The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello there, forum members!

I'm quite new here (been a member for only a few days as a matter of fact) and am still a rather young and inexperienced collector. Today, I found a 78 bearing a record label (images below) that I had never seen before, so I bought it out of curiosity. The label reads "De Moss: Concert Entertainers". When I went online to research the label, however, I could not find any information on it. I checked Brian Rust's American Record Label Book, but couldn't find it in that book either (purely based off of appearance, I suspect the record to predate the 1942 cutoff for Rust's book). I was further surprised to have not seen any indications of a parent company on the label of the record.

What I am trying to find out is the following: do I have a rare/unique/undocumented record label on my hands, or am I just not looking in the right places to find the information I seek? Given the low likelihood of this being something "undiscovered", I am more than certain that there is some key detail I have simply overlooked or missed. I appreciate any help/information you have to give on this subject.

Found this related to a DeMoss family who were musicians under the name The Lyric Bards
https://www.shermancountyoregon.com/she ... -cemetery/
Your record os also in i78s website, the property of well known collector David Giovanoni It looks like a private or commissioned pressing of the 1920s. Cannot appreciate by the bright of the groves if it is electric or acoustic recording.

I will make a wild and crazy guess and say it's an Emerson pressing.

And great inspiration in your username... i think I'll pull out Fred's OKehs next for a listen!

Well- guess it's a Marsh. Is it electrical?

Welcome to the forum and to the hobby!

I can't tell you anything about your record, other than that the label is a new one to me. One thing I will mention, since you say you're new to the game: there's a category of records and machines that I call "rare but not valuable." Most "private records" fall into it, and I'm guessing your record is one such. Don't get too hung up on "rarity"; just enjoy the music and have a good time!

Looks like a private pressing, probably used for promoting the De Moss family act to agents and venues.

Inigo wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 2:37 am Found this related to a DeMoss family who were musicians under the name The Lyric Bards
https://www.shermancountyoregon.com/she ... -cemetery/
Your record os also in i78s website, the property of well known collector David Giovanoni
Screenshot_2023-12-31-08-30-16-19_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg
It looks like a private or commissioned pressing of the 1920s. Cannot appreciate by the bright of the groves if it is electric or acoustic recording.

Thank you so much for the information! I'll take a listen to determine whether it is electric or acoustic.

I have never seen that label, the weirdest label I have ever seen is Lincoln Records.

gramophone-georg wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 2:43 am I will make a wild and crazy guess and say it's an Emerson pressing.

And great inspiration in your username... i think I'll pull out Fred's OKehs next for a listen!

I must say, the font of the label does look a lot like the earlier Emerson ones...

And yes, I am a big fan of Fred Hall's music, especially those released as the Sugar Babies. I'm trying to complete a collection of his recordings on OKeh Electric (I've got 3 out of about 17), but they are definitely hard to find!

Looks also similar in pressing and label typos to a 1920s Pathé Actuelle or Perfect record. No numbers or anything can be seen in the plain area around the label or under it, except those huge 7131 and 7132. BTW, the 3 seems to be upside down or it is an eight...
Also, these numbers might well be consulted in Steven C Barr's Almost Complete Guide, which gives lots of clues to these client pressings etc. First thing is to locate this 7000s matrix series, to see where it belongs.
Listening to these recordings at i78s it seems they are electrical, so post-1925.
i78s assigns it to the Marsh Laboratories, but I have my doubts about this, as no matrix series from Autograph bore numbers in the 7000s. Analyzing the Barr's Guide, I can see 7000s in post-1925 matrixes of ARC/PLAZA from Jan 1927 to mid-1928, and could well be the source of the recording. Seems a private recording or local promotional client recording.