[78-L] Prefixes on HMV, Columbia, Parlophone, etc.

[Mike Harkin]

There  are tables in the introductory pages of WERM giving prefix and number info for HMV, Columbia, Decca, Parlophone-Odeon, Gramophon/Polydor, Telefunken.  The only prefixes that make any sense at all are the Columbias adopted about the time of the merger, where one of the letters indicates a country.  Otherwise
the choice of letters seems pretty random.  HMV also
assigns letter prefixes to a particular country, but the
letters give no clue which country  -- you just have to
learn 'em.

Mike in Plovdiv




________________________________
 From: "bryan at claxtonola.com" <bryan at claxtonola.com>
To: 78-L at 78online.com 
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 12:39 AM
Subject: [78-L] Prefixes on HMV, Columbia, Parlophone, etc.
 

Can anyone explain (or point me to a source that can explain) the various
letter prefixes used by HMV, Columbia, Parlophone, etc. in their non-US 78
rpm pressings of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s? I've begun cataloguing my
British, Australian, and European records and I'm boggled by the array of
single-letter and two-letter prefixes. (Columbia has C, DB, F, etc.; HMV
has B, BD, JK, etc.; Parlophone has F, R, etc.) I assume there must be
some rhyme and reason for the various prefixes, but so far, I can't figure
it out.

Thanks!
Bryan W.

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