[78-L] Victor label formats (was: Acoustic/electrical recordings on same disc)

[Michael Biel]

What this thread is really about is having an electrical recording on
one side and an acoustical on the other.  But this gives me a good
opportunity to explain something about Victor label formats to a
collector who needs to know this info.

From: Dan Van Landingham <danvanlandingham at yahoo.com>
> Regarding the Victor Orthophonic recordings: it seems to me that
> somewhere I had a Victor ten inch record that used the pre 1926
> ("scroll")label and inside an oval there were the letters "V.E.".
> I am assuming that this was one of the very first electrically
> recorded Victor recordings. I can't remember the catalogue number
> off hand let alone the name of the selection.

Label type is not an indicator of whether the record is acoustical or
electrical. Victor did not change their label format to the Scroll label
until quite long after they started electrical recording.  There were a
hundred or more Victor electrical records that were issued with the
pre-Scroll label and we all have plenty of them.  But they all have the
oval V.E. in the shellac in the lead-out area.  In the 10-inch pop
series the first electrical is 19626, but there were acoustical issues
with higher numbers.  

> The way I remember the Victor acoustics is by the solid yellow gold
> band that was around the edge of the record.

This is called the "Bat Wing" label because of the two points at the top
of the label to the left and right of the Nipper picture.  Victor
promoted the use of those points to allow the customers to write the
storage album letter and pocket number in them.  The only times I have
EVER come across them being used this way is in my father's childhood
collection that started my own!  As mentioned above, this label
continued to be used for over a year after the first electrical records
were issued, so the label type is NOT a good indicator of if the record
is acoustical or electrical.

> Canadian Victors I've seen used the same label design but with a dark blue
> background.I saw these records in a North Bend,Oregon Goodwill store several
> months ago.

All of these label formats in both countries were used on many different
label colors such as red, green, blue, purple, etc. but what you are
referring to is probably the standard popular series which were black
label in the U.S. and dark navy blue in Canada.  What I especially love
finding are the earlier Canadian Victors which were pressed in brownish
shellac and have matching brown labels.  These look so weird to those of
us South of the Border.  

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com