Label discographies U

The E-Discographer #3 August, 2001 Special Issue!

The International Directory Of Label Research

- U -
Profiles of labels or manufacturers with minimal discographical data are coded in dark green
Catalog or matrix numerical listings are shown in red
General works about labels in specific countries are alphabetized by country of origin and displayed in brown.
Editorial notes appear in festive monochrome black.
Updated 1/25/03
U.K. Labels (various) Andrews, Frank "Records in Store" [ Ariel Grand, Lewis's Long Life, Marspen, Boots, Selfridge's, Silvertone, Key, Little Marvel, Conquest, Victory, Eclipse, Crown, Embassy, Peacock and Empire] Hillandale News Feb, Apr, Jun 1992, p.Jn:35-39
U.K. Labels (various), UK Records, Small-Diameter Discs (under 10"), by Frank Andrews, discusses various UK labels of the early 1900s, incl. Berliner, Zonophone, Vitaphone, Crystalate, Nicole, and others, Hillandale News Apr 1988
U.K Labels (various) England-Record Labels (Acoustic Era), by Arthur Badrock, is a useful bibiolography of discographies which have been published in various places, covering 35 English labels, Historic Record No. 31 (Apr 1994), p.24-28
U.K. Labels (various) Southall, Brian. The A-Z of record labels. London : Sanctuary, 2000. 206 p
U.K. Labels (various) English Picture Labels are illustrated in Talking Machine Review, Aug 1979.
U.K. Labels (various) Taylor, Don. The English 78 picture book : vintage sound recordings from the 1890s to the 1970s. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia : Artemis Publishing Consultants, 1995?. iv, 258 p., ill. (some col.) ISBN: 0646140485
U.K. Labels, Various, "We Also Have Our Own Records," cont., by Frank Andrews, a listing of 78 rpm store labels including Cameo, Calypsotime, Canned Beer, Carlton, Carnival, Castle, Castophone, Celebrity, Chappell, Cherubini, Childrens'Special Service Mission, Christian Radio and Television, Cinecord, Cinetone, Citizen, Clara Schumann Society, Classic Jazz, Cleopatra, Cleveland, and Clover, Hillandale News Autumn 1998, Winter 1998/99, p.Au:141-155,Win:214-218
U.K. Labels, Various, "We Also Have Our Own Records,' by Frank Andrews, store labels incl. Apollo, Ace, Addisco, Addison, Adelphi, Admiral, Admiralty, Adprint, Advox, Aeolian Vocalion, Aco, Aeonic, Aerial, Aerona, A.F.M.C., Aircraft, Ajax, Alexander, Allegro, Antone, Arden, Argo, Arrow, Autocycle, Autograph; Hillandale News Dee 1996, Feb 1997, p.D: 163-169,F:203-2 11
U.K. Labels, Various, &We Also Have Our Own Records," cont., by Frank Andrews, 78 rpm store labels including Colonial, Comet, Concert Artist, Concert, Conqueror, Conquest, Conroy, Conservative, Coronation, Coronet, Cow & Gate, Cremalt, Criterion, Crown, and Curwen, Hillandale News Summer 1999, p.331-342
U.K. Labels, Various, "We Also Have Our Own Records," cont., by Frank Andrews, store labels including Encore, English Folk Dance, English Music Society, ENSA, Era, Esperinst, Ettlinger, Excelda, Excelophone, Exo, Express & Star, Hillandale News Autumn 2000, p. 138-147
U.K. Labels, Various, "We Also Have Our Own Records," cont., by Frank Andrews, store labels incl. Golden Chords, Golden Voice, Gramodisc, Gramogames, Gramophone Shop Celebrity Records, Gramostyle, Gramstop, Greater Britain, Gregg Publishing, Guardsman, Guildhall, Guy's Hospital, Harry Gold Fan Club, Harper Bros., Harris Jr., Heart, Hebrophon, Henecy, Herald, Hibernia, Hohner, Homochord, Horizon, Hugophone, Hunting by Ear; Hillandale News Autumn, Winter 2001, p.Aut:371-79, Win:442-450
