Discos Estoril

The "Estoril" label for "Discos Estoril" based in Rua 1º de December, in Lisbon, already existed in the first half of the 1950s as a 78rpm record label (on the left the EL170 track label). In late 1954 Estoril began editing 45 rpm vinyl records under the acronym MS 10xx. Editions lasted for a few (few) years with the brand focusing almost exclusively on Portuguese music, partly taking advantage of recordings already edited at 78rpm. Given the few record players in Portugal at that time, Estoril chose as its preferred target the then small tourist market that visited us. That is why the back cover of the album has texts in French and English and allusive phrases such as "Take Portugal back with you in a record of its music". The first editions had a label almost identical to the 78rpm discs, representing the armillary sphere in a classicizing frame (left image). From MS 1011 comes a new label illustrating the Estoril Casino then, but with texts that were partially lost if the center was removed. This was followed by a new version (figure below center) in which the center was easier to cut and only the name of the label was lost. Finally, the definitive version was established in which the center could be removed without affecting any text. This latest version usually occurs in red but also exists in yellow, as in the example below, and light green. A feature of Estoril's early phase was serial disc editing, with identical covers in chromatic variations. Below are some examples from the third of these series ("Shegundo Galarza in a night club). Some covers have a print run on the margin, from which it can be concluded that each edition had 1500 discs, a small amount. Discs were reprinted as needed using the current labels at the time of reprinting. In many of the discs with the label of the latter type a pathology of vinyl occurs which in its most benign form corresponds to an irregularity of the surface that forms small waves, and in the most harmful form corresponds to the formation of bubbles and eventual warping of the disc. On the next disc, the bubbles correspond to the bright spots. Any defect visible to the naked eye makes the disc unusable so it is recommended that branded discs be inspected prior to purchase. In some of the latest editions Estoril has introduced covers with photographs of the songwriters and fadistas of the album in question, but the new design, although more appropriate to the content, has lost a certain archaic charm that characterized the older editions. The label disappeared before the end of the decade, when Alvorada entered the market, but its records deserve to be preserved as a historical relic of the beginnings of vinyl in Portugal.