[78-L] Standard Talking Machine Records

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bart" <garioch at texas.net>
> I saw a small stack of records from The Standard Talking Machine Co. of 
> Chicago, the ones with the oversize center hole.
> A quick google found info about the company, its players, and the 
> oversize center punch, but what struck me handling the disks was how 
> impossibly tiny and shallow the grooves were.  Would these things have 
> ever been playable?  They were very thick and quite worn though the 
> warning labels on the undersides were intact on most of them.  Were 
> these made of shellac?  They felt more like some sort of rigid plastic.
> Because of their size (close to 7") they were in with some 45's. By 
> comparison the STM grooves looked even smaller.  Artists weren't 
> mentioned on the label, merely song titles; though one was presumably 
> Cal Stewart because it was entitled Uncle Josh does something or another 
> - I forget what... 
> 
Standard records (as well as others of the "Chicago labels") were almost
all manufactured by Columbia; there is reason to believe that many, even
possibly most, were Columbia "cut-outs" drilled for the larger holes and
using "paste-over"labels to disguise their origin.

IIRC (and I could be in error here), Columbia also supplied the players,
which were Columbia machines equipped with the necessary larger
spindles...?!

As well (again IIRC)...7" Standard (etc.) would have to be QUITE old
when sold...I don't recall exactly when Columbia quit selling 7" discs?

Steven C. Barr