Neophone Disc-Phonograph

British label, active between ca. 1904 and 1908. Founded by a German, Dr. Michaelis, the label was the first to issue vertical-cut discs. It boasted that its records were "warranted indestructible". Early single-faced records were made of thick pasteboard covered with a kind of white enamel-like surface. The earliest labels were white on Wedgwood blue and listed the label name and patent information, but no artist names or titles; the flip-side featured an identical, but larger label. Catalog numbers and titles were engraved in script inside the runout. From 1905, at least, labels did feature a box at the bottom that listed catalog numbers, artist names (or at least instruments) and song titles. Starting around July 1906, the label issued double-sided discs on black "Neolite", a material resembling regular shellac. Neophone disc sizes varied widely, and some catalog numbers exist in two sizes (10.5" or 9"). Discs could measure 9", 9.5", 10.5", 11", 12", and even 20". The handful of releases in the latter size had a playing time of ten minutes. Most Neophone records were 12-inch discs, though. In 1907, the label was acquired by The General Phonograph Co. Ltd.. It ended its operations in 1908.