The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

It never fails to amaze me that, after all these decades, I'm still finding records in the wild on labels I've never seen or heard of before. I just found this one in a milk crate full of Zonophone records. Sutton & Nauck has three Symphony record labels listed, and my guess would be that this one is #2 (c. 1907-1909) since #1 was "manufactured by the International Record Company for Kaufmann Brothers" (a Department Store in Pittsburgh), but I'm not sure. Can anyone tell me more? If you have any titles on this label, I'd love to see pictures. (By the way, in case you're wondering, I have stabilized the cracks and the record plays quite nicely.)

The label on the back is practically identical in wording to that on a 'Nassau' record which I have. The Nassau label is even less informative than that of the Symphony record; its total wording is 'Nassau / Record / The Tourist / Band / C 47'. I think I have read somewhere that this label was used by one of the big American wholesale companies – either Mason & Hamlin or Hawthorn & Sheble. The 'Imperial' label, used in Britain, belongs to the same family; here the label on the back is shorter and (naturally) omits the reference to the U.S. patent, but the typeface and paper colour are the same.

Oliver Mundy.