Record Oddities
Information sought by Ian McIver of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
As a collector of 78 r.p.m records of theatre and cinema organs, I have had occasion to pick
through many tens of thousands of records in jumble warehouses and other sources of such
recordings. I have also found and purchased a few other records that struck me as rather
odd or unusual. As these records lie outside my area of expertise, I would welcome any
comments collectors may have as to the age, rarity (if they are in any way rare) or any other
points of interest.
Nicole Records
These three records came in a box of 78s that I bought for a shilling in about 1965 from a
stall in the market at Horsham, in West Sussex, England. They are all on the Nicole label,
and appear to be made of some form of laminated cardboard. They weigh considerably less
than normal shellac 78s, are brownish in colour, lateral cut, and the labels are printed
directly onto the discs. They are 10-inch single-sided, and although I have not been able to
play them for some years (not currently having suitable equipment available) I recall that
two, if not all three, have their contents and artists announced at the start of the recording.
One of them has some damage to the surface, which reveals the composition of the record
base beneath the lamination - it appears to be some form of tough card or other fibrous
material. I have heard of Nicole Frères as a manufacturer of musical boxes; a book I have
about musical boxes mentions that Nicole also made gramophone records, but an Internet
search revealed nothing about the records.
The inscribed numbers around the label are 5191(mirror image) E and N-520-1-XY 520
The inscribed number is 1547-19
The inscribed numbers are X2 and 2736-35
This disc has slight surface damage, revealing the base material beneath the laminate. This
is an enlarged view of that damaged portion:
Diamond Double Disc
This is not an Edison Diamond Disc, as it is stamped (rather poorly) on one side "Made in
France", but it does appear to be a vertical cut disc. Never having possessed euqipment
that would play vertical cut records, I have never heard this record, despite having owned it
for about 30 years. It is of unusual size, measuring 10 1/2 inches (67 cm) in diameter. The
"label" is engraved into the disc. It is a double-sided record. I bought it at the Salvation
Army's jumble warehouse in Holloway in around 1970
Zonophone 564
This double-sided disc clearly dates from World War 1, and equally obviously was recorded
in a studio. One can imagine the appeal of Side 1, but one wonders what the effect of Side 2,
with dramatic and graphic sound effects, would be on the families of troops and naval
personnel at home... It is thus quite a bizarre record.
Winner 2744
One of the most attractive labels of the World War 1 era - another military record, and
again it appears to be a studio recording
The above illustration is not a record but a sleeve, issued by Columbia and celebrating the
1940 Olympic Games - but there's a problem there... There were no Olympic Games in 1940
or 1944 - they were cancelled because of World War 2. How was it then that these sleeves
got issued??
Thank you for perusing this page. Please send any thoughts or comments to:
