[78-L] Signed-in-wax recordings post-Berliner (such as Mary Garden on Columbia A 1190) query.

[Michael Biel]

We discussed this a few months ago with reference to vaudevillians Joe
Weber and Lew Fields who always signed all their masters.  Mary Garden
was part of the 1903 Columbia Grand Opera Series but I am not sure if
these masters are from that series, but she might have continued the
practice in her later recordings.  Hungarian performer Kiraly Erno also
signed most of his masters, both those he recorded in Europe and in the
U.S.  I think Pablo Casals signed some, and perhaps Sarasate did also. 
Many Fonotipia masters are signed which enables you to match that with
the rubber-stamped signature on the labels.  

I don't think Sophie Tucker signed her masters, but at Whistlin' Willies
last week we saw a 78 Mercury gatefold sleeve that she had signed in
blue pencil.  As usual.  

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com 






On Tue, 2010-05-04 at 20:14 +0100, Royal Pemberton wrote:
> I found a fairly nice copy of A 1190 at the local Salvation Army yesterday.
> One of the things that moved me to buy it was seeing that Mary Garden had
> autographed the dead wax area on both sides of it.
> 
> Handwritten/signed label copy went out with the adoption of paper labels
> around 1900, but is there a listing anywhere of recordings afterward where
> the performer signed the wax (or waxes) like Mary Garden did with this disc?

From: Michael Shoshani <mshoshani at sbcglobal.net>
I have a Victor pressing of an HMV-issued recording of "Song of the
Volga Boatmen" by Chaliapin; in the dead wax of this 12-incher is a
signature in a somewhat shaky hand: Feodor Chaliapin Tokio 1936.

He may have signed it "Chaliapine", as his name was spelled on HMV
records. It's at home and I am not, so I am unable to check it.

MS