Berliner Gramophone Disc 640 George Graham "Pumpernickel Judge" coon song 78 rpm
$
92
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Description
V (VJM)
George Graham
“Pumpernickel As Judge”
Berliner Gramophone 640
7” Shellac Recorded on May 23, 1896
The Berliner Gramophone disc was the world’s first example of a flat playable record – before this there were only cylinders. Any surviving discs are important historical artifacts and incredibly rare documents of early recorded sound.
This is disc number 640, and features George Graham doing a spoken comedy routine about a character named Pumpernickel in the role of a judge. This belongs in the family of so-called “coon songs”, which was a racially degrading form of ‘entertainment’ (using the term loosely) that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This record is a very first pressing, as denoted by the lack of a suffix letter in the catalog number, and by the hand written ‘label’. A very hard to find title, as it appeals to collectors from several different areas. Hand written ‘label’ is signed by George Graham with a scratch pen, and the record looks to be in nice playable condition.
Tracks:
A Pumpernickel As Judge
The record grades at V on the VJM scale (or G+ on the Goldmine scale) with light surface scuffs/scratches, but no deep scratches and it looks to be completely playable. There are a couple of small needles-drops that look like they should play through (when examined with a magnifying glass). It has the dimpled surface that is common in these discs - they were part of Berliner records when they were made, and the sound groove plays straight through them. Please note that we are not able to play Berliner discs, so we are not able to play grade this disc. Our grading is based on visual inspection only; please click on the photos above and use the zoom feature to get a supersize view for close inspection.
Domestic shipping within the USA is $4.00 for the first record and the second record ships for free – Please click here for our Complete Shipping Rates. Shipping to everywhere else is airmail only. We ship worldwide; if you are an international buyer, please wait for our invoice with the shipping rate. PayPal is the preferred method of payment. All records are shipped in corrugated cardboard boxes with corrugated cardboard pads for secure shipping to anywhere in the world. 78s will be further packaged in an oversized box full of packing foam peanuts. International buyers should understand the laws in their country that govern customs VATs, duties, taxes & fees; these fees are the responsibility of the buyer, and are not included in the sale or shipping price paid to us.
Grading is done according to the Goldmine Grading Standards using the following scale: Mint/NM/VG/G/P with the appropriate + or - to further describe the condition. Please click here for our Complete Grading Criteria. “Mint” is essentially new, and “Poor” is essentially unplayable. We have 19 years of experience with the Goldmine system, and grade conservatively so you’ll have no surprises.
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