Music recorded in August 1919
August 1919 was a month in which the reorganization following World War I materialized in various places. On August 1, the Hungarian Soviet Republic collapsed, and on the 4th, the Kingdom of Romania army advanced into Budapest. On the 8th, the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed, confirming the external independence of the Emirate of Afghanistan. In Germany, the Constitution of the German Reich of August 11, 1919 was adopted on August 11 and promulgated on the 14th. In the United States, on August 2, Montana and Nebraska proceeded with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and at the same time, the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, which had been ongoing since the end of July, ended on the 3rd. Culturally, the Rodin Museum, featuring works primarily by Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), opened on the 4th, and on the 25th, Air Transport and Travel Ltd. launched regular international passenger flights between London and Paris.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information regarding the August 1919 recording.
In the recording-related market in August 1919, the August 15th issue of the industry magazine "The Talking Machine World" and newspaper advertisements from various regions confirm that the simultaneous sale of records and phonographs, the promotion of installment payments, and the announcement of new releases and models in anticipation of the autumn sales season continued. The companies whose activities can be directly tracked in the August newspapers are Victor Talking Machine Co., Columbia Graphophone Co., Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Pathé Frères Phonograph Company, The Aeolian Company's Vocalion, and Emerson Records. All of these companies' sales activities can be confirmed in their August advertisements, and their products were becoming more widespread through local retailers.
Victor
In August 1919, Victor Talking Machine Co. strongly promoted its strategy of selling Victor Records and Victor phonographs as a single package. Advertisements on August 1st, 21st, and 29th repeatedly emphasized that the best playback could be achieved by using the machine and records together, indicating that the company was maintaining a nationwide promotional campaign to meet the end-of-summer household demand. The August advertisements highlighted a sales strategy that went beyond simply selling machines, instead presenting the phonograph as a complete product including recording media.
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=RPD19190801.1.3
- https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19190821.2.55.1
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=SBNT19190829.1.3
Columbia
In August 1919, Columbia Graphophone Co. continued its sales strategy of linking the Graphonola machine with Columbia Records. Several regional advertisements in August promoted both the selection of Graphonola models suitable for home use and the wide variety of records available, including dance music and vocal music. At that time, Columbia was emphasizing its role as a home music system that offered a rich selection of songs, rather than simply as a music playback machine.
- https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn88084163/1919-08-16/ed-1/seq-4/
- https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=RCN19190821.1.1
- https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=FRB19190821.1.3
Edison
In August 1919, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. continued its sales and demonstrations of high-end machines centered around the Diamond Disc. Advertisements from August 12th and 14th show specific models of Edison's Diamond Disc machines, and an advertisement at the end of the month also announces the sale of the new Edison Re-Creations. In August, Edison maintained its market share not only with the recordings themselves, but also with the combination of high-end playback machines equipped with specialized mechanisms.
- https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/straitstimes19190812-1
- https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/straitstimes19190814-1
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Victoria_Daily_Times_%281919-08-30%29_%28IA_victoriadailytimes19190830%29.pdf
putty
In August 1919, Pathé Frères Phonograph Company promoted both Pathé Records and Pathéphone. An advertisement on August 2nd highlighted that Pathé records could be played on phonographs from other manufacturers, and advertisements on the 16th and 28th continued to promote the sale of machines and records as a set. This month, Pathé emphasized not only dedicated machines but also the ease of use and compatibility, lowering the barrier to entry and expanding its sales network.
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INN19190802-01.1.3
- https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Chronicle19190816-01.2.8.1
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INN19190828-01.1.17
Vocalion
In August 1919, advertisements for the Aeolian Company's Vocalion prominently featured its superior sound quality. Advertisements on August 10th and 24th emphasized the depth of sound and fidelity of reproduction, and advertisements around August 21st and 22nd continued sales activities encouraging customers to request instruction manuals and listen to samples. It can be said that in August, the Vocalion's sales strategy focused more on impressing customers with the machine's acoustic performance than on the music itself.
- https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=suna19190810-01.1.3
- https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=BBU19190821.1.7
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=RPD19190822.1.4
Emerson
In August 1919, Emerson Records was actively featured as a tangible product in retail advertisements. Advertisements on August 1st and 15th advertised a set package called "six newest Emerson records" paired with a Vitanora type tuner, indicating that Emerson records were being sold as ready-to-use products for home use. Industry magazines from the same month also featured Emerson-related articles, confirming that the label was consistently available in the market during August.
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INN19190801-01.1.15
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INN19190815-01.1.17
- https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Talking-Machine/10s/Talking-Machine-1919-08.pdf
