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Mainspring Label Gallery / Photos adapted from ARLIE

HOLLYWOOD (I / II)
(circa 1924-1927 / circa 1934-1937)

Hollywood record labels

These two Hollywood labels are separated by a continent and a decade.

The example on the left was produced by or for the Hollywood Record Company of Hollywood, California, one of only a handful of independent commerical record producers operating on the West Coast during the 1920s. The specimen pictured is apparently a private issue; Hollywood's commercial releases were normally numbered in a 1000 series.

The Hollywood Record Company seems to have evolved from the Harris Record Company of Hollywood, which produced the short-lived Triumph label around 1924. The Hollywood Record Company apparently survived into 1927, long enough to produce some electrical recordings, and also manufactured the rare Silver Screen label in addition to its own Hollywood brand. The Sunset Record Company, also of Los Angeles, appears to have been a division or subsidiary of Hollywood, and some master-swapping took place. It produced the Sunset label for the S. H. Kress dime-stores and also filed a trademark application for the Geisha label, which apparently was never produced.

On the right is a rare and unrelated Hollywood label produced in the later 1930s for the Sam Fox Publishing Company of New York. An initial series, introduced around 1934, was pressed by RCA-Victor from their Bluebird masters. The example pictured here is from a later series produced by the American Record Corporation. This series drew on standard ARC masters, duplicating material on Melotone, Perfect, and related labels. Both versions are fairly rare.


© 2000 by Mainspring Press. Label photo © 2000 by Kurt R. Nauck III. All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced without prior written consent of the copyright holder(s).