This page is for the label, and not various companies that manufactured Edison cylinders and discs. To link to these companies, please use the following pages:
- For wax cylinders produced between 1889-1893, please refer to North American Phonograph Company
- For cylinders produced between 1897-1911, please refer to National Phonograph Company
- For cylinders and discs produced between 1911-1929, please refer to Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
Thomas Alva Edison invented his first tinfoil phonograph in 1877, but soon shifted his attention to other projects including the development of the incandescent bulb. Only following the 1887 exhibition of a Bell-Tainter graphophone by the nascent American Graphophone Company did Edison take a more active role in the fledgling industry. Within the next two years he and colleagues had developed an improved phonograph and started commercial record production for the North American Phonograph Company. Cylinders produced by the North American Phonograph Company and its affiliated regional companies were not marked as "Edison Records". Only following the bankruptcy of North American Phonograph Company in 1894 and the formation of a new entity, the National Phonograph Company, did production of cylinders bearing Edison's name begin. The first records that actually say "Edison Record" in the announcement or on the cylinder box containing the record probably did not appear until sometime between 1898-99. Therefore, it is difficult to precisely pinpoint when the "label" was actually created.
Although Edison would continue to manufacture cylinders until going out of the record business, in late 1912 the "Diamond Disc" was introduced. Two sided, it could now hold much more audio on one disc. Edison was steadfast in his method of recording on discs - the sound should be at the bottom of the groove (so-called "vertical" or "hill-and-dale" cut records). Other phonograph manufacturers, notably Victor Talking Machine Co. and Columbia Phonograph Company Gen'l (who owned and fiercely defended critical patents) designed their machines to read music recorded on the sides of the groove (so-called "lateral" cut records). While recording at the bottom of the groove produced better, more long-lasting sound, it also required discs much thicker than those sold by the competition as well as making them incompatible with playing on standard phonographs. By 1919, more and more companies were producing lateral cut records and that was the clear preference of consumers. By the mid-1920s, Edison alone produced vertical cut records and unless special adaptors were purchased only Diamond Discs could be played on his machines. This would contribute to the downfall of Edison Records, although in 1928 plans were made to switch over to the inner groove technology. Despite the production of a series of lateral cut ("Needle Type") records in 1928-29, it was too little and too late to save the failing record division and Edison left the record business in 1929.
For most of the record products marketed by the National Phonograph Company and its successor Thomas A. Edison, Inc., other label pages have been established. Please see:
1. Edison Gold Moulded Records for Edison 2 minute hard black cylinders released through May, 1908 (catalog # 9841); after this point, manufacturing methods changed and records were subsequently marketed simply as either "Edison Records" or as "Edison Standard Records". These records should be listed on the Edison Standard Record page.
2. Edison Concert Record for Edison 2 minute 5" diameter brown wax cylinders
3. Edison Amberol Record for Edison 4 minute hard black cylinders.
4. Edison Blue Amberol Record for Edison 4 minute blue celluloid cylinders.
For the purposes of organizing this page, it would be most accurate to include the following releases here:
1. Edison 2 minute brown wax cylinders marketed by the National Phonograph Company from 1897 through mid-1902 when Edison Gold Moulded Records were introduced.
2. All vertically cut Edison disc records ("Diamond Discs"), including Edison Long Playing Records.
3. Laterally cut Edison disc records (Needle Type)
The most striking feature of Edison Diamond Disc records is their thickness. Most of this thickness is due to the presence of a core of material, called a "powder blank", consisting of a mixture of wood flour or china clay, phenol resin, denatured alcohol, soot and other chemicals (the recipe evolved over the course of time). The recorded part of the disc was applied in two different manners. Before June 1916, a sheet of celluloid was coated with varnish, and the recording and label image were then pressed into the varnish-coated celluloid sheet and bonded to the record core. These are referred to as "transfer process pressings". After June 1916, the record core was coated directly with varnish and the grooves and label were pressed directly into it. These are referred to as "direct pressings".
Many different label styles were used on Edison disc records. Between late 1912 and mid-1921, all new releases bore embossed labels. The label design was engraved into the stamper mold at 150-400 lines per inch. When pressed into the celluloid sheet (or after June, 1916, the varnish-coated record core) it can be said that the label was embossed into the medium. Molds were used until they wore out, so the same label appears on first pressings as well as subsequent repressings. When that mold was retired, a new sub-master mold was made, and if a new label style was then in use that style was applied to repressings. It is not uncommon to encounter Edison discs that have different label styles on the two sides. The earliest labels had a frosted gray background with glossy black lettering, and two shields flanking the spindle hole bearing Edison's photo and a conditions statement. These showed the title, composer and type of performance but not the artist's name(s). A second "Shields" label style, bearing a glossy black background with matte gray lettering, was introduced in late 1914. Artist names were added to these labels in mid 1915. Catalog numbers on records with "Shields" labels are stamped on the edge of the disc, except during the period Oct. 1918 - Feb. 1919 when no catalog numbers appeared on them. A second major embossed label design, bearing four circumferential bands and the catalog number, was introduced in March 1919. This style was used for new releases and repressings (as needed) between March 1919 and December 1921.
Paper labels were introduced in mid 1921 and used until Edison ceased record production in 1929. The first labels were printed on black paper and resembled the embossed "band" label design. These used the term "Edison Re-Creation" and were used for new releases only in 1921. They are scarce today. The second paper labels were on white paper and these are more commonly encountered. "Re-Creation" was also used on these labels, but only for records manufactured between December 19, 1921 and September 1, 1923. In January 1923, labels began using the term "Edison Record".
A word about blank labels. Under the paper labels is a heavy weight "Kraft" type paper base. It was inserted into the press when the grooves were printed and thus adhered to the disc. The actual label was glued to this surface with a water-soluble glue. The drawback to this is that dampness causes the label to slough off from the record. Because the record number is impressed into the surface through the base paper and the matrix number is still found in the gutter, it is possible to identify these records. However, they are not unique or "promo" pressings. They are simply standard Diamond Disc that have lost their labels.
It is possible to precisely determine the pressing date of many Edison disc records by studying clues on records. For new releases, this is usually 2-3 months before the release date but there are exceptions:
1. For discs produced between late 1912 - June 1915 catalog numbers were stamped four times around the edge and these face the same way. Discs made between July 1915 - November 1918 catalog numbers alternated (every other one appears upside down). Discs with "shields" labels made after this do not have catalog numbers at all.
2. For discs produced between June 1916 - May 1918 a date coding system was used. The code is located below the Edison signature trademark on one side of the record. The letter stands for the year: "A" is 1916; "B" is 1917; "C" is 1918. The number is the month: 1-12. The code was used from A6 through C5.
3. The center ring around the spindle hole is flat on discs produced before May 1919 and after May 1921. Between those dates, records have a dish-shaped center ring.
4. For discs manufactured from September 1923 through June 1926, a pressing date code was applied to one side of the record. This usually appears above "EDISON" and represents the month of manufacture plus the last digit of the year of manufacture. Thus, September 1923 is "93" and December 1925 is "125" and so on. Again, this is not the recording date or the release date of the title, but the pressing date for each particular disc.
When adding Edison discs (though it seems odd) keep in mind the A side is facing right. "Right" is the A side and "Left" is the B side.
For example:
Matrix / Runout (Side R label): 19077
Matrix / Runout (Side L label): 19076
