10-inch

Harmony Disc Record (1907 – 1916)

Harmony Disc Records was a Chicago-based record label launched by the Great Northern Manufacturing Co. in 1907. It produced 10-inch shellac records that were identical to other disc records of the time, except for a large centre hole of ¾-inch diameter. The larger hole was so that only Harmony Disc Records could be played on the Harmony Talking Machine.

Harmony was one of a number of Chicago-based labels that operated a premium scheme whereby the phonograph itself was inexpensive but the purchaser was locked-in to purchasing discs made for the player since the player had a correspondingly larger center spindle to prevent discs with standard holes fitting onto the turntable.

Harmony Disc Records were sometimes single-sided in the early days, and all were 10-inch in diameter.

Around 1912, Great Northern Manufacturing Co. left the record business, and Columbia took over the Harmony Disc Record label, which was renamed Harmony Record with the company name as Harmony Talking Machine Co. Columbia resurrected the Harmony name in 1925, but this time with a standard centre hole.

As well as the Harmony Disc Record, the other Chicago-based labels included Standard Disc Record (½-inch centre hole), United Records (1½-inch centre hole), Aretino Records (3-inch centre hole), and Busy Bee Records (rectangular cut-out in addition to standard ¼-inch centre hole).

In 1916, Harmony, Standard, United and Aretino were brought together under the Consolidated Talking Machine Company. It’s unclear when the Harmony Record label was discontinued and it may be that like the Standard Disc Record label, some recordings would have been available for a while with the larger centre hole.

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Aretino Record (1907 – 1914)

Aretino Records were 10-inch (or sometimes 12-inch) 78 rpm shellac records with an unusually large centre hole of three-inch diameter. This was the largest spindle-hole of any record and meant the centre label was reduced to a narrow ring.

The label was based in Chicago in the US, and began producing disc records and the phonograph machines to play them around 1907. The large spindle on the phonograph meant that only Aretino Records could be played on them (though adapters were available to play Aretino Records on other phonograph machines). The players were sold very cheaply since consumers were locked into purchasing Aretino Records to play on them. This was a tactic employed by a number of Chicago-based record labels, including the Standard Disc Record (½-inch centre hole), Harmony Disc Record (¾-inch centre hole) United Records (1½-inch centre hole), and Busy Bee Records (rectangular cut-out in addition to standard ¼-inch centre hole).

Aretino records were produced as single-sided and double-sided 10-inch discs, and as double-sided 12-inch discs.

Aretino was merged with Busy Bee records in 1910, and Aretino records ceased production around 1914.

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Standard Disc Record (1904 – 1920)

Sevilla (Boston No. 10) (5608) Standard Disc Record (10-inch, single-sided)
Sevilla (Boston No. 10) (5608) Standard Disc Record (10-inch, single-sided)
Sevilla (Boston No. 10) (5608) Standard Disc Record (10-inch, single-sided)
Sevilla (Boston No. 10) (5608) Standard Disc Record (10-inch, single-sided)

Standard Disc Records were marketed by the Standard Talking Machine Company, one of a number of Chicago-based sellers of phonograph machines and 78 rpm disc records. These companies used a premium scheme to tie buyers to a particular record label, and this was in the form of larger centre holes in their discs and larger spindles on their machines. They sold their phonograph machines cheaply, sometimes giving them away for free with the purchase of a certain number of disc records, but then buyers were tied into buying discs from the same company.

The Standard Talking Machine Company began selling re-branded Columbia phonograph machines around 1904 and advertised nationally. To ensure that only Standard Disc Records were played on their machines, the centre hole was drilled out to around ½-inch and the machines was equipped with an enlarged spindle. Standard sold 7-inch and 10-inch 78 rpm discs, both single and double-sided, and these were often unsold Columbia stock with new labels pasted on, though some were pressed by the company from Columbia masters.

As well as the Standard Disc Record, the other Chicago-based labels included Harmony Disc Record (¾-inch centre hole) United Records (1½-inch centre hole), Aretino Records (3-inch centre hole), and Busy Bee Records (rectangular cut-out in addition to standard ¼-inch centre hole).

In 1916, Standard, Harmony, United and Aretino were brought together under the Consolidated Talking Machine Company. The Standard Disc Record label continued until 1918, and then records were sold under the Consolidated Record label but still available for a while with the ½-inch centre hole. Consolidated continued to purchase Columbia pressings until at least early 1920.

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Vogue – The Picture Record (1946 – 1947)

Vogue picture records were introduced in 1946 by Sav-Way Industries in the US.

They were 78 rpm phonograph records, mostly being 10-inch in diameter (though some 12-inch discs were also released) and used an aluminium core, with the paper artwork being pressed beneath a clear vinyl outer layer. The use of vinyl for records was unusual at the time, since most records were made using shellac, and the sound quality of Vogue records was good.

The artwork featured a colourful illustration reflecting the theme of the song, along with a smaller image of the band leader or singer.

The discs were sold individually, or some could be bought in albums of two discs.

Production ended in 1947. During their brief life, around 74 titles were released on Vogue picture records.

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Recordio Disc (1939 – 1963)

Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines.

Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to transcribe audio onto a blank Recordio Disc. Some machines also included a built-in radio and allowed recordings to be made from radio broadcasts, but many discs were used to make recordings of family members talking or making music.

As well as home recorders, Recordio Discs could be transcribed in Coin Recordio-Gram machines in a similar way to systems such as Speak-O-Phone or Voice Records.

Space was included on the label for the user to write details of the recording, and the recorded discs could be played back on any record player. Later discs could be recorded at 45 rpm, and included a removable centre section for playback on machines with large spindles. The discs had extra holes in the centre label area for spindles on the Recordio machine to hold the disc in place during recording.

