The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I know about the excellent Truesound Transfers Excel file describing basically every approved and rejected take of every released and unreleased Diamond Disc, and I refer to it frequently.

However, I'd like to have a simpler version: One line per released disc, with record number, L and R artists, and L and R titles, maybe release and/or recording dates, maybe withdrawal date, and that's about it. This would be excellent for taking inventory, cataloging holdings, etc.

Does this exist? If so, where can I get a copy?

Thanks,
Kevin

Hello, Kevin,

I would strongly recommend

Wile, Raymond R. "Edison Disc Recordings". Eastern National Park and Monument Association, Philadelphia, 1978. 2 volumes, 427 pp.

no ISBN shown.

This book is the only printed source I am aware of that contains discographical information on ALL Diamond Discs. By contrast, Mr. Wile's book for Mainspring Press only covers the 1926-1929 Diamond Discs, albeit in more detail.

As to where to get a copy, the answer is the used book market.

Best wishes, Mark

Thanks, Mark, I've had that book for years, though as only one volume.

I'm actually looking for an electronic version that I can sort, add columns to, analyze, etc. The Truesound Transfers Excel file is fine, but it lists every take for both sides of every record, which means there are sometimes 6-10 lines for 1 disc. Since I'm mostly looking to track inventory, this is overkill. I can certainly build what I want using the existing Excel file, but I thought (hoped?) that someone might have already done something similar.

Thanks for the thought nonetheless.

I went the lazy way. I only inventory my DD's by their serial numbers in Excel, which puts them in numerical order. Then I cross reference my serial numbers with the Gregory books to find all the detail info. Although I have to use Edison DD catalogs to find info on the etched labels and the 80 and 82 thousand series.