78 RPM - Bessie Smith - Empress of the Blues: Hot Jazz Classics Album #4 - Columbia

78 RPM Record

Artist:	Bessie Smith
Label:	Columbia
Country:	USA
Catalogue:	C-31 / 35672 / 35673 / 35674 / 35675
Date:	4 Oct 1940
Format:	Album
Title:	Empress of the Blues: Hot Jazz Classics Album #4
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	4 Own, 2 Want
Price Guide:	$90
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PRICE GUIDE

$90

Track	Artist	Title	Composer	Rating
A	Bessie Smith	Cold In Hand Blues	Gee, Longshaw	Rate
B	Bessie Smith	You've Been A Good Old Wagon	Smith, Balcom	Rate
C	Bessie Smith	Cake Walking Babies (From Home)	Smith, Troy, Williams	Rate
D	Bessie Smith And Her Blue Boys	Young Woman's Blues	Smith	Rate
E	Bessie Smith	Lost Your Head Blues	Smith	Rate
F	Bessie Smith	Baby Doll	Smith	Rate
G	Bessie Smith	Empty Bed Blues (Part I)	J. C. Johnson	Rate
H	Bessie Smith	Empty Bed Blues (Part II)	J. C. Johnson	Rate

Notes

4 record album. Sides numbered C 31-1 to C 31-8.
Side C: Accompanied by Henderson's Hot Six.
Album compiled, edited and annotated by George Avakian.
Cover design by Alex Steinweiss.

Images

Comments and Reviews


xiphophilos 4th Sep 2023		The C31-4 side image you just uploaded, fixbutte, shows the tiny word Trademark below the two round Columbia CBS logos. So it is our first example of the original release label from October 1940.



fixbutte 4th Sep 2023		More images added, including the inner cover with liner notes of the album editor, George Avakian, and the missing "B side on the second 78", or Track D with cat# C 31-4.



BigBadBluesMan 23rd Feb 2015



BigBadBluesMan 23rd Feb 2015



BigBadBluesMan 23rd Feb 2015



BigBadBluesMan 23rd Feb 2015



W.B.lbl 7th Dec 2012		Well, to do the printing, for sure. Some labels, like (RCA) Victor, used Monotype fonts whose linecasting differed from Intertype or Linotype. Other companies used Ludlow typefaces.



Olorin67 7th Dec 2012		I got to see hot metal Linotype machines in operation at the Western Minnesota threshers reunion in Rollag, MN last summer, very fascinating. They were using 1890 s Linotypes and an even older printing press to publish a newspaper for the show. If you like old machines, shows like that are heaven. They did have a guy playing a few Edison phonographs also. Did they actually use hot metal Linotype for record labels?



W.B.lbl 6th Dec 2012		As for "Young Woman's Blues," the artist credit was to Bessie Smith And Her Blue Boys.



W.B.lbl 6th Dec 2012		The typefaces used on this included: - 14 point Gothic Condensed No. 1 (numbers only; used from late September 1939 until the demise of the 78 in 1958) - 7 point Gothic No. 4 (used for artist name; for years Bridgeport retained the pre-1920 capital "E" which had been in use since the 1910's, up to 1947-48; this font, which was part of a two-typeface combo with 7 point serif font No. 1, remained in their type library through November 1974) - 14 point Erbar Bold Condensed (used for C 31-x designation; typeface first used in 1937, continued up to early April 1970) - 12 point Erbar Condensed (used for song titles; this typeface and its bold counterpart first used in early 1939 and remained in use to final retirement of hot-metal Linotype fonts in November 1974) - 6 point No. 11 (serif text font, used in combo with 6 point Gothic Condensed No. 4; first used 1924, mods to characters in March 1952 [with stick "I" replaced by steel beam-type variant], retired mid-February 1968) Also, there were two different "shapes" of Gothic Condensed No. 1. The 11 and 12 point sizes were identical to 14 point; while the 10 point font in use at Columbia's type library through late 1967 was of a shape that was replicated in 8 and 18 point. The 11 point variant was famous for being combined with 10 point Gothic No. 3 - and both were used for differing headline styles by The New York Times between 1907 and September 1976 (finally retired after The Times went from 8 to 6 columns).



Klepsie 6th Dec 2012		Oh mercy! W.B.lbl knows as much about 78 typesetting as he does 45s! (Seriously, your erudition has me boggled, and I'm very glad for all the knowledge you've been good enough to share.)



W.B.lbl 6th Dec 2012		The label variants - all from Bridgeport, CT - would point this to being a circa 1944-45 pressing. The fine print below the Columbia name was used between 1942 and 1946. There was also an approx. 1.140625" diameter circular indent alongside the 2.71875" deep groove as was prevalent on Columbia 78's in those days - a characteristic of 1942-44 pressings.



carryonsidney ● 6th Dec 2012		just looking this up on web, numerous sources have the missing track as Young Woman's Blues. Can only find 1 for the date of release though, 1940.



leonard 6th Dec 2012		Yes, I did the first picture sleeve and album on 78cat! My B side on the second 78 has the same label as the A side.