As some years ago I did a survey of CETRA labels together with another fellow, and with reciprocal surprise we found out many many details and differences we never noted before, I did a quick survey of La Voce Del Padrone labels in my collection. Once again, looking at them with care, I noted many details about which I was unaware until few hours ago.
First of all, many records that I own that I thought were Italian, preminently the "pink" ones, were instead made in England by HMV and imported. Actually, I couldn't find in my collection any pink label that was made in Italy, which of course doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any. However, I assume (to be confirmed) that the pressing plants in Italy begun their production a little later than in Spain, I would say around the early '20s. In general, I tend to believe that most of the variants that I will list in a minute have much in common with dates or characteristics of their English or however European counterparts.
The labels that I think should be the older Italian ones feature the super-classic green colour
"Grammofono" label which is quite a faithful translation of the HMV one, again with the classic distinction between
Concerto and
Monarca record cathegories. There is a nice full-colour print of Nipper, but with no mention of
La Voce Del Padrone motto. The bottom circular row states that the records are made in Italy by the
Società Nazionale del Grammofono. Around the spindle, there's the circular
Marca Depos. (=
depositata) just as on British HMVs, a detail that will become more interesting to spot later.
In the latter image, it's interesting to note that, although the
La Voce Del Padrone motto doesn't appear anywhere on the label, it does appear yet on the copyright stamp.
Later, I would say right before the '30s (but to be confirmed), the distinction between
Concerto and
Monarca records was dropped, and replaced with a colour code that will be addressed in a minute. Still,
Grammofono green labels remained by far the most common. I could devise at least three main variations, which I pasted all in a row for easyness of comparison:
Under Nipper's feet now appears, humbly and barely readable in gold, as a continuation of the
Marca depos. writing, the famous motto
La Voce Del Padrone. The leftmost label is likely the oldest, with still the two "half squares" on the bottom encircling the musical genre and catalogue number. At the centre, a nearly identical label, in which however the two half-squares are no longer present. At right, likely the most recent variation, a bit smaller in size overall, with a definitely smaller area dedicated to the Nipper print, and with slightly changed fonts for the
Grammofono writing; also, the
Marca depos. writing is no longer around the spindle hole, but it's now linear, placed at the left inside Nipper's print. We will see in a minute that this is most probably a very late variation, possibly at the edge of the '40s. However, all these records are still said to be made, on the bottom row, by the
Società Nazionale del Grammofono alone.
Concerning the colour codes, there were slight changes over the years, however by the late '20s up to the late '30s the records were preminently divided into these cathegories:
ONE-SIDED RECORDS
These were reserved for most
a-la-page artists. When younger, I thought that all one-sided records were also the oldest, that is they were made before anyone came up with the idea of a double-sided record. Instead, as I suppose most of the readers of this board already know, pressing one-sided records was a way to maximise profits and minimise royalties for the records that were thought to be going to be best sellers. They were a sort of premium product, and were made well into the era of double-sided records. The most common colour variations were as follows, in order of descending price (by 1939):
WHITE (£it 50)
PINK (£it 45)
GREEN (£it 44)
RED (£it 27-15)
BLUE (price unknown)
DOUBLE SIDED RECORDS - CELEBRITIES
Most "normal" records would fit this cathegory. However, the price difference between the most exclusive and expensive ones, and the most popular, is still striking.
The most common colour variations were as follows, in order of descending price (by 1939):
WHITE DQ (£it 54)
LIGHT BLUE DO (£it 50)
LIGHT GREEN DM (£it 45)
CHAMOIS DJ DK (£it 30-40)
RED DA DB DR DS (£it 22-30)
OTHER RECORDS
Residual cathegory for more current double-sided records.
BLACK AV AW D E (price unspecified)
ORANGE AY (price unspecified) children line
GREEN R S (price unspecified)
Example of a top-price, double sided, white label record. As a matter of fact, it features a sort of "million dollar quartet", with Amelita Galli-Curci and Beniamino Gigli singing together, amongst others, one of the most famous Italian aria of all times.
This mid-to-high priced double sided record features Caruso in duet with Amato. Catalogues describe this label as "light green", although, perhaps due to age, it looks more towards a yellow-green shade today.
Low-priced double sided record, featuring a very common "intermediate" red label without the side half-squares. Caruso for the man-in-the-street.
For some obscure reason - possibly beacause no singer was involved - this remarkable double sided Toscanini's take fell into the "other" cathegory, featuring an impressively elegant black label with gold stripes.
This blue label variation on a double-sided record doesn't fit any of the above cathegory and sub-cathegory, it was possibly issued later, when the colour codes perhaps changed once again.
So far, the
La Voce Del Padrone motto made its way into the records very humbly, at corners, in barely readable characters. What radically changed the scenario, in my opinion, was when
S.A. Del Grammofono,
Columbia and
Marconi joined together, and the labels had to be reviewed anyway. Although perhaps not immediately, from that point in time onwards,
La Voce Del Padrone became the most recognisable brand name in bold characters, while the real name of the company,
Grammofono, was relegated in a small line below Nipper's print. Likely, the change happened progressively between the late '30s and the 40's, and then lasted until 78 RPMs were dismissed altogether. To my knowledge there are (at least) four types of this latter label variants, the first two have a red background, the other two a purple background.
The first of this final lot is the extremely common red label that features Nipper in monochrome sepia tones, while in the circular bottom line the names of the three joined companies is now specified in detail:
There is also a second, elegant monochrome variation in red-on-red
tone sur tone, also extremely common, which I personally tend to like very much and prefer to the sepia type:
Finally, as anticipated, there are two other variants with purple background, still related to the
Grammofono-Columbia-Marconi joined societies. In both, the Nipper painting is drawn in "silhouette" with the same ink used for the titles. In my personal opinion they are the less interesting of all, and everything say "cheap" on them. The first has a purple background / gold ink combination, and I see it used mostly for reprints of international music (although of course I can't exclude that it may have been used also for other purposes until I find an example):
The second "silhouette" type features a purple background / silver ink combination. I see it used mostly for late instrumental dance tunes of the '50s, possibly a cheap line of records:
