MATERIALS
Early
disc records were made of various materials including hard rubber.
From 1897 onwards, earlier materials were largely replaced by
a rather brittle formula of 25% "shellac" (a material
obtained from the excretion of a southeast Asian beetle), a
filler of a cotton compound similar to manila paper, powdered
slate, and a small amount of a wax lubricant. The mass production
of shellac records began in 1898 in Hanover, Germany. Shellac
records were the most common until the 1950s. Unbreakable records,
usually of celluloid (an early form of plastic) on a pasteboard
base, were made from 1904 onwards, but they suffered from an
exceptionally high level of surface noise.
In
the 1890s the early recording formats of discs were usually
seven inches (nominally 17.5 cm) in diameter. By 1910 the 10-inch
(25.4cm) record was by far the most popular standard, holding
about three minutes of music or entertainment on a side. From
1903 onwards, 12-inch records (30.5cm) were also commercially
sold, mostly of classical music or operatic selections, with
four-five minutes of music per side.
Such
records were usually sold separately, in plain paper or cardboard
sleeves that may have been printed to show the producer or the
retailer's name and, starting in the 1930s, in collections held
in paper sleeves in a cardboard or leather book, similar to
a photograph album, and called record albums. Empty record albums
were also sold that customers could use to store their records
in.
While
a 78 rpm record is brittle and relatively easily broken, both
the microgroove LP 33.3 rpm record and the 45 rpm single records
are made from vinyl plastic that is flexible and unbreakable
in normal use. However, the vinyl records are easier to scratch
or gouge. 78s come in a variety of sizes, the most common being
10 inches (25 cm), and 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, (sometimes
6-8 inches in the UK), and these were originally sold in either
paper or card covers, generally with a circular cutout allowing
the record label to be seen. The Long-Playing records (LPs)
usually come in a paper sleeve within a colour printed card
jacket which also provides a track listing. 45 rpm singles and
EPs (Extended Play) are of a 7-inch (17.5 cm) diameter, the
earlier copies being sold in paper covers.
In
1930, RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl
long-playing record, marketed as "Program Transcription"
discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback
at 33? rpm and pressed on a 30 cm diameter flexible plastic
disc. In Roland Gelatt's book The Fabulous Phonograph, the author
notes that RCA Victor's early introduction of a long-play disc
was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack
of affordable, reliable consumer playback equipment and consumer
wariness during the Great Depression.
However,
vinyl's lower surface noise level than shellac was not forgotten,
nor was its durability. In the late 30's, radio commercials
and prerecorded radio programs being sent to disc jockeys started
being stamped in vinyl, so they would not break in the mail.
In the mid-40's, special DJ copies of records started being
made of vinyl also, for the same reason. These were all 78 RPM.
During and after World War II when shellac supplies were extremely
limited, some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of
shellac (wax), particularly the six-minute 12" (30 cm)
78 rpm records produced by V-Disc for distribution to US troops
in World War II. In the 40's, radio transcriptions, which were
usually on 16 inch records, but sometimes 12 inch, were always
made of vinyl, but cut at 33 1/3 rpm. Shorter transcriptions
were often cut at 78 rpm.
Beginning
in 1939, Columbia Records continued development of this technology.
Dr. Peter Goldmark and his staff undertook exhaustive efforts
to address problems of recording and playing back narrow grooves
and developing an inexpensive, reliable consumer playback system.
In 1948, the 12" (30 cm) Long Play (LP) 33? rpm microgroove
record album was introduced by the Columbia Record at a dramatic
New York press conference. In 1949, RCA Victor released the
first 45 RPM single, 7" in diameter, with a large center
hole to accommodate an automatic play mechanism on the changer,
so a stack of singles would drop down one record at a time automatically
after each play. Early 45 RPM records were made from either
vinyl or polystyrene.
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