Has Anybody Seen Our Cat 1897 By Mr Harry Taylor Played Garrard 301 Turntable

Has Anybody Seen Our Cat
By Mr Harry Taylor
Improved Berliner Gram-O-Phone
Record Montreal Canada 1897
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emile Berliner started marketing his disc records in 1889. These records were five inches in diameter, and offered only in Europe. At first, the use of his disc records was leased to various toy companies, which made toy phonographs or gramophones to play them on. The audio fidelity of these earliest discs was well below that of contemporary phonograph cylinder records.
In 1892 he incorporated the United States Gramophone Company in Washington D.C.. This company offered the first disc records (now seven inches in diameter and no longer intended as a toy) in November 1894 on the Berliner Gramophone label. After various mergers, divisions, lawsuits, and injunctions, this company was to give rise to the Victor Talking Machine Company in the United States in late 1900. In 1929, Victor was purchased by RCA.
E. Berliner Gramophone of Canada was established in 1899 in Montreal [in the Aqueduct Street building of Northern Electric] and first marketed records and gramophones the following year. In 1904, the company received its charter as the Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada. Early recordings were imported from masters recorded in the United States until a recording studio in Montreal was established in 1906. The Berliner name as a record label lasted longest in Canada, until 1924 when it was bought out by USA's Victor, becoming RCA Victor in 1929. Berliner Gram-o-phone's facilities in Montreal, a complex of buildings at 1001 rue Lenoir and 1050 rue LaCasse in the St-Henri district, became home to RCA Victor Canada over the next several decades,[1] developing and producing such high-tech products as microwave radio relay systems, communication satellites, television broadcast equipment, etc. Since the dissolution of RCA in 1986, the Lenoir building has been turned into a multi-use office/commercial building, but the Lacasse facility is now The Emile Berliner Museum,[2] documenting the history of the man, his company and the building complex. The historic Studio Victor located there is still an active recording studio.
Your question:
To Recorded Sound Reference Center: I have a Record made in Montreal Canada Patented Feb 24th 1897..Made by E.Berliner of the Improved Berliner Gram-O-Phone..Has Anybody Seen Our Cat By Mr Harry Taylor..You have the 10' mp3 on your website..I am confused as to the date of the recording.. I received some good information from victrolaman that seems to clear things up somewhat.. However I still do not understand how you can get a patent dated 1897 when the E. Berliner Gramophone of Canada was established in 1899.. Also Shepard was known to have recorded as early as 1898 as per your Library of Congress.. Anyway this is the information victrolaman gave me.. Harry Taylor is actually Burt Shepherd. He recorded this record for Eldridge Johnson at the Victor Studios in July of 1901, both a 7" and 10". You obviously have the 7" version. Johnson shared masters with his former boss, Emile Berliner who went to Canada during the big lawsuit involving patent disputes, and Johnson bought the Company to protect his investments, and later formed the Victor talking machine Company of Camden, New Jersey. From your Library of Congress..Also my recording is not exactly the same as the mp3 on your web page.. Burt Shepard (?--1913) began his career as a female impersonator before joining a minstrel troupe in 1874. On records, Shepard, a baritone, specialized in comic monologues and songs, projected with a wry sense of humor. On stage he frequently accompanied himself on the piano. Shepard made recordings as early as 1898 for the Berliner Gramophone Company. In 1900 he began a six-year association with E. R. Johnson and Victor Records. Shepard was extremely popular in England and enjoyed long stays in that country until his death there in 1913. Can you please

[@alanspagnolia9474]

This record is 120 years old ??? SOUNDS AND LOOKS FANTASTIC !!!

[@frankgunold268]

Earliest Recording of the word "F*ck" (1885) kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKKWg6aAaJp_gbc

[@schefre35]

@@Billy219 Actually there are older recordings of the French inventor Scott de Martinville from 1860.

[@maximilianfischer8899]

@@schefre35 and 1857 I think

[@hardyboy1959]

I can just picture a bunch of kids dressed in Victorian clothes dancing around like crazy to this record! It's really the genesis of pop music, thanks for posting!

[@AvitalShtap]

HAHAHAH thats so cute of a visual, thank you for this :))

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

I want someone to do a mash up for this and the Monkees I'm gonna buy me a dog

[@shanefleming9104]

this is the best sounding pre-1910 recording I've ever heard! It sounds almost electrical.

[@Cave4590]

@@aileen9553 I don’t care

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Well, maybe the best sounding pre 1901, but still it's really clear. Amazing!!

[@Wolfganger]

@@aileen9553I *not* care 💀

[@GEOFF0906]

why you look if you not care? @@Wolfganger

[@TheRecordNut]

The 1897 date on the label was the most current patent date. With the brown shellac, and the fact thst this disk has a paper label, I'd date it between 1901 and 1904. Sound wonderful for being over 115 years old!

[@mrob75]

Definitely a recording that a child would have enjoyed listening to back in the day. Thank you for this upload.

[@therealdjkendo]

It is still amusing today, I think! Brought a smile to my face. It's funny how some types of music never go out of style. A guy or gal could stand up at a cabaret or open mic and sing this and no one would bat an eye or know it was so old. And of course it does sound amazing. Thank you for the post! (KZbin insists on filling my feed with popular posts from days gone by.)

[@AvitalShtap]

WOAH!!!!!! Seriously SO well preserved!!

[@scotnick59]

121 years back; sounds pretty good!

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Such a cute song! Love it. And sounded really good. Thank you for sharing.

[@Wolfganger]

The condition is brilliant, great fidelity for an acoustic recording!

[@paularose9407]

I just started collecting these records a few short months ago ...after acquiring my great Grandmother's wind up Gramophone and a big bag of oil and dirt stained records. It's such a learning process.

[@xvaughanx]

Where ever the cat is now, it's been dead a long time

[@megabojan1993]

Even if it lived 9 lives, it would be still dead by now :)

[@scotnick59]

REINCARNATED: a cat has 9 lives - heeeheee

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

Don't be so pessimistic. I just saw kitty this morning.

[@woodster909]

unless its Schrodinger's Cat, in which case it is alive and dead, and still in the box. Argh!

[@zaimkarii1756]

Has anyone checked the local chinese restaurant?

[@tonydeadman5467]

Perhaps this has been said before but this song has to have been written in about 1900/01, and as far as I can tell was adopted into (as a relatively commercial song perhaps to boost the show which it appears was first sung under that title by English music hall artist, George Beauchamp in 1899), the Broadway production of The Messenger Boy, after its initial success in London. James T Powers played the messenger boy role. The singer on this record, George Grover Burt Shepard (Burt Shepard), recorded this and other songs and monologues under many names. Shepard recorded in the USA, Canada and England. He is known to have been a recording artist as early as 1898 but this song is most likely to have been issued no earlier than August 1901. Burt Shepard was very popular in Britain, which he visited frequently for long periods and, and in fact died in Kent and is buried in Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting.

[@jhonwask]

I'm always looking for one of my cats. LOL. Very nice record.

[@michaeloleary1867]

Sounds good!

[@Palifiox]

The patent is on the recording or playback system which differed from the Edison hill and dale system, not the contents of the record which would have been copyright. These are two different things, legally distinct. Generally patents cover mechanical, chemical, electrical systems but do not cover art. Emile Berliner obtained a patent somewhere, US or Canada for the 24 Feb 1897 date, but the company was formed and the recording was made later. Hope that resolves the confusion. Remarkably clear record considering its age.

[@anthonycook7550]

Superb !!!!

[@leeharvey8334]

Hi mate, thanx for your video, I just love your Garrard 301, 2 SME arms and beautiful plinth!!! Just wonderful mate. Regards Lee, London.

[@roseogrady8785]

Wow.. Thank You.

[@bobskie321]

Despite it's been recorded acoustically the music is loud in relation to noise. Electrical recording didn't exist until the 1920s.

[@rondmc44]

bobskie321, how did they duplicate records back then? I've read somewhere before that an artist(s) had to make dozens of re-recordings to make duplicates..

[@markostermayer3614]

rondmc44 no. There was one master disc that they copied

[@maximilianfischer8899]

@@rondmc44 that was the case when wax cylinders were a thing

[@rondmc44]

@@maximilianfischer8899 and pre-1930s 78s....

[@Edwin48100]

Barry Hansen has a copy of this record! He featured it on one of his Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes CD's from the Dr. Demento Society in the 1990's! Burt Sheppard is the artist singing and not Harry Taylor. Misprint on the label! 1897 is the copyright date. Recorded in 1901.

[@RecordCollector96]

Pseudonym for him, not a misprint.

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

It's not the copyright date on the recording. Can't be, it predates the recording. it's the patent for the disc recording format.

[@gerryroberts662]

Cool.. Nice Record.. Cheerio..

[@Muswell]

Gosh - that label is so clean & clear.

[@erichanson3961]

Some thoughts. 1. Early phonograph records were not all recorded at 78 RPM. Standardization took a number of years. I suspect that this one is actually about a 70 RPM for proper speed and pitch. 2. The Patents were from 1897 for this sort of disk. I have seen that date on the labels of records from 20 years later, therefore, 3. The fact that the record company was founded in 1899, does not present a conflict.

[@elizabethtabberercatt2546]

I believe it was written by Frank Leo in 1899. Frank (married to Sable Fern) and his actor brother William are distant relatives of mine.

[@rekkinregen]

sounds like an electronic recording from the 30's

[@magic_powers]

Great record!

[@PotterPossum1989]

Excellent video, thanks

[@Michael-it6gb]

"its interesting what people found amusing back then" Yeah, I prefer people singing about their cat than what we have today with sex and fornication in every other pop song. The decline has been very clear.

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

Information is not incorrect. A patent date would cover (protect) some aspect of the production process of the phonograph record itself. It's not the date of manufacture. Same goes for copyright dates. A patent or copyright protects a physical process or work for X amount of years, depending on what it is. It is supposed to keep people from copying your work or process without licensing (paying) for it.

[@Vinyl_Dave]

Here's just a couple of bits of info... They didn't have paper labels until at least 1900-01, that is, Victor, by which time Berliner himself had sold up. The Berliner name appeared only on Canadian Victor records for ever after ... Copyright on songs was not until 1911. Before that they were usually purchased and owned by the singer ... 7'' records were made until 1908 (excluding Woolworths' 'Victory' label and the kiddies' ones of the 1920s) - that is, they were recorded until 1908. I don't know when they finally stopped keeping them on catalogue for those who could only play 7'' ... First 10'' records were made by the Gram.& Typewriter Co. (formerly Berliner's) in 1901. Columbia records had 'Patented 1902' in the wax for a few years after 1902. Patents were the thing back then! And of course cat. numbers. (Who'd have thought it.)

[@BlazeMaster]

So has anybody seen the ghost of this cat ?

[@ramonasidneybaker]

Piano accompaniment by C.H. H. Booth or Fred Hylands.

[@dixgun]

It reminds me of traditional English music hall.

[@neilmansfield8329]

A good record

[@BrucesPhonograph]

These Canadian Berliner's were made in Montreal around 1902-"-05. American Berliner's are older, they were made in the 1890's.

[@mikeriverajr4447]

could you imagine somebody playing a dubstep song for the singer in 1897. . . he would think its an alien. . lol

[@tedlawrence4189]

There were no paper label 78's made in 1897. This disc dates to about 1903-4.

[@tripjet999]

If you place BOTH tone arms on the record, will you have stereo?

[@realJoshiBOI]

No, because stereo records weren't a thing (or at least didn't become the standard) until 1957.

[@robfriedrich2822]

Echo only

[@gravedigr12]

They tried that with phonographs way back the double horn models are very rare because they sounded horrible and didnt sell well

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

Um, I think the OP is just being a bit cheeky. A comment on the confusion about what stereo is.

[@yaboimaxwell9031]

Found him...

[@zaimkarii1756]

Check the local restaurant 🤣

[@jeffreywoolhouse2102]

This was also released by Graophone Concert Record London G-C @ _ 2815 On a single sided 78 rpm H Taylor I can't locate a date

[@Kennephone]

This is actually a 1901 Victor matrix.

[@dirwanyuliansyah8053]

Too see this.....I am stunned Hua hahahahaaaa

[@BlazeMaster]

Actually the song is from 1900 but it still qualifies as nineteenth century song, 1897 is when the recording system was patented.

[@BrucesPhonograph]

These red Canadian "Berliners" were made by one of Berliner's sons company in Montreal around 1904-05. They are thus not as old as are American Berliner's.

[@56firedome]

Bruce Stinchcomb i was thinking that 1897 was about a decade or, perhaps, a decade and a half, early for the date. Judging by the clarity of the recording i would have placed the date around 1910.

[@Spacekriek]

A hundred years later, at the Wicked Wok... We no see cat of yours. No more ask please.

