Red Seal

Red Seal was a label and brand name that was first used by the Gramophone Company in the United Kingdom to denote classic recordings and was later included in the Victor Talking Machine Company's catalog of publications, ultimately after the merger of the Victor Talking Machine Company with RCA at RCA Victor to be used again by that newly created company to label classical music.

history

Victor Red Seal

The history of the label and the brand name "Red Seal" begins in Europe towards the end of 1901, when the Gramophone Company first produced classical music in its recording studios, for example with the Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso , but also with the Russian-born Fyodor Ivanovich Chalyapin , and offered them for sale under a higher-priced, specially created label in red. In contrast, the Victor Talking Machine Company in the United States specialized in recording well-known pieces of music, humorous songs, recitations and band music from the most popular genres of the time. The repertoire of classical pieces, however, was limited to a few records by artists, such as those of George Broderick , Rosalia Chalia and Emilo de Gogorza . This only changed with the takeover of twenty-five classic recordings, including those by Enrico Caruso with recordings made in Milan by the Gramophone Company and the introduction of the “Victor Red Seal” label.

RCA Victor Red Seal

RCA Red Seal

literature

Hoffmann, Frank W. & Ferstler, Howard: Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Routledge, London 2005, ISBN 978-0-415-93835-8 .