Post by sub on Nov 3, 2017 16:45:08 GMT 12
As per my post in opp Shop score, I have two record sets on the RCA Victor label Soria Series. Being a wet day I did some research on line trying to work whether the albums I had were original pressings or later issues.
I found a page explaining the difference between various labels showing either a shaded dog or an unshaded dog. Or with no dog at all, and that page seemed to say the Soria Series were issued with labels sans dog. However,a post in the audiokarma forum seemed to suggest that the shaded dog also appeared on some Soria Series issues. Both my sets have the shaded dog labels on all the records, with the added notation “New Orthophonic”. Initially that lead me to suspect mine were not original issues.
Did some more research and found that the Victor part of the name came about when RCA bought out the Victor company, who made record players and radios. In about 1925 RCA Victor put out their first electrically recorded disc (apparently Columbia was the only other record company to embrace electrical recording at the time).
To complement the issue of electrically recorded records, RCA Victor also produced and sold record players able to play the new medium, with the name Orthophonic. Amazing to think the top of the line machine, which also included a radio, cost $US1000 in 1925 money! The frequency response of the new player was an amazing 500 - 5000Hz!.
Apparently to showcase the new medium, RCA Victor then started using the word Orthophonic on the new electrically recorded records. Then, in the late 50s, with the advent of 33.3 rpm LPs and new recording techniques, they used the words “ New Orthophonic” on their shaded dog labels, which was later superseded by the term Living Stereo.
So, my albums do appear to be early original issues. According to discogs they sell for quite reasonable sums of money, but nowhere near to the $2000+ quoted for Michael Wong’s Royal Ballet issue!
I found a page explaining the difference between various labels showing either a shaded dog or an unshaded dog. Or with no dog at all, and that page seemed to say the Soria Series were issued with labels sans dog. However,a post in the audiokarma forum seemed to suggest that the shaded dog also appeared on some Soria Series issues. Both my sets have the shaded dog labels on all the records, with the added notation “New Orthophonic”. Initially that lead me to suspect mine were not original issues.
Did some more research and found that the Victor part of the name came about when RCA bought out the Victor company, who made record players and radios. In about 1925 RCA Victor put out their first electrically recorded disc (apparently Columbia was the only other record company to embrace electrical recording at the time).
To complement the issue of electrically recorded records, RCA Victor also produced and sold record players able to play the new medium, with the name Orthophonic. Amazing to think the top of the line machine, which also included a radio, cost $US1000 in 1925 money! The frequency response of the new player was an amazing 500 - 5000Hz!.
Apparently to showcase the new medium, RCA Victor then started using the word Orthophonic on the new electrically recorded records. Then, in the late 50s, with the advent of 33.3 rpm LPs and new recording techniques, they used the words “ New Orthophonic” on their shaded dog labels, which was later superseded by the term Living Stereo.
So, my albums do appear to be early original issues. According to discogs they sell for quite reasonable sums of money, but nowhere near to the $2000+ quoted for Michael Wong’s Royal Ballet issue!
