78 Records, Cylinders, Phonographs, and Recording Industry History - Information & Resources
 

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Free Discography Downloads: John Bolig, Brian Rust, Dick Spottswood

New on the Mainspring Press Record Collectors' Blog:

THE JAMES A. DRAKE INTERVIEWS: In-depth interviews with Ted Lewis, Nina Morgana (Mrs. Bruno Zirato), Milton Cross, Rosa Ponselle; and coming soon, Brunswick's Gus Haenschen (aka Carl Fenton)

PLUS: Starr - Gennett "Pre-Ledger" Recording Dates and Locations (1915 - 1922) / Speed Bump: LPs, 45s, and the Slow Demise of the 78-rpm (1939 - 1951) / Black Swan Carusos, and Other Pirate Tales (1898 - 1951) / Russian Interference: Boris Morros and the ARA Records Saga (1944 - 1957) / Boston Talking Machine Company and the Little Wonder Phonograph (1910 - 1913) / Princess Records and the Sapphire Record & Talking Machine Company (1910 - 1911) / Shutting Down the Recording Industry: James Caesar Petrillo and the First AFM Recording Ban (1942 - 1944) / Oddball Phonograph Patents (1904 - 1907) / "American Idol," 1916 Style / Audio Rarities: "I Can Smell It Now" (Col. Barney Oldfield & Associates in Korea, 1951) / Collector's Corner (free MP files), and hundreds of other postings
 

Final Close-Out Sale on All Books (Originally $39 - $75)

On May 13, 2018, much of our remaining book inventory sustained heavy water damage and had to be discarded. The relatively few undamaged copies are now being offered at final clearances prices of 10% to 50% off original list. All have been carefully inspected and are in perfect condition, in their original shrinkwrap. Quantities are very limited, and because we are discontinuing book production in favor of online data distribution, none will be reprinted.

Please note that copyright protection remains in effect for all Mainspring Press publications, whether or not currently in print, and written permission of the copyright holder is still required for any reproduction that exceeds customary fair-use standards. For further information, contact us at the address shown on the Company Information Page.

Free standard shipping to U.S. Zip Codes
For shipping outside U.S.A. - Order at foreign-price rate only (includes insured air shipment)
All close-out sales are final. Returns will be accepted only in the case of damaged or defective copies, for exchange-in-kind.
 

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

ISBN 978-0-9973333-2-9
  

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

Vintage Phonograph Advertisements,
1895 - 1925

Compiled and annotated by Allan Sutton
 ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

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 brands 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 captions. 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

By John R. Bolig
 ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

The Bluebird Discography covers the first five years of domestic releases in 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 listed.

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.

ARSC Award-Winner 

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

ISBN 978-0-9915279-3-9
  

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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 identify the master sources, numbers, and takes; all prior releases; original recording and/or release dates; and (because most were issued under 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.
  

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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 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.
 

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

ISBN 978-0-9852004-9-7

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

Pseudonyms on American Records, 1892 - 1942 (3rd Revised & Expanded Edition)

By Allan Sutton
 ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

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 more than 60 additional pages of pseudonym listings, along with other new features. Over 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.
  

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

Emerson Records : A History and Discography (Complete 10" / 12" Issues), 1919 - 1928

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 and foreign labels.

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

ISBN 978-0-9852004-5-9

ARSC Award-Winner 

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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
 
  

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

A Phonograph in Every Home: Evolution of the American Recording Industry, 1900 - 1919

By Allan Sutton
 ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

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

ISBN 978-0-9825595-2-9

The Victor Discography Series

By John R. Bolig
 ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

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

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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
 

  ARSC Award-Winner  

 FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities
  
Edison Amberol Cylinders: Complete American and Foreign Issues, 1908 - 1913
  
Compiled from the original Edison documentation
by Allan Sutton

Full details from the original Edison documentation for all U.S. and foreign-series Amberol four-minute wax cylinders, including the final, little-known 1913 foreign releases, all corresponding Blue Amberol reissues, release dates and more.

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

ISBN 978-0-9852004-4-2

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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

Compiled from the original Edison documentation
by Allan Sutton

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

ISBN 978-0-9822595-0-5

FINAL CLOSE-OUT SALE - Very Limited Quantities

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

By Tim Brooks
ARSC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

With Merle Sprinzen
  

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

ISBN 978-0-9825595-9-8
 

All Close-Out Sales Are Final. Returns will be accepted only in the case of defective or damaged copies, which may be returned for exchange-in-kind.

FAVORITE LINKS

FREE ONLINE DISCOGRAPHIES, AUDIO FILES, AND RESEARCH:

• Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR)
• SONIC Database (Discographical Data from the Library of Congress Collections)
• CHARM Database (Detailed Classical 78 Discography from the AHRC Research Centre)
• Cylinder Audio Archive (University of California - Santa Barbara)
• The National Jukebox (Streaming Historical Recordings from the Library of Congress)
• Media History Digital Library (Free Downloads of "Talking Machine World" and Other Vintage Publications
• Phonostalgia: Researching History Through the Horn

ORGANIZATIONS:

• Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
• Antique Phonograph Society (APS)
• City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS)
• International Association of Jazz Record Collectors (IAJRC)

RECOMMENDED RECORD DEALERS AND AUCTIONS:

• Hawthorn's Antique Audio
• Holdridge Records
• Mark Berresford Rare Records
• Nauck's Vintage Records
• Vintage Jazz Mart

 
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All Close-Out Sales Are Final: Returns will be accepted only in the case of defective or damaged copies, which may be returned for exchange-in-kind.

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