Emerson - Biography

Biography - Emerson

USA

New York, NY, label founded in April 1915 by Victor H. Emerson, who had developed the popular 5.5" Little Wonder records when he was working for Columbia. At first, Emerson released 5.5 and 7-inch vertical-cut records licensed from Pathé. Soon, they switched to 6" discs featuring popular music by artists that often appeared only under pseudonyms. These 6" discs sported a 45-degree "universal" cut so that they could be played both with a lateral or a vertical sound box. In 1917, the company began to produce double-sided discs. In May 1919, when a number of important patents for recording technology expired, Emerson switched to producing 9- and 10-inch records, in addition to a 12-inch Classical series.

The original label depicted the Statue of Liberty and an ocean liner entering New York Harbor. In 1918, the design changed to a shield with a golden band that said Emerson. In 1919, the Emerson name in that golden shield briefly turned red. In 1920, the label's parent company, Emerson Phonograph Co., Inc., went into receivership. It emerged from that state as part of the Emerson Radio & Phonograph Corporation in 1922. In August 1923, that label design was replaced by a large musical treble clef in a scroll border.

In 1924, the Emerson label was acquired by the Scranton Button Co. In 1926, Emerson introduced electrically recorded records under the name “Electrosonic Emerson”, but in mid-1927 the label was permanently discontinued.

Series:
300: 6-inch vertical discs (1916)
500 / 5000: 5.5- or 6-inch single-sided discs (1916-1917)
700 / 7000: 7-inch double-sided discs (1916-1919)
900 / 9000: 9-inch popular discs (1917-1919)
1000 / 10000: 10-inch popular series (1919-1925)
2000: Classical series (1919-1921?)
3000: 10-inch popular series (1926-27)
1200 / 12000: Italian series (1919-1924)
13000: Jewish series (1920-1921?)
19000: German series (1920-1921?)

1917 Emerson Catalog

« Discography

Edit This Biography : Biography Credits