I see now. Thanks, Steve.
I recently won a Hawaiian gospel shellac 78 on which you can clearly see
the Audiodisc logo around the center hole. Somehow I don't think that
lacquer survived!
Malcolm
*******
On 12/4/2013 4:32 PM, Steve Smolian wrote:
> These are the 16" lacquers from which LPs and, in some cases, 78s were
> dubbed.
>
> Steve Smolian
>
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Malcolm Rockwell
> Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 8:34 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] metal parts- was Barr
>
> Aren't lacquer masters destroyed by making the father?
> Malcolm
>
> *******
>
> On 12/4/2013 12:56 PM, Roger Kulp wrote:
>> I wonder what percentage of the lacquer masters got saved.Wasn't it
>> standard policy later on to transfer them to tape?
>> Roger
>>
>>> Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2013 10:24:53 -0500
>>> From: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] metal parts- was Barr
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>
>>> As a friend of AFR Lawrence at the time he was advising Columbia on the
>>> metal parts issue, here's what I recall.
>>>
>>> Larry was asked by Goddard Lieberson to analyze the various matrix
>>> series in
>>> their Bridgeport vaults. He compiled a list of prefixes and determined
>>> whach were owned by Columbia and which by others for whom Columbia
>>> hade made
>>> custom pressings. This later group included various 16" metal parts.
>>>
>>> Planning was underway for the Pittman, NJ plant to which the masters
>>> were to
>>> be moved. Lieberson felt there was no point in building a storage
>>> space
>>> large enough for all the metal parts if a significant number of them
>>> were
>>> not Columbia's property to be considered for commercial exploitation by
>>> them. Space to hold only company-owned materials was to be included
>>> in the
>>> new building. (This sounds like good management to me.) The new
>>> facility
>>> was opened in 1961. At that time, there were very few sound
>>> archives in the
>>> U.S. I believe NYPL didn't want them- Phil Miller was a friend of
>>> Larry's
>>> and mine and knew about this research. Phil was in continual touch
>>> with
>>> Harold Spivacke, head of the Music Division at the Library of Congress
>>> (there was no separate sound section as yet.) Yale's "Historical Sound
>>> Recordings Collection" had no space and a tightly defined colleting
>>> misson
>>> that put a large, non-classical metal parts accumulation out of bounds.
>>> Neither Syracuse nor Stanford had operating sound archives at the
>>> time. I
>>> don't know if the Vitaphone-type masters were offered back to the film
>>> companies who owned them but I recall mention that most owners of the
>>> non-Columbia stuff could not be traced.
>>>
>>> Decisions about the fate of then-surviving Columbia-owned masters
>>> were made
>>> within the company. Larry's job was as "indentifier-in-chief."
>>>
>>> Remember that there was a constant combing for various reusable metals
>>> during both world wars in all countries, survival of the country
>>> being a
>>> fairly important consideration. In my opinion, it is far preferable
>>> to be
>>> able to bitch freely about this loss than to be buying superb copies
>>> with
>>> Nazi currency.
>>>
>>> Steve Smolian
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Gray, Mike
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 9:45 AM
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] steven barr - metal parts
>>>
>>> Without stepping on this thread, here is what I understand to be the
>>> status
>>> of metal parts in company hands:
>>>
>>>
>>> Sony Music - Holds Victor parts + some HMV; disposal of Columbia, et
>>> al.
>>> metal may be related to the closure of the Bridgeport plant (cf. AFR
>>> Lawrence papers at LC)
>>> Former EMI - Holds primarily classical parts - most pop metal and
>>> most of
>>> Columbia was destroyed during World War II. Also had virgin
>>> pressings of pop
>>> material. Vault inventory exists. Note: for metal trasnferred for
>>> the Great
>>> Recordings reissues of the 1950s, metals were destroyed;
>>> Former EMI-France - Holds selected metal parts, primarily 12 inch
>>> classical.
>>> An inventory was made in 2005;
>>> Universal Music France - Donated metal parts to the Bibliotheque
>>> nationale -
>>> most consist of 45/LP metal, though the donation did include on
>>> previously
>>> unknown Edith Piaf side;
>>> Former Electrola - All metal destroyed during World War II - company
>>> solicited metals from affiliates to restore catalog after 1945;
>>> Deutsche Grammophon - Holds ca. 5K parts pre-1914 from the 'Gramophone'
>>> catalog - many DG/Grammophon electrical metals survived in the pressing
>>> plant but were destroyed thereafter;
>>> Warner-Teldec - 78 Telefunken metals currently survive - other metals
>>> survive in Japan;
>>> Nippon Columbia - Some metals survive.
>>>
>>>
>>> A further note: Because Columbia 78 metal work after ca. 1939, and at
>>> Capitol and Decca, were recorded from lacquer session masters, the
>>> lacquers
>>> represent the original recordings and (hopefully!!) are still being
>>> preserved.
>>>
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>>
>>> P.S. I don't believe the Universal deal with LC set a precedent for
>>> future
>>> donations ...
>>
>
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