U.K. Labels, Various, "We Also Have Our Own Records," cont., by Frank Andrews, store labels I.C.S., Ideal, Idlite, Imp, and Imperial, For the Record Summer 2002, p.70-75
U.K. Labels, Various, "Sing a Song of Sixpence: A Brief Look at the Woolworth's Records," by Will Costain, including Mimosa, Victory, Eclipse and Crown, Historic Record No. 45 (Oct 1997), p.9-12
U.K. Labels, Various, "Marks on British 78 rpm Records" by Peter Copeland discusses engraved symbols on 78 rpm era recordings, Historic Record No. 18 (Jan 1991)
U.K. Labels, Various (cylinders), a dating guide by Peter Copeland includes Clarion, Columbia, Edison-Bell, and many smaller labels producing moulded cylinders, Historic Record No. 17 (Oct 1990)
U.K. Labels, Various, Shaw, Eddie. DATES (Date About all Those English Seventy-eights) 2d rev.ed. (1995?) 3 volumes. 85 Braithwaite House, Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8NQ. e-mail: date78s@aol.com
U.K. Labels, Various (1920's), British Toy Gramophone Records of the 1920's by D.E.Haines. Booklet based on articles in Talking Machine Review Nos. 20-21 , Feb-April 1973
U.K. Labels, Various (1940's), "Independent Record Companies" by Reg Cooper discusses small labels in Britain in the late 1940's, Talking Machine Review, No. 62
U.K. Labels, Various (1940's - 1950's), "Post-War Geordie Records, part 2," by Ray Stephenson, post-World War II specialty labels, including Brownie, Times, Haridix, Windmill and Hexham Abbey, For the Record Spring 2002, p.23-26
U.S. Everlasting (U.S. 1910 cylinder), by Bill Klinger, "Celluloid Cylinders: 'Albany' lndestructible vs. U.S. Everlasting," discusses the two brands, Antique Phonograph News Sep/Oct 1994, p.1,3-10
U.S. Labels (various) Library of Congress SONIC Sound ONline Inventory and Catalog [includes approx. 82,000 78rpm records acquired by LC since 1982]
U.S. Labels, Various - Chicago, "The Chicago 'Premium' Brands," by Allan Sutton, discusses early 1900's labels used as premiums: Busy Bee, Aretino, Standard, Harmony, D&R and others, Victrola and 78 Journal Late Summer 1995 (No. 6), p.34-37
U.S. Labels, Various - Chicago, The Red Saunders Research Foundation [A mix of Chicago musicians' bios and label profiles from the post-WWII era]
U.S. Labels, Various (1920's- 1950's) "IAJRC-RRA Record Label Book Project", An alphabetical listing of jazz-related 78 rpm labels, with a brief entry on each, by Phil Oldham, IAJRC Journal Summer 1994, p.42, Fall 1994-Spring 1995, p.various; , Fall 1995, p.Sum:51-52,Fall:55-56 background on the project in 'Letters' column, Fall 1996, p. 19; Winter, Summer 1996, p. Win:32-33,Sum:54-55
U.S. Labels, Various, "New Orleans Rock & Roll" by Mike Callahan focuses on Ace and other New Orleans labels, Goldmine, Feb 1981
U.S. Labels, Various, Rigler & Deutsch Index of Pre-LP Commercial Discs held by the Associated Audio Archives, 1981. [This Computer Output Microfiche Index lists 615,000 sound recordings from 1895-mid-1950s, held in the archives of the New York Public Library, Stanford University, Yale University, the Library of Congress, and Syracuse University. There are also label images of each disc indexed but few archives have purchased this expensive supplement. Though riddled with mistakes and weighted with redundancy it is still a massive resource. Available in electronic form via RILN- but this is not for the faint-hearted].
