Autograph Records
Encyclopedia
Autograph Records was a United States
record label
of the 1920s.
Autograph was a small label, owned by Marsh Laboratories Incorporated of Chicago, Illinois. Marsh Laboratories in turn was owned by electrical engineer Orlando R. Marsh
. Marsh made recordings by his own experimental methods, and therefore Autograph was the first US record label to release recordings made electrically with microphone
s, as opposed to the acoustical or mechanical method then still universally used. According to Rust, Marsh's first electrical records were made in 1924, but it actually could have been earlier.
It was reported in Time Magazine on April 28, 1923 that a device invented by Orlando R. Marsh was successfully used to make a recording of organ music, hitherto considered impossible. The article stated that Pietro A. Yon from New York City played his organ composition "Jesu Bambino" in Marsh's Chicago laboratory and that the reproduction was described as excellent. The article went on to say that this accomplishment appeared to open a new area for the phonograph.
Brian Rust also reported that there was a note in the Talking Machine Journal for October 1924 indicating that "Orlando B. Marsh" had just moved to 78 East Jackson Boulevard. Marsh Laboratories became established on the seventh floor of the Lyon & Healy Building. This location attracted customers. In those days Lyon & Healy was a major music store selling sheet music, records, and musical instruments.
Today Autograph is best known for some of the fine jazz
by artists in Chicago which was recorded on the label. The most famous of all are the duets by King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton
. Autograph's best selling records, however, were the series of pipe-organ solos by Jesse Crawford
. Marsh's electrical process was the first to be able to capture an approximation of the range of the organ but it lacked bass in the tone mix.
About the time that the Autograph records of Crawford were made, Jesse Crawford accepted an offer to be organist at the Paramount Theater (New York City)
. Once there, Victor Talking Machine Company
became interested in having Crawford make recordings for them, first by the acoustical process. Later, Victor recorded Crawford by the Western Electric
licensed process first used by them in 1925.
Milton Charles succeeded Jesse Crawford as organist at the Chicago Theatre
and also as the organist used by Orlando Marsh. Charles was recorded by Marsh Laboratories at the Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)
with releases on the Paramount
label. The Paramount recordings were technically superior to those made at the Chicago Theatre.
The last Autograph records seem to have been recorded in 1926
.
Although no longer releasing sides under his own label, Orlando Marsh continued to make recordings in Chicago for other labels (including Paramount
, Gennett
, and Black Patti
) through the end of the 1920s.
Amos 'n' Andy
was the very first radio program to be distributed by recorded syndication and Marsh Laboratories played a role in this. Elizabeth McLeod indicated in an e-mail of December 27, 2002 that recordings by Freeman Gosden
and Charles Correll
were made in advance of the live airing of the Amos 'n' Andy radio shows on WMAQ (AM), Chicago, in the 1928–1929 period at Marsh Laboratories. These were pressed for distribution to other radio stations as 12” shellac 78 rpm discs. She indicated that a speed around 80 rpm was sometimes more accurate. On April 29, 1929, the recording contract went to Brunswick-Balke-Collender (Brunswick Corporation
) and the audio quality of the discs improved substantially.
Occasionally, specialty recordings by Marsh Laboratories are found from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. One example is a radio recording entitled "Eskimo Pie Time" from the early 1930s. The 78 rpm 12" laminated shellac record has a printed label which shows a black and white drawing of an Eskimo Pie ice cream bar and bears the handwritten names of "East & Dumke" in white ink. It was recorded on one side only and pressed most likely by Columbia. Recorded quality is quite acceptable and features the "Singing Icicles" (Ed East and Ralph Dumke) in two numbers: "Illway Ouyay Gimme A Little Isskay" and "Big Time Gal". This is a singing duo with piano accompaniment. A further note, when matching modern playback equipment to the characteristics of this record, a bass turnover frequency of 300 Hz and a 10 kHz treble rolloff setting of -8.5 dB yields good bass, midrange, and treble balance.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
of the 1920s.
Autograph was a small label, owned by Marsh Laboratories Incorporated of Chicago, Illinois. Marsh Laboratories in turn was owned by electrical engineer Orlando R. Marsh
Orlando R. Marsh
Orlando R. Marsh was an electrical engineer raised in Wilmette, Illinois. In early 1920s Chicago, Illinois he pioneered electrical recording of phonograph discs with microphones when acoustic recording with horns was commonplace...
. Marsh made recordings by his own experimental methods, and therefore Autograph was the first US record label to release recordings made electrically with microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
s, as opposed to the acoustical or mechanical method then still universally used. According to Rust, Marsh's first electrical records were made in 1924, but it actually could have been earlier.
It was reported in Time Magazine on April 28, 1923 that a device invented by Orlando R. Marsh was successfully used to make a recording of organ music, hitherto considered impossible. The article stated that Pietro A. Yon from New York City played his organ composition "Jesu Bambino" in Marsh's Chicago laboratory and that the reproduction was described as excellent. The article went on to say that this accomplishment appeared to open a new area for the phonograph.
Brian Rust also reported that there was a note in the Talking Machine Journal for October 1924 indicating that "Orlando B. Marsh" had just moved to 78 East Jackson Boulevard. Marsh Laboratories became established on the seventh floor of the Lyon & Healy Building. This location attracted customers. In those days Lyon & Healy was a major music store selling sheet music, records, and musical instruments.
Today Autograph is best known for some of the fine jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
by artists in Chicago which was recorded on the label. The most famous of all are the duets by King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
. Autograph's best selling records, however, were the series of pipe-organ solos by Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford , was a US pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theater organist for silent films and was avery popular gramophone record recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and became a freelancer...
. Marsh's electrical process was the first to be able to capture an approximation of the range of the organ but it lacked bass in the tone mix.
About the time that the Autograph records of Crawford were made, Jesse Crawford accepted an offer to be organist at the Paramount Theater (New York City)
Paramount Theater (New York City)
The Paramount Theatre was a noted movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway in the Times Square district of New York City. Opened in 1926, it was the premiere showcase for Paramount Pictures and also became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space...
. Once there, Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
became interested in having Crawford make recordings for them, first by the acoustical process. Later, Victor recorded Crawford by the Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
licensed process first used by them in 1925.
Milton Charles succeeded Jesse Crawford as organist at the Chicago Theatre
Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother...
and also as the organist used by Orlando Marsh. Charles was recorded by Marsh Laboratories at the Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)
Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)
The Tivoli Theatre was a movie palace in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It the first of the "big three" movie palaces built by the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and their partner Sam Katz, who were also owners of the Rivera Theater ...
with releases on the Paramount
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
label. The Paramount recordings were technically superior to those made at the Chicago Theatre.
The last Autograph records seem to have been recorded in 1926
1926 in music
-Events:*January - Blind Lemon Jefferson makes his first recordings.*April 9 - Leopold Stokowski conducts the world premiere of Edgar Varèse's Amériques, with the Philadelphia Orchestra....
.
Although no longer releasing sides under his own label, Orlando Marsh continued to make recordings in Chicago for other labels (including Paramount
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
, Gennett
Gennett Records
Gennett was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s.-Label history:Gennett records was founded in Richmond, Indiana by the Starr Piano Company, and released its first records in October 1917. The company took its name from its top managers: Harry, Fred and Clarence Gennett....
, and Black Patti
Black Patti Records
Black Patti Records was a short-lived record label.The label was owned by The Chicago Record Company, which in turn was owned by promoter Mayo ‘Ink’ Williams...
) through the end of the 1920s.
Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy is a situation comedy set in the African-American community. It was very popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s on both radio and television....
was the very first radio program to be distributed by recorded syndication and Marsh Laboratories played a role in this. Elizabeth McLeod indicated in an e-mail of December 27, 2002 that recordings by Freeman Gosden
Freeman Gosden
Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden was an American radio comedian, and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the Amos 'n' Andy series.-Biography:...
and Charles Correll
Charles Correll
Charles James Correll was an American radio comedian, best known for his work on the Amos 'n' Andy show with Freeman S. Gosden. Correll voiced the central character of Andy Brown, along with various supporting characters. Before teaming up with Gosden, Correll worked as a stenographer and a...
were made in advance of the live airing of the Amos 'n' Andy radio shows on WMAQ (AM), Chicago, in the 1928–1929 period at Marsh Laboratories. These were pressed for distribution to other radio stations as 12” shellac 78 rpm discs. She indicated that a speed around 80 rpm was sometimes more accurate. On April 29, 1929, the recording contract went to Brunswick-Balke-Collender (Brunswick Corporation
Brunswick Corporation
The Brunswick Corporation , formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States-based corporation that has been involved in manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois...
) and the audio quality of the discs improved substantially.
Occasionally, specialty recordings by Marsh Laboratories are found from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. One example is a radio recording entitled "Eskimo Pie Time" from the early 1930s. The 78 rpm 12" laminated shellac record has a printed label which shows a black and white drawing of an Eskimo Pie ice cream bar and bears the handwritten names of "East & Dumke" in white ink. It was recorded on one side only and pressed most likely by Columbia. Recorded quality is quite acceptable and features the "Singing Icicles" (Ed East and Ralph Dumke) in two numbers: "Illway Ouyay Gimme A Little Isskay" and "Big Time Gal". This is a singing duo with piano accompaniment. A further note, when matching modern playback equipment to the characteristics of this record, a bass turnover frequency of 300 Hz and a 10 kHz treble rolloff setting of -8.5 dB yields good bass, midrange, and treble balance.