Earlier discs had aluminium cores whereas later ones used laminated cardboard. The most common size was 6½-inches, but it seems 10-inch discs were available as well. Black, cream and red discs were available.

The system was introduced some years before domestic tape recorders became widespread, but as tape recorders became more common in the 1950s sales declined and Wilcox-Gay declared bankruptcy in 1963.

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Speak-O-Phone (1926 – early 1940s)

Speak-O-Phone was a brand of aluminium phonograph disc for recording and was introduced by the Speak-O-Phone Corporation of New York founded in 1926. Aluminium was used as a recording medium from the time electrical recording was introduced in the mid-1920s until probably around the early 1940s when aluminium was required for the war effort. At some point, the Speak-O-Phone Corporation started producing a portable record cutter that could handle both aluminium and lacquer discs.

People would go to a Speak-O-Phone studio to make their recording, most likely in the form of a voice message which could then be mailed to friends or family if required, or they could use a Speak-O-Phone portable recorder.

Speak-O-Phone discs seem to have been available in various sizes, including 6, 7, 8, or 10-inch diameter, and were electrically recorded at 78 rpm. Playback required the use of needles supplied for use with Speak-O-Phone discs, or fibre needles – the standard steel needles on phonographs of the time would damage the groove.

Speak-O-Phone discs, like other aluminium discs of the time such as Voice Records, Mivoice, Egovox, Repeat-a-Voice, Remsen, or Kodisc, are not likely to break or warp but can corrode.

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Audiodisc (1938 – )

Audiodisc is a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the US market in 1938 by Audio Devices, Inc. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated disc in 1934 and that also licensed the process to EMI for their Emidisc brand in the UK.

Audiodiscs were mostly used for home recordings but were sometimes used by recording studios to give to clients to hear at home what they had recorded in the studio. As they were mostly used on simpler home recording devices, they had an extra (sometimes three extra) drive pin holes to prevent slippage – commercial disc cutting machines such as those used to create master discs would have used a vacuum to hold the disc in place. Like professional lacquer discs, the core of an Audiodisc is made of aluminium, making the disc much heavier than a standard shellac or vinyl disc.

Audiodiscs are likely to have handwritten information on the label, and can be difficult to date although various designs of label have been used over the years that may help with dating. They were available in different sizes, including 7, 10 and 12-inches in diameter. The lacquer coating wears much quicker than standard shellac or vinyl records, and a chipped stylus can damage the disc in one play.

Audio Devices, Inc. was sold to Capital Records in 1972 who sold it off in the late 1980s at which point it became the Apollo Masters Corporation. Apollo are still producing lacquer discs under the Audiodisc brand as of 2019.

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Marconi Velvet Tone Record (1907 – 1908)

In 1907 the Columbia Phonograph Company introduced the Marconi Velvet Tone Record, a lightweight semi-flexible phonograph record that consisted of a paper or cardboard core laminated between two sheets of celluloid.

Sound quality was better than the shellac discs of the time, and they were much less prone to breakage. However, they were more expensive to buy, and required a special gold-plated needle since the standard steel needles of the time would damage the softer surface. The releases were from existing Columbia masters, and other 400 titles were issued during their short production run, in both 10 and 12-inch form.

Most discs were single-sided, with a textured surface on the other side to try to prevent the lightweight disc from slipping. The textured side, along with the sleeve, carried warnings about using the wrong type of needle.

Guglielmo Marconi, the name behind long-range radio, actually had nothing to do with the design of the records and simply gave his name and image to them to add some prestige.

The records were a commercial failure and were discontinued in 1908.

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Filmophone Flexible Record (1930 – 1932)

Filmophone was an early type of flexible record, introduced by Filmophone Flexible Records Ltd for the UK market in 1930.

They were 10-inches in diameter, double-sided and played at 78rpm. Unlike contemporary 10-inch 78s which were made of heavy and brittle shellac, Filmophone records were made of cellulose, and were initially available in a range of colours. Priced at 2 shillings and sixpence, they were popular in the UK for a time, and many of the releases were by British musicians.

Due to their flexibility, they don’t always lay flat on a turntable, and they were designed to last perhaps a dozen plays.

Nearly 400 titles were released on Filmophone records, but they stopped being produced in 1932.

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Record album (late 1900s – 1950s)

Sometime during the late 1900s, record companies began to sell sets of 78rpm disc records in hardback ‘albums’. These were much like photograph albums, but with paper sleeves for multiple 10-inch or 12-inch phonograph discs, and they allowed record companies to sell complete musical works such as operas or classical works. The 78 rpm records of the time were only able to contain around 3 minutes of playing time on the 10-inch version, and 5 minutes on the 12-inch versions, so a longer complete work had to be spread across several discs.

Around the same time, empty record albums became available to allow listeners to store and protect their own discs, write information about the contents on an index page, and display the album on bookshelves.

Record albums eventually came to be used to contain compilations by artist, or by genre, in addition to longer works, and a set of 4-5 discs could contain 8-10 songs. Later releases had cover artwork and liner notes.

With the advent of Columbia’s Long Play microgroove record in 1948 that could hold the same number of songs on a single disc there was no longer a need for record albums containing several discs, and indeed by the late 1950s the 78 rpm disc itself was being phased out. However, the term ‘album’ continues to be used to describe a collection of songs, whatever the format.

For a time however, RCA issued box sets of 7-inch 45 rpm records after their introduction in 1949, to compete with Columbia’s LP format. As with the 78 rpm disc, each side would only hold a few minutes of music, but the need to change discs was reduced by RCA’s fast auto-changer mechanism on their dedicated 45 players.

Tchaikovsky Concerto No.1 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 23. Four disc box set (RCA Victor Red Seal – WDM 1159) (1949)

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