Victor logo with the famous "Nipper" dog.

Victrola redirects here. For other uses, see Victrola (disambiguation)

The Victor Talking Machine Company (1901–1929) was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. Victor Talking Machine Copany logo, from 1921 magazine advertisment This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... Victrola may refer to: Victrola, a brand name of early phonograph. ... See also: 1900 in music, other events of 1901, 1902 in music and the list of years in music. // Events October 27 - First complete performance of Sergei Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No. ... See also: 1928 in music, other events of 1929, 1930 in music and the list of years in music. // Events May 3 - Francis Poulencs Concert champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra is premiered in Paris May 17 - Sergei Prokofievs Symphony No. ... Corporate redirects here. ... Edison cylinder phonograph ca. ... The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour as a 33 â…“ LP vinyl record A gramophone record (also phonograph record, or simply record) is an analogue sound recording medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove starting near the periphery and ending near the center of the disc. ...

Origins

The company was incorporated in Camden, New Jersey on October 3, 1901 by Eldridge R. Johnson. It was created by merger and reorganization of two existing companies: The US division of Emile Berliner's Berliner Gramophone Company, which produced disc records, and Johnson's Consolidated Talking Machine Company, which produced machines for playing disc records. The European division of Gramophone remained as a separate company. The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey in the United States. ... The Victor Company is now in possession of many patents and secret processes, but our greatest secret process is this - Eldridge R. Johnson Eldridge Johnson always had a keen interest in the working of mechanical objects, and even more so in the idea of discovery. ... Emile Berliner with disc record gramophone. ... 1897 Berliner Gramophone Record by George W. Johnson A more detailed description of this record Berliner Gramophone was an early record label, the first company to produce disc gramophone records (as opposed to the earlier phonograph cylinder records). ...

In 1901, the phonograph cylinder produced primarily by Edison and Columbia, still dominated the market for recorded sound. Disc records and phonographs were widely considered to be little more than toys, for they were cheaper, less reliable and usually of lower audio fidelity than the cylinder records. Johnson embarked on efforts to change these perceptions. He built more reliable spring-wound phonographs out of durable materials and hired engineers to research improved sound for the recordings. Within a few years, Victor was producing records with some of the finest audio fidelity of the era. The earliest method of recording and reproducing sound was on phonograph cylinders. ...

Name and logo

There is some controversy as to how the name came about. Fred Barnum gives various possible origins of the "Victor" name; in "'His Master's Voice' In America", he writes, "One story claims that Johnson considered his first improved Gramophone to be both a scientific and business 'victory.' A second account is that Johnson emerged as the 'Victor' from the lengthy and costly patent litigations involving Berliner and Frank Seaman's Zonophone. A third story is that Johnson's partner, Leon Forrest Douglass, derived the word from his wife's name 'Victoria.' Finally, a fourth story is that Johnson took the name from the popular 'Victor' bicycle, which he had admired for its superior engineering. Of these four accounts the first two are the most generally accepted." Zonophone, early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone is a record label. ...

Victor had the rights in the United States and Latin America to use the famous trademark of the dog Nipper listening to an early disc phonograph. (See also His Master's Voice.) Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Photograph of the original painting of Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph. ... His Masters Voice, often abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record company. ...

The Nipper dog logo remains on the 1915 factory building, now converted to luxury loft apartments by Carl Dranoff.

Acoustical recording era

After increasing the quality of disc records and phonographs, Johnson began an ambitious project to have the most prestigious singers and musicians of the day record for Victor Records, with exclusive agreements where possible. Often these artists demanded fees which the company could not hope to make up from sale of their records. Johnson shrewdly knew that he would get his money's worth in the long run in promotion of the Victor brand name. These new "celebrity" recordings bore red labels, and were marketed as "Red Seal" records. For many years these recordings were single-sided; only in 1923 did Victor begin making double-sided "Red Seal" records. Many advertisements were printed mentioning by name the greatest names of music in the era, with the statement that they recorded only for Victor Records. As Johnson intended, much of the public assumed from this that Victor Records must be superior to cylinder records. RCA Red Seal Records is a prestigious classical music label and is now part of Sony BMG Masterworks. ...

