Re: [ARSCLIST] The "Personal" Label

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
> I just received a record on the "Personal" label, made by Electric Recording
Laboratories, New York, of a privale classial vocal.  It's a one sided 78
shellac pressing, apparently from the 1920s, with a handwritten matrix number,
P-226-3, in an unfamiliar hand.  The label is black and gold with a thick gold
circle along the label's edge, the name of the company in clack within it curved
along the bottom half,  and a lion standing on its hind legs and facing left in
a small oval frame at the top, gold on white.  Below the center hole is a white
half-moon into which the content is inked.  Not the same handwriting as that for
the matrix number.  It  is not a Columbia-derived Personal Record label.
>
> This is one of the areas of recordings I hope to discuss, however briefly, at
the forthcoming ARSC conference.
>
> The song is Lungi dal caro bene and is signed with thre title and "Sincerely
yours, Josephine Strassner.  The's a very fine alto with a secure bottom and an
easy top- that's a description of the voice, you fools!   It's piano accompanied
and has a limited dynamic range, probably very late acoustic.  I found her
picture on line.  She was teaching voice at Albright College, Meyerstown, PA in
1927.
>
> I've never seen the label before.  Any input?
>
I THINK (I'm not totally dead sure here...?!) that there was a "Personal"
label which was used for private recordings c. 1924 or so, which in some
cases credits "The Electric Recording Company" (presumably the folks who
put out "The Electric" label [acoustically recorded...!] ?). There are
actually several similar labels...one of which is "New York"...all of
which seem to use similar label typography.

Does anyone recall the label that Rodeheaver used for similar issues?
Was it "Special?" I have a couple of these records...

Steven C. Barr