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Latest Release

286 Total Pages • 280+ Illustrations
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9973333-2-9
  

Vintage Phonograph Advertisements
1895–1924

From the Mainspring Press Archives
Compiled and annotated by Allan Sutton

Vintage Phonograph Advertising presents some of the most interesting phono-related ads of the acoustic era, covering products from the commonly encountered to the impossibly rare.

You’ll find the famous makes here — the Berliners, Edisons, Columbias, Victors, Zonophones, and the like — but also a fascinating array of long-forgotten (and now highly collectible) products, pictured in more than 280 professionally restored black-and-white ads, with informative text.

Chapters include:

• Phonographs for the Home
• Phonograph–Music Box and Phonograph–Player Piano Combinations
• Import and Export Phonographs
• Coin-Operated and Other Automatic Phonographs
• Special-Use Machines
• Horns, Gadgets, and Attachments
• Phonograph and Record Cabinets
• Cylinder and Disc Records
  

Mainspring Press Catalog • Autumn 2016

 Free standard shipping to U.S. Addresses
 Free Priority Mail upgrade (U.S Addresses) on orders of $129 or more
 Prices for orders shipping outside the U.S. include insured airmail

Recent Release

378 Pages • 208 Illustrations
6" x 9" Quality Softcover
ISBN 978-0-9973333-0-5
  

Race Records and the American Recording Industry, 1919–1945: An Illustrated History

By Allan Sutton
ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

From the author of Recording the 'Twenties, a fresh and unflinching look at the companies and individuals — black and white — who defied racial prejudice and long-entrenched business practices to make recordings for the long-overlooked African American market.

Race Records and the American Recording Industry debunks the old tales and explores the full spectrum of race records — from jazz, blues, and gospel to comedy and novelty numbers, mainstream pop, the classics, and even the occasional country-music offering.

The primary focus is on the making, marketing, and distribution of race records prior to the late 1940s — exploring the ways in which those activities affected, and were affected by, conditions within the entertainment and recording industries as a whole — as seen within the context of the social attitudes, economic conditions, and changing musical tastes of the times.

Based on over ten years’ research of primary-source materials, including period trade journals, news reports, interviews, and original record company files, Race Records is a meticulously documented and richly illustrated study.

View Table of Contents

They fought the law, and the law won — For a time in the early 1900s, Leeds & Catlin, the American Record Comapny, and the International Record Company infringed patents and under-cut prices while managing to stay one step ahead of the Victor and Columbia attorneys. Eventually they were vanquished by the courts, but not before having produced many intriguing (and in some cases, now quite rare) records that are favorites with modern collectors. Their histories and recorded output are detailed in these unique new volumes. Save when you order both as a set.
  

296 total pages, illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9915279-9-1

In additional to the discographical data, this volumes features the most extensive history of the Leeds & Catlin Company published to date, richly illustrated and fully documented, with more than 100 primary-source citations.

Other features include capsule histories of all Leeds-produced labels, user's guide, and artist and title indexes.
 

284 total pages, illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9915279-8-4
 

LIMITED QUANTITIES

American Record Company, Hawthorne & Sheble, and International Record Company

 
Histories and Discographies, 1904–1909

Data compiled by
William F. Bryant

Edited and annotated by
Allan Sutton

This special combined volume covers three rogue companies' complete confirmed output, including all known issues on their flagship, subsidiary, and client labels (domestic and foreign, even including the rare post-production Nipponophones). The Hawthorne & Sheble (Star) section also includes data on the source Columbia recordings that were renumbered for these records.

For ease of use, each section is fully self-contained and includes illustrated, documented histories; user's guides; and artist and title indexes.
 

By Allan Sutton

Edison Two-Minute and Concert Cylinders is the first study of these records to be compiled from surviving company documentation (factory plating ledgers, studio cash books, remake and deletion notices, catalogs, supplements, trade publications,etc.), along with visual and aural inspection of the original cylinders. All American-catalog issues are covered, including the Grand Opera series.

This is the only guide that can help you distinguish original Edison two-minute issues from later versions. Edison cylinders were often remade, sometimes with entirely different artists and accompaniments, but previously published guides show only the initial versions. This new volume shows all known versions — even indicating those initially supplied to Edison by Walcutt & Leeds — along with the listing dates and distinguishing details for each.

