Velvet Face Record

Velvet Face records were made by J.E. Hough's Edison Bell Company. The Velvet Face record was supposed to be a superior product, but it is doubtful whether Edison Bell used a different shellac mix for their production, so it was probably all a marketing ploy. Velvet Face records were introduced in late 1910 in an oversized 10" form, and a 12" version was introduced in 1913. The 10" recordings on these had already been issued on Bell and Winner records. Both series ceased in late 1914. The label re-appeared under the personal direction of Joseph Batten, in late 1921, lasting until 1927, when it was replaced by Edison Bell Electron. Again, both 10" and 12" sizes were made and some quite unusual and sought-after recordings of contemporary classical music was made during this period, along with a smattering of American dance band recordings (from Gennett) in the first couple of years. These post-war Velvet Face recordings were exclusive to VF; none were also issued on Winner as well. The pre-war label was red with gold lettering with two known slightly different designs. The post-war label was initially purple with gold lettering, changing to green with gold. Within the first series was a sub-series labelled as "Celebrity Records". Rather confusingly, almost identical catalogue number series were used for the pre-war and post-war series. The pre-war 10" ran from 1001 to about 1427 and the post war from 1000 to about 1212. The pre-war 12" ran from 600 to about 642 and the post war from 500 to about 720.