1917 Victor Record label

The Victor recordings by Enrico Caruso between 1904-1920 were particularly successful, many of them conducted by Josef Pasternack. They were often used by retailers to demonstrate Victor phonographs; Caruso's rich powerful low tenor voice highlighted the best range of audio fidelity of the early audio technology while being minimally affected by its defects. Even people who otherwise never listened to opera often owned a record or two of the great voice of Caruso. Caruso and Victor Records did much to boost each other's commercial popularity. He made his final recordings in September 1920, only three months before his final appearances at the Metropolitan Opera. Some of these recordings were remastered by RCA to the 45-rpm format and rereleased in the early 1950s as companions to the same selections by Mario Lanza in the "Red Seal" series. Interestingly, however, the labels for the Caruso versions, although designated "Red Seal," were printed on a lighter (gold) background to distinguish them from the Lanza records. Many of both were also pressed on translucent red vinyl. Label of a Victor Records disc by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, 1917 This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873 – August 2, 1921) was an Italian opera singer and one of the most famous tenors in history. ... Josef Alexander Pasternack was a well-known conductor and composer in the first half of the 20th century. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Remaster (and its derivations, frequently found in the phrases digitally remastered or digital remastering) is a word and concept ushered into the mass consciousness via the digital age, although it had existed before then. ...

Victor recorded numerous classical musicians, including Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Victor Herbert, and Sergei Rachmaninoff in a series of recordings at its Camden, New Jersey studios. Rachmaninoff, in particular, became one of the first composer-performers to record extensively; he first made several recording for Thomas Edison in 1919, then became an exclusive Victor artist from 1920 to 1942. Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (February 2, 1901 – December 10, 1987) was a violinist. ... Fritz Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian violinist and composer, one of the most famous of his day. ... Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859–May 26, 1924) was a popular composer of light opera. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasil’evič Rachmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life worldwide into the 21st century. ...

Orchestras were at a disadvantage in acoustical recordings, due to the limited frequency range of the recording equipment. Musicians had to gather as closely as possible around the recording horn. Percussion instruments, in particular, were used sparingly since many of them could not be heard on the recordings. However, Victor began making recordings of the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karl Muck and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski in 1917. In 1920-21, Arturo Toscanini made his first recordings, conducting the La Scala Orchestra, which was then on an American tour. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ... Karl Muck (1859 - 1940) was a German conductor. ... The Philadelphia Orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the Big Five symphony orchestras in the United States and usually considered among the finest in the world. ... Leopold Stokowski (born Antoni Stanisław Bolesławowicz April 18, 1882 in London, England, died September 13, 1977 in Nether Wallop, England) was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air. ... Arturo Toscanini listening to playbacks at RCA Victor (BMG Music) Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian musician. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, by night. ...

The origins of country music as we know it today can be traced to two seminal influences and a remarkable coincidence. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are considered the founders of country music and their songs were first captured at an historic recording session in Bristol, Tennessee on August 1, 1927, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist for Victor Records. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Maybelle, A.P. and Sara The Carter Family was a country music group that performed and recorded between 1927 and 1943. ... Nickname: The Birthplace of Country Music Motto: A Good Place To Live Coordinates: Country United States State Tennessee County Sullivan Mayor Jim Messimer Area    - City 76. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ralph Peer (May 22, 1892 - January 19, 1960) was born Ralph Sylvester Peer in Independence, Missouri. ...

Electrical recording era

Victor "scroll" label from 1930, featuring the company's house band directed by Nat Shilkret.

In 1925, Victor switched from the old acoustical or mechanical method of recording sound to the new microphone based electrical system developed by Western Electric. Victor called their version of the improved fidelity recording process "Orthophonic", and sold a line of new designs of phonographs to play these improved records, called "Orthophonic Victrolas". The large top-of- the-line "Credenza" models of Orthophonic Victrolas had a 1.8 m (6 foot) long horn coiled inside the cabinet, and are often considered the high point of the development of the commercial wind-up phonograph, offering audio fidelity seldom matched by most home electric phonographs until some 30 years later. They were introduced on "Victor Day", November 2, 1925. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (885x902, 271 KB) The record label of Victor 22529 featuring African Serenade by Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra (1930). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (885x902, 271 KB) The record label of Victor 22529 featuring African Serenade by Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra (1930). ... Nathaniel Shilkret (1889-1992) was an American composer and conductor. ... A microphone, sometimes referred to as a mike or mic (both IPA pronunciation: ), is an acoustic to electric transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. ... Western Electric (sometimes abbreviated WE and WECo) was a US electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995 . ...