U.S. labels, Various -Kennedy, Rick & Randy McNutt. Little Labels - Big Sound: Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music
U.S. labels, Various, "An Introduction To The Department Store Labels & Directory", Record Research Vol. 1 no 2 Apr 1955 p. 5, 6
U.S. labels, Various, "Store Record Labels Illustrated," by Mark Scrimger, illus. custom 78 rpm labels sold by Wards, W.T. Grant, Kresge, Woolworth, Sears, Kress, McCrory, Chas. In The Groove ;(More) Jun 1999, p.4-5
U.S. labels, Various, "Record Release Dates," by Mark Scrimger, reprints a vintage dating chart (compiled in the '40s?) covering 24 common labels for the period 1924-1946, In The Groove May 1998, p.17
U.S. labels, Various, A.O.K.: Record Labels of West Texas & New Mexico by John Ingman. Chesterfield : Ingman Music Research. 1997. 106 p [Over 300 labels, rock & roll, country and pop. Addresses, artists, titles, composers, matrices and dates.]
U.S. labels, various, by Harold H. Hartel; his "H-3 Chrono-Matrix File" is a multi-label matrix-dating guide for the 1920's in order by recording date, serialized Record Research Mar/Apr 1983; Jun 1983; Sep 1983; Dec 1983; Mar 1984; Jun 1984; Oct 1984, Feb, Jul 1985
U.S. Labels (various) Rust, Brian A. L. The American record label book. New York : Da Capo Press,1984. The Roots of jazz Series, 336 p. ISBN: 0306762110; Reprint. Originally published: New Rochelle : Arlington House, 1978. [A substantial number of the labels covered are U.K. issues of U.S. masters. Generally less comprehensive than might be expected from the title and less detailed than might be hoped for, given the author's reputation.]
U.S. Labels (various) Record Release Dates from Orrin Blackstone's "Index To Jazz" by Arthur H. Feher, Record Research Vol 3 No. 5 #17 Mar-Apr 1958 p. 6
U.S. Labels, Various-acoustic and early electric era, by John A. Petty, includes illus. and brief descriptions of many labels, and is geared toward the beginning collector, In The Groove Nov 1988-Jan 1989
U.S. labels, various 1890's-1940's, Sutton, Allan. ;& Nauck, Kurt R. American record labels and companies : an encyclopedia (1891-1943). Denver, Colo. : Mainspring Press, 2000, xx, 417 p. : ISBN: 0967181909 [includes CD-ROM of label images]
U.S. Labels various (1890's-1940's), Spottswood, Richard K. Ethnic music on records: a discography of ethnic recordings produced in the United States, 1893 to 1942. 7 Vol. : Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1990. [Ordinarily a genre discography would not be included herein but vol. 7 features an innovative Record Number Index and Matrix Number Index. The introduction includes brief essays on several of the major labels.]
U.S. Labels, (various 1900's) Chicago Talking Machine Companies of the early 1900's, a talk by Tim Fabrizio, Hillandale News Aug 1983
U.S. Labels (various 1910's) Sutton, Allan: "Small diameter discs, America's 'Little Record' Fad" [Little Wonder, Operaphone, Emerson, Majestic, Domino, Par-o-Ket ,etc.] Victrola & 78 Journal Summer 1996, p.39-43
U.S. Labels, (various 1910's), "False Starts and Phantom Labels," by Allan Sutton, describes some early 1900s labels trademarked, but apparently never produced, including Champion (1908), Sapphire, Crystal, Jewel, Music Master, Bell, Crescent (all 1916), Hillandate (1917), Metropolitan (1921), others, Victrola and 78 Journal Spring 1995 (No. 4), p.26-28
U.S. Labels, (various 1910's-1940's) "Hall Marks" [manufacturer's marks in runout] by Walter C. Allen, Record Research Vol 3 No. 3 #15 Oct-Nov 1957 p. 7, 8
U.S. labels, Various 1910's-1950's, Docks, L.R. 1915-1965 American Premium Record Guide : Identification and Values : 78s, 45s, and LPs. Florence, Alabama: Books Americana. [frequently updated; relevant only for its extensive gallery of label pictures]
U.S. labels, various 1930's, by Herman Paikoff, "The American Record Corporation: A Corporate Overview"; updated in January issue, New Amberola Graphic Oct 1992, Jan 1993, p.Oct:13-16, Jan:9-10
U.S. Labels (various 1930's-1950's) David Diehl The Blue Pages: The Encyclopedic Guide to 78 R. P. M. Party Records: index of party record label profiles.
