Edward Wallerstein

He was born in Kansas City, Missouri Dec. 9th 1891 and was educated at Germantown Academy, Philadelphia, and Haverford College. Before he joined RCA Victor, he was eastern manager of the music division of the Brunswick‐Balke‐Collender Company from 1925 to 1930 and sales manager of the Brunswick Record Corporation from 1930 to 1932. From 1933-1939 he was with the RCA Corporation. Between 1933 to 1938, he had participated in the development of a microgroove record that proved impractical at the time for RCA, but he remained interested in the idea after his move to Columbia. In 1933 Victor Records started pressing shellac discs that spun at 33rpm, but the concept and production at the time using heavy pick-ups failed and was withdrawn from the market by Edward himself. In 1939 he became the President of US record company Columbia Records Inc. and stayed with them until he retired in 1951. He took the failed "Long Play" idea from RCA and presented it to Columbia Records. In 1939 they were able to start making it a successful process and worked on the idea during WW2, but due to the war efforts the LP was halted until the War ended. Columbia Records Inc. owned the original trademark to the specific term "LP" and he was instrumental in its formulation and it was introduced to the public by its board president, (Ted) Edward Wallerstein in 1948. After his retirement from Columbia, Mr. Wallerstein served as a consultant for Kapp Records and in 1959 became a vice president of the Belock Instrument Corporation, which produced Everest Records. He left that position in 1960.