On April 4, 1925, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians recorded Collegiate, a song written by Moe Jaffe, which was the first electrical recording of a song, using Victor's new electrical microphone technology, rather than an acoustic horn. Victor quickly recorded the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Stokowski in a series of electrical recordings, initially at its Camden, New Jersey studios and then in Philadelphia's Academy of Music. Among Stokowski's first electrical recordings was a performance of Marche Slave by Peter Tchaikovsky. Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra made a series of recordings for Victor, beginning in 1925. The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alfred Hertz made a few acoustical recordings early in 1925, then switched to electrical recordings in Oakland, California, that continued until 1930. Within a few years, Serge Koussevitsky began a long series of recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Toscanini made his first Victor electrical recordings with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1929. April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fredrick Malcolm Waring (born June 9, 1900 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, died July 29, 1984, State College, Pennsylvania) was a popular musician, bandleader, and radio and TV personality of the 20th century, sometimes referred to as the man who taught America how to sing. ... Categories: ... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский, sometimes transliterated as Piotr, Anglicised as Peter Ilich), (May 7, 1840 – November 6, 1893 (N.S.); April 25, 1840 – October... Frederick Stock (1872 - 1942) was a U.S. (German-born) conductor and composer. ... The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, based in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading orchestras in the world. ... The San Francisco Symphony is a major orchestra based in San Francisco, California. ... Alfred Hertz was featured on the cover of Time magazine, October 31 1927 Alfred Hertz (born July 15, 1872 in Frankfurt, died April 17, 1942 in San Francisco, was a German-American conductor. ... Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky (July 26, 1874 – June 4, 1951), better known as Serge, was a Russian-born conductor. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ... The New York Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in New York City. ...

In 1928, Johnson sold his controlling interest in Victor to the banking firm of Siegelman & Spyer, who in 1929 sold to the Radio Corporation of America, which then became known as the Radio-Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America later RCA Victor. (See RCA and RCA Records for later history of the Victor brand name.) RCA, formerly an initialism for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark used by two companies for products descended from that common ancestor: Thomson Consumer Electronics, which manufactures RCA-branded televisions, DVD players, video cassette recorders, direct broadcast satellite decoders, camcorders, audio equipment, telephones, and related accessories; and... RCAs logo as seen today on many products. ... RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. ...

Victor (Japan)

The Japanese Victor Company (JVC), founded in 1927, severed its ties to RCA Victor at the start of World War II, and is still one of the oldest and most successful Japanese record labels as well as an electronics giant. Victor Company of Japan, Limited ) (TYO: 6792 ), usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The Victrola

Victrola Model XVI, 1910s

In September 1906, Johnson and his engineers designed a new line of phonographs with the turntable and amplifying horn tucked away inside a wooden cabinet. This was not done for reasons of audio fidelity, but for visual aesthetics. The intention was to produce a phonograph that looked less like a piece of machinery and more like a piece of furniture. These internal horn machines, trademarked with the name Victrola, were first marketed to the public in August of that year and were an immediate hit. Soon an extensive line of Victrolas was marketed, ranging from small tabletop models selling for $15, through many sizes and designs of cabinets intended to go with the decor of middle-class homes in the $100 to $250 range, up to $600 Chippendale and Queen Anne-style cabinets of fine wood with gold trim designed to look at home in elegant mansions. Victrolas became by far the most popular brand of home phonograph, and sold in great numbers until the end of the 1920s. RCA Victor continued to market phonographs with the "Victrola" name until the late 1950's. a Victrola Model XVI, scanned from a 1919 ad This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

See also

• List of record labels

This is a list of record labels. ...

Notes

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