Brown Wax Record Slips

[SonnyPhono]

I recently bought a large group of brown wax cylinders all of which are Columbia. I know the general history of brown wax cylinders, but am no where near what one could call an expert on the subject. So, I am posting this thread with hopes that maybe the brown wax experts can assist me with some questions I have.

All of the cylinders in the group have the original boxes and lids, and most of them have the original record slips. I will start with a few scans of some of the record slips. Can the production date of a cylinder be narrowed down by the style of record slip that it originally came with? There were several different sizes and styles of slips in the bunch and I am interested in learning more about when and how the slip designs were changed over the years. Here are some variations of slips. Click on a picture to view it in another window, then click it again to enlarge it.

The slips with green writing only are printed on a much thinner paper than the others. Would these be earlier slips perhaps? Also, there are three variations of slips with Gilmore's Band, one being printed in red. Could these differences pinpoint a date of production?

Here are some scans of different slips arranged by style and artist:

I thought it was interesting that the Banjo Solo slip by Ossman, (bottom, left-hand side) apparently had the wrong number stamped on it. Someone penciled in a "9" over the last record number.

These slips are of the thicker material, almost like a thin cardboard. They don't have the usual black print depicting the artist or band.

These are all printed on much thinner paper that is nearly transparent when held up to light. They are all different sizes, the smallest one being only about an inch and a half long. Are these earlier than the thicker style paper?

There are a dozen or so cylinders in the group that have handwritten titles on what looks like pieces of scrap paper. I don't have a proper machine and reproducer to play these yet so am not sure if they are home/personal recordings or not. Has anyone heard of these titles? The first says "Speech on Love", the second I am unable to read. It may be foreign? The third says something about "The Tomb of Napoleon" but I can't read the first word. Thoughts?

Any information regarding the different styles, dates or rarity of these slips would be much appreciated. I would love to see more variations and examples from others on the board here. Maybe this can be a thread for documenting/showing the different record slips and their changes over time?

[phonogfp]

During the brown wax era, Columbia bought large numbers of prerecorded cylinder records from independent companies - many of them in New York City. These cylinders will often lack a company name in the announcement. I suspect that some of these variations in record slips are the result of different suppliers, and thus not strictly chronological to type. It's also probable that Columbia (and Edison too) used various materials for record slips when the more typical materials ran short, then reverted back to the usual materials when new supplies arrived.

The torn paper slips are surely homemade by the owner. The first title is probably "Stump Speech On Love," a popular title recorded by various artists for several companies. I cannot read the middle title either, but the last one is "Ingersoll at the Tomb of Napoleon." Google Robert Ingersoll for more information - but be aware that Ingersoll himself did not make recordings.

Nice group!

George P.

[coyote]

George, you beat me to it!

Ingersoll at the Tomb of Napoleon:
http://www.tinfoil.com/cm-0403.htm

The second one looks like (something) In Siam (something) grow tall.

[JohnM]

'Roosters in Siam Grow Tall'. May be about the sexual tourism trade in Thailand.