Music recorded in May 1896
May 1896 was a month of turning points in politics, society, technology, and the press. In the Russian Empire, the coronation of Nicholas II (1868–1918) and Alexandra Feodorovna (1872–1918) took place in Moscow on May 26, 1896 (Gregorian calendar). Amid the celebrations, the Khodynka Tragedy occurred on May 30, 1896 (Gregorian calendar, May 18, 1896 in the old calendar). In the United States of America, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson on May 18, 1896, institutionalizing the principle of separate but equal. In the United Kingdom, the Daily Mail was launched on May 4, 1896, reinforcing the model of the popular newspaper. In the United States of America, the 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado occurred on May 27, 1896, becoming a documented urban disaster. In science and technology, Scientific American introduced new patents in its May 1896 issue, visualizing the acceleration of invention and industry to its readers.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information on recordings made in May 1896
As an example of a recording made in May 1896 that can be determined on a monthly basis, there are documents for flat disc recordings in which the date May 1896 is clearly stated, either through the engraving on the disc or in a collection catalog. On the other hand, for cylinder recordings (the mainstream at the time), it is not possible to immediately determine from publicly available documents a comprehensive list of recording dates, recording locations, and programs limited to May 1896 only.
The recording date of May 1896 recorded on the Berliner recording (example)
In some cases, the recording date of Emile Berliner's (1851–1929) disc recordings is clearly stated as May 1896. For example, the Berliner recording "Imitation of a Street Fakir" (E. Berliner's Gramophone 638 Y) by George W. Graham (1866–1903) is listed as "recorded May 23, 1896," suggesting that advertising and spoken-word repertoire were emphasized on early discs. Similarly, there are documents stating that "Advertising Plant's Baking Powder" (E. Berliner's Gramophone 641) by George W. Graham (1866–1903) was recorded in Washington, DC on May 26, 1896.
- https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.mbrsrs.eadmbrs.rs011001&_lines=125&_start=926
- https://phonographia.com/PhonoRefs/1896%20Programme.htm
- https://phonographia.com/Onthisday_Factola/OTD_Calendar.htm
Preservation and Reference Base for Early Disc Recordings (Collection and Description)
The number of surviving disc recordings from the 1890s is limited, and even the same titles are a mixture of copies, re-presses, and records of unknown origin. Therefore, the practical basis for determining recording dates is the catalog information and descriptions accompanying major institutional collections (for example, the Emile Berliner collection at the Library of Congress). When dates are assigned to individual items, such as the May 1896 recording, it is safe to treat them as "recordings with clearly marked dates" on the month page.
- https://www.loc.gov/collections/emile-berliner/articles-and-essays/berliner-recordings/
- https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.mbrsrs.eadmbrs.rs011001&_lines=125&_start=926
Information on cylinder recording (mainstream) limited to May 1896 is unconfirmed in the documents.
As of 1896, cylinder recording was at the heart of the recording industry, but as far as we were able to access this time, we were unable to find any publicly available primary sources (equivalent to company ledgers or daily logs from that time) that would enable us to determine in one place "where/who/what" was recorded for the month of May 1896. However, there is a discography that organizes the Columbia Phonograph Company's recordings from 1889 to 1896, which can be used as a starting point to gain an overview of recording activity in 1896.
- https://archive.org/stream/ColumbiaPhonograph1889-1896/Columbia%20Phonograph%201889-1896_djvu.txt
- https://archive.org/details/ColumbiaPhonograph1889-1896
