[78-L] "Victor" embossed on the reverse record... ?

[Michael Shoshani]

On Mon, 2010-08-02 at 08:48 -0500, neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com wrote:
> This has been mentioned here before. I believe it was Mike Biel who 
> informed us that the pressing process would go better, the vinyl flowed 
> better, if the blank side was not actually blank, hence the design. In 
> some cases you may find a record without a design, but with one long 
> continuous silent groove.

Now that you mention it, I do recall him saying something to that
effect.

> 
> I do not remember if this was said to be true of shellac as well. In the 
> case of early 78s with a recording angel on the blank side, I believe it 
> may simply have been "advertising"?

That was probably more "advertising". Victor and Columbia almost always
had blank sides, in the early days containing small labels with patent
license notices and minimum retail prices. HMV dropped the "Gramophone"
on the back side probably after England entered the first World War and
the Hannover plant (which was the one putting the angel on the back) was
lost to HMV.

It does make me wonder, though...this is all assuming the hot-biscuit
pressing technique. Laminated Columbias were probably a full-size solid
piece, since you can't really work a laminated compound the same way as
a solid one.