The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just had one of those "lightbulb over the head" moments. (Appropriate, considering I was dealing with a product of the thing's inventor! ) I've long wondered why Edison chose to stamp the catalogue numbers of his earlier diamond discs into the edge rather than putting them in the label area. Never made a lot of sense to me, especially considering how hard the things often are to read, and I've always considered that arrangement a nuisance as I've entered new acquisitions into my catalogue.

Well.

I store my diamond discs in standard business file cabinets, face forward as you might say--in other words, in the same orientation as if they were the file folders for which the cabinets were originally intended--and in order of catalogue number. As I was refiling some that I'd had out to play today, I happened to look down at the edges of a succession of discs that by chance all bore edge numbers that were well formed and still filled with white ink. And, you know? Reading their numbers and appropriately interleaving the others was MUCH easier than taking the information from labels or from the edges of sleeves. Suddenly, the design makes perfect sense. It may have faltered in execution, but the basic idea, for the benefit of those like dealers who keep the records in numeric order, is utterly sound.

Score one more for good ol' T.A.E.!

I thought T.A.E. did that so you could see the numbers in the record slots of a Diamond Disc phono cabinet anyway ? Same principle.

Well, having the record number on the edge so you could read them while they're sitting vertically in the storage area certainly makes sense, why did good 'ole T.A.E. eliminate numbers from records altogether for a certain period after that? Once they got separated from their original sleeve (which bore the record number) how were you supposed to know the number?

Seems like in dimly lit homes which was the case early for many, not having electricity, I would guess it would have been hard to read them even in a drawer. I find my self trying to figure out what they are with a magnifying glass many times. I suppose if you had a master list of the selection you wanted you could find it by the number but I wonder how many people really did that? Either way like the latter design with paper you still are stuck lifting them up to see what they are, or pulling them out as the case may be.