[78-L] Mercury Made in Czechoslovakia

[Han Enderman]

As explained, the Mercury Made In Czechoslovakia records from Supraphon masters 
were released in the US. 
Central European issues appeared on Supraphon with similar cat.nrs.

However, there was no reason for Mercury to import Keynote masters from Europe. 
Mercury owned the Keynote material, and it was issued in the Mercury 1000 series. 
Presumably Mercury wanted to see if there was a market for jazz in Czechoslovakia.
Hawkins, for example, was also released in Austria on Austroton.
French Mercury ME-4004 & 4005 (resp. Hawkins & Cozy Cole from Keynote) 
state at lower rim: 'Mercury Record Corporation, Chicago. Ill.  Made in France'.
There is a numerical relation with Blue Star: Mer(F) 40xx = Blue Star 2xx.

A Mercury B-600 series was issued in Sweden, made by Metronome (S.Vaughan; G.Gibbs).

Han Enderman
===
>>> I have some images in 3 Mercury series, which state along the lower rim:
'Mercury Record Corporation, Chicago. Ill.  Made in Czechoslovakia'.

The B-15000 series has Bulgarian music (B-15014, mxs 45268/69, and
B-15026), but B-15015 is:
45277 Waktol Potono Padi - Instrumental Group and Vocal (East Indies)
[part of an ethnic project?]

A B-50000 series has the Prague Military Orch. (B-50043, mxs 45389/90),
and a tango by Karel Vacek (B-50088).

Were these records released in Czechoslovakia or in the US or both?
Actually Mer B-15014 = Supraphon(Cz) B-15014.

There is also a D-60000 series (labels may be gold with green print),
which has Keynote recordings by Hawkins (D-60001), Tristano, Neal Hefti
and Red Rodney.
This suggests a series intended for mid-Europe.

Han Enderman
---
The Gramophone Company's pressing plant at the industrial town of Aussig 
became, after WWII, the Supraphon pressing plant in what was now called 
Ustí nad Labem. 

Supraphon was well know for custom pressings. They pressed 78s for labels 
in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Albania, Pakistan - at least these are the countries 
that I have 78s from which say 'Made in Czechoslovakia'.  

I cannot imagine that such Mercury records 'Made in Czechoslovakia' were 
ever sold anywhere else than in North America, because, for example, Mercury 
pressings with Bulgarian music always turn up in the USA, but never in Bulgaria.  

Czechoslovakian records exported to the USA in 1962:   $26,000, says 
Billboard. 

Which company would have distributed, within Western Europe, some Keynote 
material pressed on Mercury-labelled records?  In Western Europe Mercury 
was generally represented by Philips International. Exceptions were Austria, 
where Mercury material appeared on Austroton, Greece (Helladisc), Italy 
(Phonogram), Sweden (Sonora), maybe others. 

Benno
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