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EVOLUTION OF THE VICTOR LABEL (1900-1905) / Page 3

Photos adapted from Kurt Nauck's
AMERICAN RECORD LABEL IMAGE ENCYLOPEDIA

First Victor Red Seal and Deluxe labels, 1903

(LEFT) The first domestically recorded Red Seals were introduced in 1903 on the Monarch (ten-inch) and Deluxe (twelve-inch) labels.

(RIGHT) The Deluxe label was reserved for twelve-inch discs. Files for the elusive 2000-3000 series have been lost, but this example probably dates to 1903.

 

Victor De Luxe Special and Grand Prize labels

(LEFT) Among the rarest Victor labels, the Deluxe Special was a short-lived series of 60-rpm, fourteen-inch discs introduced in March 1903. Company files no longer exist for these monstrous long-playing discs, few of which survive today.

(RIGHT) In March 1905, Victor discontinued the Monarch and Deluxe designations in favor of a uniform Victor label on all diameters. (This early "Grand Prize" issue by Enrico Caruso - dating to February 1, 1904, and among his first American recordings - is a slightly later re-pressing; the first edition appeared with a Monarch label.) The Grand Prize label initially mentioned only the Buffalo and St. Louis Expositions; Portland was added later.

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© 2001 by Mainspring Press. Label photos © 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)