Edison Two-Minute and Concert Cylinders contains a substantial amount of data that have never before been compiled in a modern work, printed or online. These include the factory plating dates for brown-wax pantograph masters and early Gold Moulded masters, which provide valuable clues to the long-lost recording dates — as do the official listing dates, which are also included.

Other features include an illustrated, footnoted history of the Edison cylinder during the National Phonograph Company period, a detailed user's guide, and artist and title indexes.  
 

308 total pages, illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9915279-4-8
 

By William R. Bryant, Allan Sutton
& The Record Research Associates

The Pathé-Perfect Discography covers all recordings (including those from outside sources) that were issued jointly in the United States on American Pathé, Perfect, and related client and subsidiary labels, including the American Record Corporation and Cameo groups.

For ease of use, both volumes are organized by Perfect catalog numbers.Data include the take(s) used on every issue, assigned master numbers and control numbers, release dates (with recording dates, when verifiable), recording locations, master sources (including material licensed or commissioned from Compo and other outside suppliers), pseudonym identification, composer and show credits, medley contents,

Volume 1 also features an illustrated, highly detailed history of the American Pathé operation (including details of its dubbing and master-numbering or renumbering processes), from its founding in 1912 through its merger with Cameo, and finally its acquisition by the American Record Corporation in 1929. A user's guide, illustrated label guide, and title and artist indexes are included.
 

By Allan Sutton, William R. Bryant,
& The Record Research Associates

The Pathé-Perfect Discography covers all recordings (including those from outside sources) that were issued jointly on American Pathé, Perfect, and related client and subsidiary labels, including the American Record Corporation and Cameo groups.

Special attention has been paid to the shared Cameo and Plaza-American Record Corporation sessions, some details of which have been badly scrambled in several well-known jazz and dance-band discographies. The Record Research group used synchronized turntables to determine identical, alternate, and unrelated takes; actual, assigned, and false master numbers; identification of artist pseudonymous, and other fine points. Their findings, many of which supplement or correct what appears in earlier discographies, are published here for the first time.

Every record is listed on its own line showing verbatim label credits and relevant markings in the wax from first-hand inspection of the original discs. Includes user’s guide and indexes (an illustrated history of the American Pathé operation appears in Volume 1).
 

By John R. Bolig

The Bluebird Discography covers the first five years of RCA’s popular budget-priced line (1932–1936).

As with all titles in Mainspring's Victor Discography Series, data in The Bluebird Discography were compiled from the original Victor Talking Machine Co., RCA Victor, and Gramophone Company recording ledgers and production files. To preserve the integrity of this original company data, no undocumented, speculative, or anecdotal material appears.

This volume also includes details for all Victor source recordings (in the case of reissued material) as well as all authorized issues on corresponding subsidiary, client, and foreign labels in 78-rpm format, including Electradisk, Montgomery Ward, Sunrise, Timely Tunes, Regal-Zonophone, and His Master's Voice, among others. Pirated reissues are not included.

Other data include recording and release dates, recording locations and studio names, master and take numbers, details of dubbed recordings, identification of pseudonymous or uncredited artists, composer and show/film credits, medley contents, and other fine details. With an illustrated history of Bluebird and the other RCA budget labels, user's guide, and artists and title indexes.

Browse other Victor Discography Series titles
 

ARSC 2015 Award
for Excellence

 
298 total pages, illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9915279-3-9
  

Eli Oberstein's United States Record Corporation: A History and Discography, 1939–1940

By Allan Sutton & The Record Research Associates

Although Eli Oberstein's Varsity and Royale labels were hailed as promising new entries in 1939, his United States Record Corporation collapsed into bankruptcy a year later — but not before Oberstein managed to assemble a substantial, and often intriguing, catalog.

This volume covers USRC's complete 1939–1940 output — its many original recordings as well as its sometimes-controversial reissues of material from Crown, Gennett, Paramount, Edison Bell, Ultraphone, and other labels. Listings of the reissued material include names of master suppliers, all prior releases, master numbers and takes, recording and/or release dates of the original issues and (because most were issued under some highly imaginative pseudonyms), identifications of the actual artists.

