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I have a diamond disc mystery. In digging through my records I found an oddity I forgot I had. It's a one sided, unlabeled DD. The matrix # 2571-A-1 does not appear in Wile's book (at least I can't find it). The recording is a solo classical piano piece that I don't recognize. It has no label at all, just the matrix #. The other side is completely blank and smooth. The record is also about ¼ in. larger in diameter than a standard disc. Is this an unreleased disc or what. Has anyone come across others like this? I'll try to post a pic. later.

George

Weird...2571 doesn't show up in my list of matrix #s either, but 2564 and 2573 were both issued matrices recorded in November 1913. Does it have any kind of paper label (like the buff label you see when the white label is gone or just nothing? I have lots of test pressing DDs, all of which have unfinished edges at about 10.5 or so inches in diameter like yours. Sounds to me like you have an unissued test. Stuff like that is always neat to discover. While emptying my C-200 for moving the other day, I came across an odd Edison test of some sort with two tunes that were never coupled on the same disc, this one has a blank Edison label on each side with the information neatly penned in with fountain pen ink. I had forgotten all about it.

Sean

Sean:

There's nothing in the label area, just the blank surface and matrix#. I'll get a pic up later.

George

Here are some pics of the record.
George

OrthoSean wrote:Weird...2571 doesn't show up in my list of matrix #s either, but 2564 and 2573 were both issued matrices recorded in November 1913. Does it have any kind of paper label (like the buff label you see when the white label is gone or just nothing? I have lots of test pressing DDs, all of which have unfinished edges at about 10.5 or so inches in diameter like yours. Sounds to me like you have an unissued test. Stuff like that is always neat to discover. While emptying my C-200 for moving the other day, I came across an odd Edison test of some sort with two tunes that were never coupled on the same disc, this one has a blank Edison label on each side with the information neatly penned in with fountain pen ink. I had forgotten all about it.

Sean

I have a single-sided Edison record also. The blank side is truly blank, no grooves, nothing. The recorded side has a blank Edison paper label with a handwritten description; it is a landline Morse Code practice record. Ham radio operators cannot "copy" it because landline code is different from International Morse Code.

That's an early test, George, you can tell by the lamination cracks that were common from the really early frosted "shield" label pressings. Those tend to have really nice quiet surfaces. Very cool and thanks for sharing the pics. Looks like yours has a finished edge, yes?

Sean

The edge is finished, and the lamination cracks just miss the start grooves. The surface is quiet, and based on the matrix # I was assuming a pre-war record. Always nice to find these oddities.

George

Going by matrix numbers in that range, as noted above, it's likely a November 1913 recording, whatever it is. It fits the timeframe for those nice quiet pressings. I've got quite a few of those early smooth surface DDs where the lamination cracks radially just like that and just missing the grooves.

Sean

George, You really have found an interesting record. It is indeed a November 1913 recording of a small series made in London.
This is German selection by Fritz Feinhals, Lied an den Abendstern from Tannhäuser (Wagner). Your suspicion was right, this recording was never issued. Such test pressings are the real good ones, congrats!

Funny this is, that most people pronouce Tannhäuser incorrectly as "hauser" while it is better spoken like "heuser".

WDC wrote:George, You really have found an interesting record. It is indeed a November 1913 recording of a small series made in London.
This is German selection by Fritz Feinhals, Lied an den Abendstern from Tannhäuser (Wagner).

penman wrote:The recording is a solo classical piano piece that I don't recognize.

George

Did you only tap the piano intro, or is it really a baritone solo as Norman wrote?!