Steve--

These are the 3 on the Internet Archive if this is helpful:

https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%22Strange%20Fruit%22%20AND%20collection%3Ageorgeblood%20AND%20creator%3A%22billie%20holiday%22

There are high rez tiffs of the center of the center of the disks if 
that is helpful:

https://archive.org/download/78_strange-fruit_billie-holiday-and-her-orchestra-sonny-white-lewis-allan_gbia0066462a/78_strange-fruit_billie-holiday-and-her-orchestra-sonny-white-lewis-allan_gbia0066462a.tif

-brewster


On 2/3/22 11:30 AM, Steve Smolian wrote:
> Has anyone detailed information on the Commodore label/ pressing sequence?
> I've read Alan Sutton's article on Commodore in his 'American Record Companies, etc." book.
>
> I have three copies of Holiday's "Strange Fruit" on Commodore labels of slightly differing designs.
>
> All have the matrix number in Columbia's typeface of the period.
>
> Two, and others I've seen, are on the tomato red label.
>
> Both my tomato red examples have the address 136 E. 42d Street (Sutton gives mid 40s- early 50s.)
>
> One has two lines of perimeter print along the bottom. The end of the top line says Electrically Recorded 4-39
> (matrix wp 24403 B # (handwritten) and 2 (machine stamped) ) and is 0089 thick
>
> In the same place, another has 2 blank spaces followed by .39  (matrix wp 24403-B and N (thin line, hand drawn) and is .0070 thick
>
> Others I've seen are variations of the above.
>
> These appear to be Decca pressings, without the Columbia shininess.
>
> BUT
>
> I also have one that is
>
> 46 West 52d Street (Sutton gives late 40s- early 50s)
>
> and gives the date as April, 1939, not 4-39 (Matrix WP 24403 B and has a "6' at the 10 o'clock position, under the outside edge of the label., all in Columbia's typeface)
>
> The label is maroon. The record is 0093 thick.  It looks and feels like a good shellac prewar Columbia pressing.
>
> ARC was sold to CBS in Jan, 1939, and Commodore lost its pressing arrangement.
>
> It begins again in November, 1939, pressing with Decca.
>
> TRYING TO SORT THIS OUT
>
> In the later 1930s, the Columbia Bridgeport plant, operated by ARC,  made pressings that were .0093 thick.
>
> Postulation:  The first pressings of "Strange Fruit" were made by ARC with a maroon label on shellac that is .0093 thick, sometime in  1939.
>
> Argument against: The label uses a later address for Commodore.
>
> Is it possible that Commodore had more than one location, ,say one for retail and one for stock and shipping, and the latter address was 46 West 52 St.?
>
> Confused,
>
> Steve Smolian