Other features include an illustrated USRC history; a balanced, objective look at Oberstein and his methods; a discussion of original-vs-dubbed masters based on selective comparative testing by the author and by the Record Research group; previously unpublished data on the European recordings used by Royale; and excerpts from original record reviews in period publications, including Jazz Information and The Steinway Review.
  

The Victor Discography: Victor Special Labels (1928–1941)

By John R. Bolig
ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

This fascinating new discography covers some of the scarcest and most collectible RCA and Victor products, compiled on-site from the original company recording and production files in the Sony archives (New York). Much of the data is published here for the first time and is not attainable from other print or online sources.

This important new addition to the Victor Discography Series covers:

 "Program Transcription" Long-Playing Records (with complete data on masters used for dubbing); Theater Records (Pict-Ur-Music,Special Effects, Theatre Records, and more);Picture Discs; Client and Budget Labels (Aurora, Electradisk, 4-H, Fox Movietone, Sunrise, Timely Tunes, and Yorkville); Advertising Records (specials for the Sale Department, RCA Radio Advertising Spots, and more.

From complete symphonies and grand operas to Western swing, hot dance bands, and the blues, this volume has something of interest to every collector of vintage RCA and Victor recordings.

Browse other titles in the Victor Discography Series
 

Bell and Arto Records: A History and Discography,1920–1928

By William R. Bryant & The Record Research Associates

Edited and annotated by Allan Sutton

In the 1950s, a group affiliated with Record Research magazine began using synchronized dual turntables to determine alternate takes and suspected sources of Arto and Bell recordings. Bill Bryant later inherited and largely completed the project, which disappeared into storage following his sudden death.

Finally recovered after many years, the group's detailed findings — many of which appear in print here for the first time — have been newly updated and annotated by Allan Sutton. The result is the first authoritative discography of these often-elusive records.

The illustrated introduction traces Arto's transition from purely a piano-roll brand to a promising new record label that played a key role in the early 1920s "blues craze"; Bell's early history as an Arto client label; its takeover by composer-arranger-conductor George Beynon after Arto's collapse and subsequent operation as an independent brand; the Scranton-ERL years; and its final incarnation as a Gennett client label.

496 total pages
6" x 9" hardcover
(Cloth library binding)

ISBN 978-0-9852004-9-7

LATEST EDITION — More than 6,200 aliases unmasked
on 17,000 recordings

Pseudonyms on American Records, 1892–1942 (Third Revised and Expanded Edition)

By Allan Sutton
ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

The labels sometimes lie. Since 1990, Pseudonyms on American Records has been helping dealers and advanced collectors avoid costly mistakes and spot the hidden treasures.

Now it's back, in a fully revised and substantially expanded edition that includes 62 additional pages of pseudonym listings, along with other new features. More than 6,200 aliases are unmasked on 17,000 cylinders, 78s, and transcriptions in all genres, from jazz and blues to opera — and now including American-produced ethnic and export records.

An important new feature is the addition of source citations for each entry — disclosing whether the identification was made from the original company files or other archival materials, correlation with corresponding non-pseudonymous issues, aural evidence, or reports from trusted secondary source.

Also included are a cross-reference listing by artist; recording artists’ birth, legal, or married names; historical introduction; and user’s guide.
  

New Revised & Expanded Edition

Paramount's Rise and Fall: The Roots and History of Paramount Records
  
By Alex van der Tuuk
  

"Invaluable... It's exciting to have this essential book available again."
 — Samuel Charters, author of The Country Blues

"An absorbing account." — Paul Oliver, author of Blues Fell this Morning

"A superbly written and beautifully produced book."
 — Mark Berresford, Vintage Jazz Mart

"Paramount collectors will want to buy this new version, while fans who missed out on the first edition should take their opportunities to buy this one."
— Ed Komara, ARSC Journal

ARSC 2014 Award for Excellence  

Emerson Records : A History and Discography (Complete 10" / 12" Issues)

Data compiled by William R. Bryant
Edited and annotated by Allan Sutton

Covering all 10" and 12" Emerson series (including ethnic-catalog releases), along with detailed listings for all corresponding issues on other American labels.