U.S. Labels, Various 1940's-1950's, "Rare Los Angeles Labels of 1940's & 1950's, by Darryl Stolper, Goldmine Feb 1983
U.S. labels, Various (1940's-1950's), McGrath, Bob. The R&B Indies. Vancouver : Eyeball Productions, 2000 2 v. (1419 p.) ISBN: 0968644503 see for the Online index.
U.S. Labels, (various 1940's-1950's), "Phil's Place" by Phil Oldham, continues a lengthy alphabetical listing of small labels known to have issued jazz-related sides, with brief descriptions and an appeal for more info, IAJRC Journal Fall 1994-Spring 1995, p.various , background on the project in 'Letters' column, Fall 1996, p. 19; IAJRC Journal Winter, Summer 1996, p.Win:32-33,Sum:54-55
U.S. Labels various (1946) "Who's Who in Music" (label directory repr. from Billboard 1946) Record Research #146/147 May-Jun 1977 p. 5--7, 16
U.S. Labels, (various 1950's), New York labels of 1950's, by Galen Gart, describes New York City's Tenth Avenue "Street of Hope" for small, independent labels, Goldmine Mar 27, 1987
ULTRAPHON (CZECHOSLOVAKIA) in "Esta, Ultraphon and Supraphon - A Short History of the Czech Recording Industry," by Graham Melville-Mason, International Classical Record Collector Summer 1996, p.38-43
ULTRAPHON (CZECHOSLOVAKIA) Ultraphon. Mats Elfström och Björn Englund. - 2. omarb. uppl. - Stockholm : Kungl. biblioteket, 1976. - 20 bl. - (Nationalfonotekets diskografier ; 19)
ULTRAPHON (CZECHOSLOVAKIA) Ultraphon ; Telefunken/Pallas. Björn Englund & Mats Elfström. - Stockholm : Arkivet för ljud och bild, 1994. - 145 s. - (Svenska diskografier, ISSN 0348-8624 ; 9)
UNITED (U.S. 1950's), by Peter Grendysa, W/D, Goldmine Feb 13, 1987
UNITED (U.S. 1950's), "The United and States Labels Part I (1951-1953)" and "Part II (1954-1957)" by Robert Pruter, Robert L. Campbell, and Tom Kelly, 2002. [Very well researched and illustrated, W/D]
UNITED SCHOOL OF CHRISTIANITY (U.S. 1920's), in "Behind The Cobwebs" Record Research #32 Jan 1960 p. 8
UNITED STATES PHONOGRAPH CO. (U.S. 1890's) United States Phonograph Co. (1894 catalog), by Jim Walsh, Hobbies, Oct, Nov, Dec 1981, Jan 1982
UNITED STATES RECORD CORP. (U.S. 1939-1940's), "A Study in Re-incorporation" by George A. Blacker, describes the corporate parent of Varsity, Royale, Elite, Inco, Top Hat, Hit, John Ryan, Philharmonic and others, Record Research Vol. 1, Issue 3 Jun 1955 p. 6
UNITED STATES RECORD CORP. (U.S. 1939-1940's), "The United States Record Corporation And It's Successors - Some Afterthoughts" by Ray Wile. Vol 1, Issue 4 Aug 1955 p. 8-9
UNITED STATES RECORD CORP. (U.S. 1939-1940), Eli Oberstein Record Dating Guide
UNITED STATES RECORD CORP. (U.S. 1939-1940), in "Eli Oberstein and the Course Art of Indie Record Production" ARSC Journal Vol. 31 No. 2, Fall 2000 p.282-293
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