Leeds Talk-O-Phone
Encyclopedia
Leeds Talk-O-Phone was a record label
, producing cylinders from 1894 to 1903 and single-sided lateral-cut disc gramophone records in the United States of America
from about 1902
to 1909
.
Leeds Records were produced by the Talk-O-Phone Company of Toledo, Ohio
, owned by Wynant van Zant Pierce Bradley and Albert Irish. Talk-O-Phone produced disc phonograph
s (gramophones in British English
) very similar to the earliest "Victor" machines of the Victor Talking Machine Company
.
Some Leeds Records were unauthorized dubs of recordings made in other countries, a practice that slipped through a legal loophole at the time when international copyrights on recorded sound was poorly regulated. Some printed speculation about this obscure early record label has alleged that all Leeds material was either leased or pirated from other companies, but this was not the case. Some Leeds records were recorded specifically for Leeds, as can be confirmed by the spoken announcements at the beginning of the records. There was, however, an artist dishonesty incident in the late 1890s with Russell Hunting
. Leeds had Hunting record a specialty of his called "Cohen at the Telephone". He was paid $5 per "round", as pantographic duplication yielded about 100 acceptable duplacates of a cylinder. At the end of the fourth round (recording into 4 machines yielded 16 masters) he saw a man carting 24 recordings of his "Cohen at the Telephone" away at the end of the studio. Hunting accused Leeds of attempting to defraud him. Leeds Talk-O-Phone, according to Hunting, made good upon being threatened with exposure.
A few Vaudeville
stars of some note recorded for Leeds, including Byron G. Harlan
. The audio fidelity of original Leeds recordings is about comparable to Victor or Columbia Records
discs of some 5 years earlier.
The most notable feature of early Leeds records are the labels at the center of the discs, some of the most elaborate and beautiful ever to grace phonograph records. The labels are coated in embossed gold
foil in high relief, with a trio of angels flying in clouds beside "LEEDS TALK-O-PHONE RECORDS" in elaborate flowing lettering. The lower portion of the label shows the record number, song title, and artist, in much more plain type. The whole is surrounded by a floral border.
In the early 20th century, the quality of Leeds records improved. Leeds records were issued under the rare "Century" label, the "Sir Henri" label, the "Imperial" label, and many others. None of these labels credited Leeds as the manufacturer, likely as Leeds was usually in court for infringing some patent, trademark, etc. In 1905, Leeds was rumored to have begun plans for returning to producing cylinders, sending Edison investigaors scattering about. Leeds made its last known cylinders in 1903, in brown wax. Columbia made molded brown waxes at this time and introduced black waxes in 1903. This stopped Leeds cylinder production. If Leeds really did resume cylinder production in 1905, the cylinders would have to have been molded black waxes or they would not have survived on the market if they were brown. Columbia stopped brown wax molding in 1904, thus eliminating any niche competition for Leeds brown waxes. No supposed Leeds cylinders from ca. 1905 survive, nor do any Leeds cylinder catalogs.
In April 1909 Victor triumphed in a lawsuit
for patent
infringement, and Leeds Records and Talk-O-Phone went out of business.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, producing cylinders from 1894 to 1903 and single-sided lateral-cut disc gramophone records in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from about 1902
1902 in music
-Events:*April 30 - Claude Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande is premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, with André Messager conducting.*June 9 - the first complete performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 is given in Krefeld...
to 1909
1909 in music
-Events:*November 28 - Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 is premièred in New York City-Albums Released:*Tchailkovsky's Nutcracker Suite - Mark Hamburg And The Royal Albert Hall Orchestra-Published popular music:...
.
Leeds Records were produced by the Talk-O-Phone Company of Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, owned by Wynant van Zant Pierce Bradley and Albert Irish. Talk-O-Phone produced disc phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
s (gramophones in British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
) very similar to the earliest "Victor" machines of the Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
.
Some Leeds Records were unauthorized dubs of recordings made in other countries, a practice that slipped through a legal loophole at the time when international copyrights on recorded sound was poorly regulated. Some printed speculation about this obscure early record label has alleged that all Leeds material was either leased or pirated from other companies, but this was not the case. Some Leeds records were recorded specifically for Leeds, as can be confirmed by the spoken announcements at the beginning of the records. There was, however, an artist dishonesty incident in the late 1890s with Russell Hunting
Russell Hunting
Russell Hunting was a North American entertainer, pioneer sound recordist, and an influential figure in the early years of the recorded music industry....
. Leeds had Hunting record a specialty of his called "Cohen at the Telephone". He was paid $5 per "round", as pantographic duplication yielded about 100 acceptable duplacates of a cylinder. At the end of the fourth round (recording into 4 machines yielded 16 masters) he saw a man carting 24 recordings of his "Cohen at the Telephone" away at the end of the studio. Hunting accused Leeds of attempting to defraud him. Leeds Talk-O-Phone, according to Hunting, made good upon being threatened with exposure.
A few Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
stars of some note recorded for Leeds, including Byron G. Harlan
Byron G. Harlan
Byron G. Harlan was an American singer from Kansas, a comic minstrel singer and balladeer who often recorded with Arthur Collins. The two together were often billed as "Collins & Harlan".-Solo recordings:1899...
. The audio fidelity of original Leeds recordings is about comparable to Victor or Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
discs of some 5 years earlier.
The most notable feature of early Leeds records are the labels at the center of the discs, some of the most elaborate and beautiful ever to grace phonograph records. The labels are coated in embossed gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
foil in high relief, with a trio of angels flying in clouds beside "LEEDS TALK-O-PHONE RECORDS" in elaborate flowing lettering. The lower portion of the label shows the record number, song title, and artist, in much more plain type. The whole is surrounded by a floral border.
In the early 20th century, the quality of Leeds records improved. Leeds records were issued under the rare "Century" label, the "Sir Henri" label, the "Imperial" label, and many others. None of these labels credited Leeds as the manufacturer, likely as Leeds was usually in court for infringing some patent, trademark, etc. In 1905, Leeds was rumored to have begun plans for returning to producing cylinders, sending Edison investigaors scattering about. Leeds made its last known cylinders in 1903, in brown wax. Columbia made molded brown waxes at this time and introduced black waxes in 1903. This stopped Leeds cylinder production. If Leeds really did resume cylinder production in 1905, the cylinders would have to have been molded black waxes or they would not have survived on the market if they were brown. Columbia stopped brown wax molding in 1904, thus eliminating any niche competition for Leeds brown waxes. No supposed Leeds cylinders from ca. 1905 survive, nor do any Leeds cylinder catalogs.
In April 1909 Victor triumphed in a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
for patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
infringement, and Leeds Records and Talk-O-Phone went out of business.