360 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9852004-5-9

Columbia Master Recording Dates:
The Electrical Era, 1925–1934

Number–Date Listings, Compiled from the Columbia files
 

Locations and exact recording dates for more than 15,000 master numbers, including the 140000, 150000, 980000, 990000, 236000, 250000, 255000, 265000, 351000, 365000, and 71000 series.

Note: This title is a quick-reference guide, not a complete discography. It lists only master numbers (with take numbers for remakes), recording locations, and recording dates.

180 total pages
6" x 9" quality softcover
  

ISBN 978-0-9852004-7-3

American Record Corporation Master Recording Dates, 1929–1938
  
Number–Date Listings, Compiled from the ARC files
 

Locations and exact recording dates for more than 21,000 master numbers appearing on Banner, Conqueror, Oriole, Perfect, and other ARC brands, as well as ARC-produced Brunswick (1932–1938) and Columbia (1934–1938) issues.

Note: This title is a quick-reference guide, not a complete discography. It lists only master numbers (with take numbers for remakes), recording locations, and recording dates.

188 total pages
6" x 9" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9852004-3-5

Berliner Gramophone Records in America:
A New Discography
  
By Paul Charosh

An affordable and fully revised edition of Paul Charosh's original Berliner discography, including 24 pages of rare Berliner advertising.

280 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9852004-1-1

ARSC Certificate of Merit

The American Zonophone Discography:
10" / 12" General-Catalog Issues
(1904–1912)
  
By William R. Bryant

360 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" hardcover (cloth library binding)

ISBN 978-0-9852004-0-4
 
  

A Phonograph In Every Home: The Evolution of the American Recording Industry, 1900–1919

By Allan Sutton

328 total pages • 100 illustrations 
6" x 9" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9825595-2-9

Recording the ’Twenties: The Evolution of the American Recording Industry, 1920–1929
  
By Allan Sutton

"Sets the bar for all future studies" — Vintage Jazz Mart

"Brilliantly original ... worth reading and using"  — ARSC Journal

360 total pages • 50 illustrations
6" x 9" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9772735-8-4

Recording the ’Thirties: The Evolution of the American Recording Industry, 1930–1939

By Allan Sutton

240 total pages • 65 illustrations
6" x 9" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9825595-6-7

 
The Victor Discography Series is compiled on-site at Sony Archives (New York) from the original Victor Talking Machine Company, RCA Victor, and Gramophone Company documentation.

These volumes offer the most accurate representation available of exactly what is, and is not, contained in the original Victor recording and production files. To preserve the integrity of the original company file data, no speculative, anecdotal, or undocumented material appears in these works.

"What distinguishes this discography is that the information originates entirely from original sources... It's simply a 'must-have' reference for the collector, discographer, and institutional librarian. John Bolig continues to raise the bar, setting new standards in discographical work." — The Record Collector (UK)

"Carefully prepared work... The true enthusiast cannot manage without all the resources mentioned here." — ARSC Journal

The Victor Black Label Discography — Volume 3: 20000 & 21000 Series
 
424 total pages • Illustrated / 7" x 10" hardcover (cloth library binding) / ISBN 978-0-9825595-1-2
 

The Victor Black Label Discography — Volume 4 (Special Combined Volume): 22000, 23000, 24000, V-38000, V-38500 & V-40000 Series
 
608 total pages / 7" x 10" hardcover (cloth library binding) / ISBN 978-0-9852004-8-0
 

The Victor Red Seal Discography — Volume 2 (Double-Sided Issues
to 1930)
 
624 total pages • Illustrated / 7" x 10" hardcover (cloth library binding) / ISBN 0-9772735-5-5
 

 
ARSC Certificate of Merit

Indestructible and U-S Everlasting Cylinders: An Illustrated History and Cylinderography

By Kurt Nauck & Allan Sutton

 
288 total pages • 50 illustrations (24 pages in color)
6" x 9" hardcover with dust-jacket

ISBN 978-0-9825595-7-4

ARSC Certificate of Merit  
  
Edison Amberol Cylinders: Complete American and Foreign Issues, 1908–1913
  
Compiled from the Edison company files
by Allan Sutton

256 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9852004-4-2

Revised and Expanded Edition

Edison Blue Amberol Cylinders: Complete American, Foreign, and Special-Use Issues, 1912–1929

