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I seem to recall an explanation somewhere before, but I don't remember where now.

Just a little thing.

I was leafing through a bunch of John McCormack Victor discs, all single sided batwing label, and the question arose again, gazing upon discs that sport both "Victor" and "Victrola".

According to Sherman's Collector's Guide to Victor Records, on the patents labels, "premium priced" red seals, from #81000, were designated "Victrola Record," whereas those selling for less than $2.00 were designated "Victor Record." Upon introduction of the batwings label (ca. 1914-15), all red seals were designated "Victor"; in 1917, the company resumed its practice of "Victor" for lower priced issues, "Victrola" for higher priced ones.

Thanks !

Actually I believe all Red Seals were titled "Victrola" beginning in 1917, and the name "Victor" was not returned to Red Seals until 1935, late in the Scroll era.
But the early Red Seal Batwing labels (1914-1917) were titled "Victor" so you'll see both varieties on that label as well as the Scrolls.

While we're on the subject, here's a little Victor labeling error that I found interesting....