Scarce early 1930s RCA Victor "Program Transcription" Long-Playing Record
$
26
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Description
RCA VICTOR PROGRAM TRANSCRIPTION - FRIML MELODIES
Please note – some scans may have been enlarged to show detail – see description below for actual dimensions.LOW OPENING BID - NO RESERVE!
Scarce, early 1930s RCA Victor "Program Transcription" long-playing record. L4502, "Friml Melodies," parts one and two, by the Victor Salon Orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret. Overall condition is E+ with no wear. Carefully cleaned and conservatively graded.The following information comes from www.wikipedia.org:
RCA Victor introduced an early version of a long-playing record for home use in September 1931. These "Program Transcription" discs, as Victor called them, played at 33? rpm and used a somewhat finer and more closely spaced groove than typical 78s. They were to be played with a special "Chromium Orange" chrome-plated steel needle. The 10-inch discs, mostly used for popular and light classical music, were normally pressed in shellac, but the 12-inch discs, mostly used for "serious" classical music, were normally pressed in Victor's new vinyl-based Victrolac compound, which provided a much quieter playing surface. They could hold up to 15 minutes per side. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, performed by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, was the first 12-inch recording issued. The New York Times wrote, "What we were not prepared for was the quality of reproduction ... incomparably fuller." Unfortunately for Victor, it was downhill from there. Many of the subsequent issues were not new recordings but simply dubs made from existing 78 rpm record sets. The dubs were audibly inferior to the original 78s. Two-speed turntables with the 33? rpm speed were included only on expensive high-end machines, which sold in small numbers, and people were not buying many records of any kind at the time. Overall record sales in the U.S. had crashed from a high of $105.6 million in 1921 to $5.5 million in 1933, because of competition from radio and the effects of the Great Depression. Few if any new Program Transcriptions were recorded after 1933 and two-speed turntables soon disappeared from consumer products. Except for a few recordings of background music for funeral parlors, the last of the issued titles had been purged from the company's record catalog by the end of the decade. The failure of the new product left RCA Victor with a low opinion of the prospects for any sort of long-playing record, influencing product development decisions during the coming decade.
PAYMENT AND SHIPPING
Invoice will be sent to winning bidder at close of auction. California residents will be charged 7.50% sales tax. All items shipped via US Postal Service. Buyer pays postage and handling (inside US) plus insurance, if necessary. All items carefully, securely, and expertly packed to ensure a safe delivery. Shipping discount will be applied at checkout to multiple purchases.
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS
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