Compiled from the Edison company files
by Allan Sutton

448 total pages • Illustrated
7" x 10" hardcover (cloth library binding)

ISBN 978-0-9822595-0-5

Little Wonder Records and Bubble Books:
An Illustrated History and Discography

By Tim Brooks with Merle Sprinzen
  

232 total pages • 50 illustrations 
7" x 10" quality softcover

ISBN 978-0-9825595-9-8

  Convenient • Affordable • Searchable

Mainspring Windows CDs are compatible with Windows PCs (Windows 98 or later; XP or later recommended), Mac OS-X, or other Macs capable of reading Windows-formatted CDs (auto-start is disabled for Macs; files can be opened from the directory). System Requirements: High-speed CD-ROM drive; minimum 512 mb of RAM; minimum 25 mb available hard-drive space; Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader (Version 5.0 or later). License: Single non-commercial user; contents may be copied to one non-networked drive for personal use only. Not licensed for copying or distribution via the Internet or any other file- or data-sharing system or device.

Searchable CD-ROM
Available Exclusively
from Mainspring Press  

(Out-of-print in book form)

Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897–1942
The Classic Jazz Discography — 6th (Final) Edition

Details on 32,000 Jazz and Jazz-Related Recordings

By Brian Rust

Note: Although this work does fully meet our current standards for documentation or accuracy, we are continuing to make it available for its historical significance, as well as its value as a foundation for ongoing, more rigorous research.

$115 (All Other Foreign Shipping) >
Includes insured airmail

The Ragtime Discography, 1894–1950
Cakewalks, Rags and Novelties on Cylinders and 78s

By Allan Sutton

Includes thousands of additional records not listed in Rust — Plus 98 historic recordings in MP3 format and high-resolution scans of more than 50 rare
sheet music covers

CD-ROM • ISBN 978-0-9825595-8-1

ARSC Award for Excellence

Montgomery Ward Records — A History
and Discography
 
Complete RCA, Decca, and Varsity Series

By Allan Sutton

CD-ROM
  

Institutional Orders: Please order directly from Mainspring Press. In addition to pre-paid orders, we welcome purchase orders (60 days net) from libraries and non-profit educational institutions. Include a purchase-order number, as well as complete contact information; see the purchase order page for further information. Purchase orders are accepted only from institutions' authorized

purchasing agents; sorry, we cannot accept purchase orders from individual staff members, students, or for-profit institutions.

Guarantee and Returns: If you are dissatisfied with your purchase for any reason, return it in new condition, postmarked within 30 days of the shipping date shown on your receipt, for a refund of your purchase price. This guarantee applies only to items purchased directly from Mainspring Press, or from mspBooks on eBay. Items purchased from other dealers must be returned to place of purchase and are subject to those dealers' returns policies.

Refund Methods: For Visa, Mastercard or PayPal Purchases — Refunds will be made directly to the account to which the purchase was charged. Refunds for credit-card or PayPal purchases will not be made to any other account, nor by check. For Check or Money Order Purchases — Refunds will be made by check.

Return Postage Reimbursement: From U.S. and Possessions — Return postage within the U.S.and its possessions will be reimbursed at actual cost using U.S. Postal Service Media Mail rates. If you use another method of return shipping, you will be reimbursed only at the comparable USPS Media Mail rate, as determined by weight. From outside the U.S. — Foreign return-shipping costs are not reimbursed, except for damaged or defective items returned for replacement-in-kind. Mainspring Press is not responsible for refunding foreign customs fees or taxes paid by the recipient. Foreign replacement copies will be declared at $0 monetary value to prevent additional Customs charges.

To Ensure Your Refund: Be sure your package is postmarked no later than 30 days from the shipping date shown on your receipt, and enclose a copy of your Mainspring Press receipt (photocopies are acceptable) or other proof of purchase. No refunds will be made for marked, soiled, shopworn, or damaged merchandise (other than defective items, items damaged in shipment, or items sold specifically as seconds); or for items not purchased directly from Mainspring Press or mspBooks.

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