When did Victor Talking Machine start showing on Victor record labels?

The Victor Talking Machine Company was established on October 3, 1901. It was not a totally new endeavor, as it came out of the backwash of the Berliner Gramophone Company. Eldridge Johnson was the founder of Victor and long before the VTM was founded he had started a few companies. The first one was the Consolidated Gramophone Company of Philadelphia. The second was the Victor Record manufactured by Eldridge R. Johnson of Camden NJ. On Oct 3, 1901 Berliner and Johnson joined forces and a whole new company was founded as mentioned before. The record label at this time was known as a Johnson pre dog and was started in early 1901  after dropping the Consolidated label due to court room antics.

 The recordings made at the time where quite primitive and did not really have what we call star quality. Although a few who did record were known outside of the record business. One thing that has always got my attention was when did the records start to say Victor Talking Machine on the label? It was my guess that it was November of 1901. I was always looking at records and recording dates to see how late one could go before we stopped seeing the Johnson label. This is why I have included this record here. It was a descriptive recording of a dog fight. It was a very popular record by the way and was recorded and re-recorded many times between 1901 and 1902. This example here is number 3463, and it is pretty late. It was recorded on December 14, 1901. This is well over two months after the change of names and still the record, which probably came out for the Christmas trade still has Eldridge Johnson on the label. This is just a few weeks before 1902 and still a Johnson label?  As I mentioned before I would have thought that November would make sense. But as I now see a record that would not have been available till December  18th has the Johnson label.


 Now it could have been an economic measure being that they still had a lot of Johnson labels left, or it could be that the changeover to Victor Talking Machine and creation of a new pre dog label  had not yet taken place. If I can go by this record I can take a guess and say that it was not till 1902 that the VTM  pre dog record label came into existence. This also makes me think when did Nipper make his appearance? The copy write for Victor and the use of Nipper looking into a gramophone was made around June of 1902. I would gather that perhaps Nipper would not grace the Victor label for several months after this date as well. Lets say perhaps July or August. But I can not be sure yet, still some investigating to do.

The Flying Eagle US cent. 1856-1858

One of the shortest lived of all coins in the history of the United States and truly one of the more beautiful. The Flying Eagle penny was new in every sense of the word. It had an Eagle on the front, not Liberty, Peace or anyone's mother. It was designed by James Longacre, Chief Engraver of the US Mint. But it was so very different in size too. From the 1790's till 1856 every US penny was what we called a large penny and indeed they were. They were made of copper and were the standard of what a penny should look like. But by the early 1850's the large cent was not popular with anyone, specially the Government. There was a major reason for this which we will go into. In the picture below, you will see a 1856 Large Cent and a 1857 Flying Eagle Cent. By the mid 1850's it was costing the US Mint $1.06 to make a dollar of large cents that were worth $1.00! So it was decided to shrink the size of the penny and change its composition. The new penny you will notice in the picture is lighter than the large cent. it does not have that dark copper look to it. The large cents were 100% copper. With the development of the the new penny a new composition would be made. that would be 88% copper and 12% nickel. Therefore it has a shinier and brighter look than the all copper penny. Being that it was a bit harder in mixture it was also harder to stamp. Dies went bad and it was a hard coin to print. By 1858 it was all over and it would be replaced by Indian Head Penny in 1859. It was shown that after the discontinuing of this penny it was re struck in 1858 and 59 using original dies. So some coins are not what they appear to be. But for two years this lovely coin was part of the national coinage. But by 1859 it was no more.

It's time to change the term of President to a single term of 6 years.

It is true this is not at all an original thought to me or anyone else in this day and age. This has been proposed for years. In fact it was even proposed by Warren G. Harding at one time. Well the more I look at it the more sense it makes. There is good reason for it, for when a President is elected to a 1st term he, or someday soon, she is already working on being re-elected for a second. Why bother with this? Many Presidents do not dare to follow their true leanings or agendas till they win a second term. There are many reasons for this cause often their agenda does not match many of the voters or they feel it is taking a chance. As with most politicians they have a backbone of a well cooked noodle. So they spend their 1st term or most of it keeping a lower profile and not trying to rock the boat too much. They will then spend much of the time of this 1st term trying to make the the electorate like them again. Specially if they did things in the 1st term that caused any battles between political sides. In this case what President has not? Once they win a second term they know at this point they cannot be re-elected. Then they follow the ideals that they wished they had been able to do in the 1st term. I think this is a massive waste of time in so many ways. I am of a mind to think that the President should serve only a one time 6 year term. It will free them of having to waste a full 1/3 of their 1st term of office trying to get re-elected and get to the business of being President full time.

