The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My latest record haul includes three acoustic Elecrolas, two by Caruso and one by Gigli. Each record has an identical light scratch on one side only, as pictured.
These are not needle scratches and do not sound during play. Might they have been inflicted during a record salvage campaign?

I think somebody just did not like that tune. I have a record with a series of "X's" carved into one side. Amazingly, they are silent and the record plays extremely well.

I found a scratch like that on one of my records, which had been in pristine condition. It turned out, a small pebble of sand or grit had found its way in to the record sleeve I stored it in, and when I pulled it out of the sleeve, SCRATCH!