The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have been collecting,preserving and transferring (home CD-Rs) 78s from my collection of 45,000 78s for 25 years. I found a very good method to play and transfer vintage Edison Diamond Discs from my collection to CD-Rs. These are a few of the singers of the past that I have long been interested in collecting,listening,and transfering to CDs. David Bispham, (I have the majority of his Columbia acoustic Symphony Series 78s) the ballads really move me a great deal. Arthur Middleton, Anna Case, Frieda Hempel, Mario Laurenti, Marie Rappold, Alice Verlet all have for 30 years been a great passion for me. I own a Victrola Model V111 (table model) occasionally, I play some of the Victor and Columbia acoustic 78s by Herbert Witherspoon, Clarence Whitehill, Bispham and a few early electrics by Anna Case on my Victrola. Mostly, I use vintage audio tube equipment in my transfers and for my listening pleasure. Fisher Tube Preamp from 1958, GE Mono Record Filters from 1954 (there is a bypass switch to bypass RIAA) (It has 78 EQ) I wish Clarence Whitehill, Herbert Witherspoon, Bispham, Lucy Marsh, Robert Radford, Frank Mullings, and esp Walter Widdop were more sought after by collectors. For years, I have been working on CD transfers of my favorite singers: David Bispham, Mullings,Radford, and the above mentioned Edison singers from my collection. The voice and diction plus emotional and musical depth of Arthur Middleton to me cries out for a project to make him better known. I have a website: http://www.vintagesoundof78s.com/ My email for further info, or to contact me, is [email protected] My mother is the Canadian soprano, Mary Simmons.

Hi:
I posted a bit on a book of opera singers I came across today. The Victrola Book of the Opera. It is in the Music section.

I do not have any opera singers in my collection. My collection consists of 31 Edison 4 minute cylinders. I hope to come across some opera works. Cylinders are not that easy to come by where I live.

I read a posting somewhere that mentioned Edison usually used second rate singers because he did not want to pay top dollar for the performers. What do you think?

Kevin

BennettPotra wrote:Hi....
But given a full century now of great artists making records, should anybody today really make much time to listen to old 78s featuring Janet Spencer or Ricardo Martin? Or to such Columbia artists as David Bispham, Barbara Maurel, Leon Rothier, Florence Macbeth, or Tamaki Miura? (Miura was a Japanese soprano who recorded Madama Butterfly arias.)

My answer is a simple "yes". Martin was a terrific singer (who also recorded some 4 minute cylinders for Edison), Janet Spencer made some charming discs as well. I can think of a few of us who really admire Bispham's records as well. I use his "Pirate Song" and "Danny Deever" as demo discs for machines at home, well recorded, fantastic and captivating performances indeed. You can tell just by listening to them that he was having a good time recording them.

Sean

Kevin Aschenmeier wrote:Hi:


I read a posting somewhere that mentioned Edison usually used second rate singers because he did not want to pay top dollar for the performers. What do you think?

I've heard the same thing, too.

He had some strange ideas about music, you may eventually find out. This was a guy that actually (privately) referred to the Fisk University Jubilee Singers as 'trash' even though he consented to a few releases by them anyway.