Music recorded in November 1891
November 1891 was a month in which electricity and communications penetrated deeply into society through labor organizations and urban infrastructure, while ethnic violence and public health crises simultaneously unfolded on the periphery of the empire. On November 11, the Jindandao Incident occurred in Inner Mongolia, with reports of large-scale killing and destruction of Mongolian residents by Han Chinese groups. The Qing dynasty's government forces suppressed the incident until the end of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, a chain of cholera epidemics and poor harvests spread. In response to the 1891–1892 famine in the Russian Empire, the government called for the formation of private relief organizations on November 17. In the United States, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was organized in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 28, marking the beginning of a movement for working conditions in the electrification era. In the religious world, Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) published the Apostolic Letter “Sapienter olim” on November 30, marking the beginning of the Catholic Church’s responses to contemporary social issues.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information on recordings made in November 1891
The public documents available for identifying "the recordings themselves" from November 1891 by date were limited in the scope of the documents reviewed this time. However, from that month, technical memos concerning the techniques for replicating sound cylinders (such as creating matrices and electroforming) remain, and it has also been confirmed that the industry was organizing and disseminating information about its own networks and the state of exhibitions and operations. In other words, rather than a list of new recordings by individual works, this can be understood as a phase in which the technology and business foundations for mass-producing and distributing sound recordings were strengthened.
Phonogram (magazine)
The November 1891 issue of The Phonogram, edited by Virginia H. McRae (date of birth and death unknown), an editor associated with the North American Phonograph Company, has been made public, and in addition to technical articles related to the phonograph, it also features sections on the organization and development of phonograph companies in the United States. Rather than announcing new recording content, the magazine appears to have been an industry media outlet, covering the operation of the equipment, company networks, and the expansion of its use.
- https://archive.org/details/Phonogram1_11-12
- https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-plan/tools-and-resources/historical-background/north-american-phonograph-company/
Edison-style cylinder duplication technology notes
In the collection of materials related to Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), notebooks used by Albert Wurth (years of birth and death unknown) and Charles Wurth (years of birth and death unknown) have been discovered, covering the period from November 1891 onward. They include descriptions of the electroplating process for replicating sound cylinders, experimental recording equipment, and a list of the sound sources used in the work. It has also been shown that these notebooks were used as evidence in the lawsuit between American Graphophone Company and National Phonograph Company, confirming that November 1891 was a time when "mass-production recording technology" and "conflicts between rights and business" were intertwined.