[@hyzercreek]

1897 was the year Berliner got a patent but in which country? US, UK or Canada? His first records were in 1898 and he moved to Canada in 1899 to start something there, but there is no way this was recorded or produced in 1897. At that time Berliner records were 5 inch acid etched jobs with no paper labels and they sounded like crap. I'd say early 1900s for this.

[@themightyjaybird]

Has anybody checked the local Chinese restaurant?

[@SabreWolferos]

themightyjaybird ha ha!

[@carvenstud]

lol!!!

[@frankgunold268]

Cat Sweet Sour, Catmeat with Fried Noodles our Cat spring rolls ! : - )

[@JayRudko]

@@frankgunold268 Kitty chow mein?

[@ferociousgumby]

Do you know why the songs are announced? I can understand it with cylinders which might not be too easy to label. But this clearly has a label. This is, by the way, totally bizarre! Thank you.

[@justincb5193]

It might have been normal at that time due to the cylinders being announced

[@vwestlife]

They were announced because there was no copyright for audio recordings back then, so the announcement was their way of claiming ownership of the recording and trying to discourage people from making unauthorized copies of it.

[@mikedavies3475]

Don't know if this is the case for all of them, but all of the cylinders I have seen have the details of the songs are shown on the top edge of the cylinder.

[@AvitalShtap]

HAHHA it's adorable isn't it? I think announcing the song is residue from the Vaudeville era - remember, the stage is where the majority of entertainers came from (of course, with sadly blackface roots) such as Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson. I could easily imagine them announcing a song before they play it as part of the act

[@frankgunold268]

What is with the other Side ?

[@Melissa0774]

Is this really from 1897? I thought they only had wax cylinders at the point and the sound quality was a lot worse.

[@erichanson3961]

The patent date is for this type of disk, not for this song, which is apparently from 1901 or 1902, with the record company's founding being in 1899.

[@ferociousgumby]

Meow.

[@davidk6271]

I may have seen him. P.M me.

[@cletusspuckler2243]

Two tonearms : one with a cartige and stylus especially for 78 rpms records , and the other with cartige and stylus for 33rpms lps and 45 rpms single .78 rpms needs a special stylus to be played !

[@pulezanpulezan4918]

Still not an automatic solution. At least 4 different stylus sizes are needed for different 78 records. The longer tonearm is probably there to play bigger records like the 16inch transcription discs for example or the older Pathe 78s that used to be as big as 20inch!!!

[@onacsareibaj7566]

If not for Emile Berliner there won't be CDs, iTunes, and Spotify today. Because of the gramophone and phonograph we won't be listening to any kinds of music.

[@thenorthamericanphonograph1039]

About the best Berliner recording I have heard, most of them don't sound this good.

[@robfriedrich2822]

What makes you sure that it is 78 rpm? Standardisation came later.

[@EricBrownBey]

He is just being general, don't be a dumbass

[@erichanson3961]

I think this one was actually about 70 RPM for correct tempo.

[@martinbryan3716]

Clearly mislabeled, as to the singer; it's Burt Shepard, as announced. Recorded in the U.S.

[@Oldtimemusiclover]

is this record for sale?

[@Dan_Frechette_Songwriter]

song starts at .50

[@derkommissar4986]

Dan Frechette 0:50

[@donaldfuck]

@@derkommissar4986 oh yeah yeah

[@adrianovicente1895]

What Turntable ????

[@rekkinregen]

the cat has a double meaning.................................. he is searching for ladies........... everything had a double thing you know. in that times.

[@Strange_Phenomena]

I just wanted to suggest that if you use a .3 mil tip stylus to play these old 78s there will be substantially less surface noise form the record. I don't but what you are doing so, though it isn't common knowledge.

[@ldge]

It's certainly true that the .25, which is usually sold as a default stylus for coarsegroove 78s, is not always optimum, but neither is .3. As a general rule, .3 or .35 is better suited to later (1940s and '50s) 78s, and smaller than .3 to 1930s and earlier (especially those mastered with Blumlein cutters, and lacquer or acetate discs). This record is 7" and acoustic, with over two minutes of running time, so the groove pitch must be pretty tight. I would try a .25 elliptical first on a record like this, and possibly even go smaller. The signal to noise ratio sounds as good to me as you're ever going to get from a record that old and small, and so I'm guessing that he's experimented and found the correct stylus. I'd be interested to know which one is being used, though.

[@gbrl_ht01]

Cat WANTED REWARD: 100.000.000 $ Dead or Alive

[@wywot]

Ask the Chinese takeaway...