Congratulations to Martyn Dowel, Rolf Christian Holth Olsen and Robert Spencer who all correctly identified this weeks mystery object – The Auxetophone designed by the British engineer Sir Charles Parsons. The Auxetophone was perhaps the most effective attempt, prior to the development of electrical amplification in the 1920’s, of increasing volume. Invented in 1904, it used air pressureContinue reading “Mystery Object of the week #11 Answer”
Category Archives: 1904
The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961)
By Tony Locantro Courtesy of © EMI Group Archive Trust The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961) came to the UK from his native Australia to study singing in 1903. His lessons with Sir Charles Santley stood him in good stead for a career that lasted almost 60 years and encompassed every kind of music, from the oratorios ofContinue reading “The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961)”
The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927)
By Tony Locantro The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927) had a distinguished career for some 30 years as a leading oratorio and concert singer and was considered by some to be the foremost tenor exponent of that genre during the last quarter of the 19th century. He retired in December 1900, a few months afterContinue reading “The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927)”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3
As interest in the gramophone increased, so did the ingenuity of the Gramophone Company’s technicians. Outside the limits of most people’s finances, these machines were still largely owned by the wealthy, so how to bring all this wonderful recorded music to the mass public? The early machines and discs were incapable of fillingContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3”
Trouble in St Louis. How the Victor Company got its name.
This is the third in a series of articles about the great Eldridge Johnson and his Victor companies. By Carey Fleiner Ever tried to think up a name for a fledgeling company? It’s more difficult than you think. You can go literal BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) or abstract such as Google or Yahoo. Why didContinue reading “Trouble in St Louis. How the Victor Company got its name.”
Chocolate Records For Sale
But sadly no longer today. We have, however, just received this advert which shows the Stollwerk machine that played chocolate discs was being actively marketed “for the Christmas table” in Germany in 1904. More information about these chocolate discs (& more recent experiments in literally sweet sounds) in our earlier post, here.
“Stop Yer Tickling Jock”: The great Scottish singing swindle – Russell Hunting day #5
This is the final part of a five-day series of blog entries about Russell Hunting, a maverick who was involved at the start of the very start of the record business when its pioneers were searching to find the best business model to capitalise on the new sound-recording and playback technology. Hunting tried all sortsContinue reading ““Stop Yer Tickling Jock”: The great Scottish singing swindle – Russell Hunting day #5″
Glamorous gramophones and other early playback devices #1
This is the first of a series of early playback devices that are owned by the EMI Archive Trust. Its actually not a gramophone; its a phonograph. An Excelsior Pearl phonograph which was made in Cologne, Germany, in 1904 This is how the Trust describes the piece “Excelsior phonographs were produced by the Excelsiorwerk of CologneContinue reading “Glamorous gramophones and other early playback devices #1”
Sound Of The Hound 