My memories of being President of the United States in 1962 -63

I was born in the 1950's and when the 1960's came around it was a time of great change. I was from the time I could walk interested in history and the American Presidency. I read everything I could on the subject and did my best to keep satisfied on every little factoid on the office. By 1962 I had become enamored with the sitting President, John F. Kennedy. In fact I would watch his talks and enjoy the press conferences in which he was quite entertaining and funny.

 By the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis I had decided that it would be fun to create my own little Oval Office. So at this tender age I was signing bills and doing my talks to my imaginary visitors. I had decided to pretend I was President Kennedy. It was a fun game for me as he had become my hero. Through out the coming year I was equally enjoying my role. Signing bills in a cursive handwriting I did not know yet. But I did a great signature.  I signed it John F Kennedy but you would never be able to read it. But to my great imagination it was as plain as the nose on your face.

 I had a little desk set up in front of my closet and this is where I would sign the bills and reign over my imaginary nation. I wish I had written the President and told him of my game, and how I enjoyed it so.  It was so interesting to me and I guess he night have found it nice to know that a little boy was having fun pretending I was he. As time went on I watched more and more of the press conferences and speeches of which I would do in my oval office.

 However, my entire world was rocked on November 22, 1963. I need not explain what happened. But I was at school and suddenly I found my hero was dead. I watched the entire funeral. But after it was all over, I never watched the press conferences after as they were dull and boring. My little oval office was dismantled and I would learn cursive writing, but sadly would never sign a bill.  The fun of it all had died on a street in Dallas Texas.

About a week after the funeral I had a dream. The kind of dream only a young child could have. In this dream I  guess it was wishful thinking. But I saw myself go to Abraham Lincoln's grave and I put a band-aid on his head and he came back to life, then I went to JFK's grave and did the same. It was such a vivid dream that it is fresh in my mind today. Cause after I had put band-aids on my two Presidential friends we walked together singing together.

 I guess that dream ranks as one of the most bizarre dreams of my life. But in the mind of that child that was me so long ago, I had come to aid of my hero.

Visiting Edison's lab in West Orange, New Jersey in 1964

It was our school trip and we were excited. We were going to Edison's Laboratory. That Lab had been steeped in legion for us kids for ages. We were all around seven to eight years of age. We read a book in school about the great inventor and we were ready. Since it was 1964 it meant several things..
1. We were very ready to see and learn.
2. We were very well dressed as we were going on a class trip (My first)
3. I myself was excited as I was really enjoying reading about  Edison.
4. Edison was not some distant figure in history. He had been dead just 33 years or so. Therefore for us he had died about 25 years before we were born. So our parents would know much about him and our grandparents would know EVERYTHING about him. My grandfather did and he told me story after story about Edison.

I was hooked, excited, and looking forward to this trip.  On that day that we arrived we came to a working factory complete with a lunchtime whistle or buzzer. We could not go in certain areas as they were factory buildings and in use for the McGraw Edison Company.

Much of our tour was with an older gentleman who had worked for Edison, who would tell us stories, many not true but exciting none the less. Much of what was exciting to me was in what is called building #1.
It was here that on a long up leaning shelf was all of Edison's major inventions and developments. Much was in that first building, I also recall that it was there that I heard an Edison phonograph play for the first time.  I was delighted and hooked into Edison and his inventions.

We went into his office and looked around, saw the cot and the many books. We walked to the Chemical building all loaded up with tons of bottles. Little did we know that soon a bomb squad would arrive there and remove about 80% of those bottles. But I was glad to have been there when it was still as it was.
There in that building was the holy of holys and that was Edison's lab coat hung were he had left it in 1931.

