brown labels already printed. I have a few of the cross-over discs which have black shellac and brown labels. He started using black labels when the brown ones ran out.
Re: Is There a Red Seal Expert Out There..??.
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:05 pm
by Lenoirstreetguy
The thing about the brown shellac is that if you have an unworn copy from a fresh stamper the surface noise is very very low indeed. But the reason they're so quiet is , I suspect, a formula which was low on the abrasive that wore the needles rather than the record. So if you have nice copies from fresh stampers you have a lovely thing: be nice to it and play it on a modern turntable and it will warm your heart.
Jim