[78-L] London [was Near You by Francis Craig]

[Steven C. Barr]

From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>> From: stevenc at interlinks.net
>> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>> > Might you be thinking of Mercury, which DID set up a Canadian operation 
>> > in
>> > 1949 (and which became part of Quality the following year)?
>> As near as I recall (I looked this up in Toronto city directories MANY 
>> years
>> ago, and
>> exchanged messages with the late Ross Brethour, who had done a LOT of
>> research thereon...!) Mercury(C) goes back to the Tip Top and Monogram
>> labels (both Canadian). The first Canadian Mercurys cite a Newmarket
>> location; later ones Toronto.
>> I assume I have long since lost all my digital archives which included
>> messages from Ross...?!
>> Steven C. Barr
> Seance, anyone? Monogram is another label to find out about. Their 
> pressings were never done by Quality though..I've had them on shellac and 
> weird vinyl (full of watermarks). Monogram even had rights to Tempo for a 
> while, long enough to issue Brother Bones "Sweet Georgia Brown" before 
> that label went over to Gordon V. Thompson's Gavotte label (and my aunt 
> once worked for Gordon Thompson..still a lot of threads to try and catch 
> while people are still alive). Maple Leaf is another Canadian label which 
> issued US independent labels like DeLuxe and King and which seems to have 
> vanished around the late fifties.
>
Monogram is listed in Toronto city directories which are available at the 
Toronto
reference library; as well, Ross B published (albeit privately) a book on 
Max Boag,
who was connected with Tip Top and Mercury(C). Also, there WAS a Maple Leaf
label (late forties IIRC); I have a couple of those. They seem to have been 
the
first to issue King and DeLuxe...they lost this connection before Federal 
appeared.

Steven C. Barr