It was my honor to work there 31 years later and walk where I had as a boy. I never lost the reverence for that lab coat and would always welcome the rich smell of tobacco in his office. Sometimes it was very strong and a bit over powering. It was on these days I would say loudly. "Good morning Mr. Edison"

It was an interesting thing to see the great changes that took place in the space of those 30 some odd years. I got to see history as it was then and how it would become.....I kind'a like how it was.

Titanic survivor Douglas Spedden 1905-1915 and the victim of another technology.

The RMS Titanic with her sisters were a great leap in the field of technology. The Olympic, Titanic and what was to be Gigantic (later Britannic) were the queens of the ocean. This would not last long, and in the case of the Titanic not even a single voyage. But this story is not about the Titanic, it is about a little boy who was aboard her. Douglas Spedden was six an a half years old when he went on the Titanic.

 His father and mother adored him and went out of their way to make his life happy. In that it was. He did not want for anything as his parents were very wealthy. The image of a doting father is quite plainly seen in this remarkable picture taken by Father Browne, who was one of only two groups of people to take photographs and leave the ship in Ireland. Browne took this picture of little Douglas spinning a top. You can see the pull string in his hand and he watches the top intently. His father Frederic Spedden watches his son as does everyone else.  Spinning tops do not get that kind of attention anymore!

 I do not like to use the movie Titanic to illustrate a scene, but, this very scene is in the movie and Jack Dawson takes the coat that is seen here sitting on the deck chair. It is found on him when he is arrested.

Now back to the story. It is very fortunate that the entire Spedden family and nannies survived. Life went on as it had before for the Speddens.   Young Douglas would be a big admirer of football and loved to throw and toss the ball. While on vacation in Maine, Douglas's ball rolled out into a street and he followed after it. He was then hit by an automobile. How many cars were in Maine in 1915?

Young Douglas would die from the trauma of the accident. The young boy survived the technology of the seas only to succumb to the technology of the roads.  This event devastated the family and they never truly got over it. From the time of his birth his mother Daisy would write a daily diary page for her son. The diary ends in 1915 and never sees the light of day till the 1950's when it is found.

Douglas was one of the earliest of the survivors of the Titanic to die, His father would live on till 1947. Dying of a heart attack in a swimming pool and drowning.   Irony shows itself in many unique places.

The wonder of sound recording

I am writing this because in  my imagination I was thinking about Berliner's recording laboratory in Washington D.C. in 1895.
  As I thought more about it the more I was transfixed on the whole wonder of sound recording.  It has not been with us too long. It only started as a commercial medium around 1889-1890. That commercial medium was seen by perhaps .001% of the general population as it was not something for the general public. It was for all intents a rich man's toy.

 But now as I sit here in front of my laptop computer and type I think of what a different world it was and how this "toy" would transfix humanity.  The term sound recording is most ubiquitous as it is everywhere. We are surrounded by it, we are bombarded by it, we are experiencing it often without even knowing it. We have become jaded to the very essence of it. Can you think of many public places not infused with recorded sound? Be it messages, music, tones, or noise filtering hums.

Sound recording has allowed us to bridge generations, even centuries. I recall having a conversation with another historian and we were talking about how one record existed that Abraham Lincoln would probably recognize the voice. It was the record made in 1898 by Chauncey Depew, who had several conversations with Lincoln in the 1860's. I was thinking of that and saying that here was a recording that would have been recognized by those long dead before sound recording was invented or had become a massive medium.

 I am sure that Lincoln saw Joseph Jefferson on the stage at one time or another. He was traveling in many shows in the 1840's and 50's and I am sure at one time or another Lincoln would have seen Jefferson on stage. Jefferson made records in 1898 and in 1903. This again might be a recording that Lincoln might have recognized.

Adelina Patti sang for the 15th president, James Buchanan in the late 1850's. He was born in the 1790's and I can hear Patti today. Maybe I am an old romantic, but I find that amazing. The historical connections are overwhelming and most unique.

Sound has been captured for us by those long gone from us. But the wonder of sound is that they stay with us. I can still hear Joseph Jefferson, I can hear the voices of some of those who were around during the Civil War. I can hear the song John Browns Body sung by those who were alive when it meant something more than an interesting relic of a byeregone time. The Fab Four will always be young, Caruso will always be singing gloriously and Theodore Roosevelt who did not give a damn about posterity (his words) will forever influence it
.
 It has allowed us to share history with our grandparents and our grandchildren....For as we live and die, sound recording will go on forever.  I can only imagine what will be thought of these early recordings in the years of the 25th century. Perhaps they will say pretty much the same, but talk about 500 years of sound recording and the wonder of it all.   Just perhaps they may marvel at the fact they can hear the voice of Queen Elizabeth or President Obama. Perhaps hear a TV show or Radio program and try to imagine what it was like to live in the primitive 21st century.   We think we live in a world that is so  advanced, well so were Edison cylinder records and life in 1890.

I remember playing some recordings for operatic basso Jerome Hines and tenor Franco Corelli. I played on a Victrola some recordings of Tetrazzini, Caruso, Melba, Scotti, Homer and Farrar. It was interesting to see them react to the recordings and in one case talk about one of these artists they had known. The recorded sound transcended time and the singers were one with their forebears....

It still happens..

Next time you hear a sound recording and that is almost everywhere, stop and think of the wonder and the history of it all.

What was the Columbia record Climax and how did some of the early Climax recordings get on Columbia labels?

Note the stamping on the upper right of the label saying VTM. This recording is from Feb - April. 1902. As the Victor Talking Machine Company bought the Globe Record Company in Jan 1902. This was the first label for the Columbia disc market made between 1901 and 1902.




In mid 1901 the Columbia Graphophone Company got into the disc record market. It was not easy to do and quite a detailed undertaking. But after seeing the success of the Berliner, Zonophone (which was influenced by their company) and most recently for them the Victor records manufactured by Eldridge Reeves Johnson, they knew they needed to get into the fray.

 But how does one start a disc record division when you have nothing to make them with?  This is when the Columbia Company under the control of Edward Easton took a trip to New Jersey. They had been located in NYC, but they needed a place to make their disc records.
 They found a Company called the Globe Record Company to do the job. It was through this group that the earliest of the Columbia records are pressed. This is where it does get a bit confusing.  We know Edward Easton who was the head of the Columbia Graphophone Company pushed hard to defeat Victor.

  I know that by summer 1901 Columbia is pressing records called Climax records. This is being done in contrast to the Berliner Patents, but it was hit and miss in those days as to who was in control of what. The Climax label would last into 1902 when Columbia made a deal with a company now called the Victor Talking Machine Company. This was the little company that was run by Eldridge Reeves Johnson mentioned before. However now this company was making well over a million a year in the business. Not only that, but Eldridge Johnson had bought the Globe Record Company and to the Columbia Companies embarrassment all of the Climax records would also be imprinted with the initials VTM on each record.

 This was one of the main reasons that Columbia came to the table with Victor. Cause although the Victor company did not like to admit it,  Columbia had what Victor needed as well as Victor had what Columbia did as well. At this point in 1902 Columbia ceased producing Climax records. (They also had the Joseph Jones Patent granted on December 10, 1901) This was a powerful poker chip and Columbia played it wisely. For this patent, as bogus as it was, would be the patent that would allow the modern method of disc recording. Through this deal was born the Columbia Disc label.

 When they came out with their own label called a Columbia Disc Record, some of the old material somehow slipped through the cracks and for a while a number of Climax records would receive Columbia labels. This would make for some confusing business for the rest of 1902 as all recordings in those days with a few exceptions had a spoken announcement in the beginning and many of these Columbia Records were proudly introduced as Climax ones!

.. By 1903 everything with a Columbia Label was a Columbia record and announced so. By late 1903 the announcement would vanish as well as each record had a paper label. So why bother I am sure was the question..I am sure everyone saw that as over kill.

 But the history of the Climax record is one full of some fascinating details. A short lived company of which little today is known, but the beginning of the famous Columbia Disc Record. The copies of Climax Records are not at all common today.  Every now and then a few are found. But as a general rule they are quite rare today. Pioneers of the recording industry from over 110 years ago!