Little Wonder Records - Small 78rpm records... for grownups.

The Little Wonder Record company produced records from 1914 to 1923. These little 5½ inch, single sided, 78rpm records sold for 10 cents in an era when the average price of a disc was around 75 cents, and the wave of budget labels had not yet hit the market.
In spite of their size and the indications on some labels that these were intended for children, the Little Wonder discs were, in fact, intended for adults.

[@robertchambers4065]

I found Little Wonder number one, "Ben Bolt" at a thrift store for 99 cents. At first I didn't know what it was as it had raised letters instead of a label and from the name "Little Wonder" and the fact that it was one sided I thought it might be a very old kiddie record. I have since found out the unnamed singer was a very famous tenor named Henry Burr and the record is in surprisingly good condition and sounds very good for an acoustic recording. After reading Merle Sprinzen's website (who was very nice to me when we corresponded) I see how Little Wonder changed the recorded music industry and I hope someday it gets the credit it deserves.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

What great information!!! Al Jolson's massive ego must have been crushed when he found out he was just a number and not number 1.

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

Most folks assume these are kiddy records and don’t buy em MORE FOR ME!!

[@burmesecolourneedles4680]

Wonder-ful to hear all about these, thank you so much! I have a few. Also lots of the equivalents we had here in the UK, of which there were many, Little Marvel, Mimosa, Marspen, and others. Some are children's titles but others not - even hot jazz on a few!

[@MTEmployment]

I'm so happy that I found this channel!!

[@codex3048]

I imagine very few artists actually had a royalty deal in those days. Maybe Caruso. Pretty much everything in pop culture was done on a "work-for-hire" basis; knowing the costs beforehand was the only way the record business could actually function.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Hence the fact that so many artists worked under fake names for other labels.

[@MrRom92DAW]

I always wanted one example of a little wonder in the collection, but I have never seen one in person, and the music typically hasn’t interested me enough to make any effort to actively seek them out either. The only one I could say I would really want is the Jolson disc you showed - I believe there may be others as well!

[@chrisreich40]

I have a small cache of these in storage awaiting a chance to be enjoyed. I have maybe two dozen and as I recall, none have a paper label.

[@danielarick2105]

I have one that is the etched label, it says " Bantam Step ",and just says "band" for artist name. I also have a Emerson five and a half inch disc but that is so scratchy you can barely make out what is being sung,just happens to be Pretty Baby

[@78s_TheArtists_AndTheHistory]

I have 4 of these, two of them are damaged (one cracked and one has a chip that hasn't fallen off) luckily since they're single Sided I was able to just tape the back and somewhat fix them. 6:37 own that one, is one of two that is unbroken.

[@EricBrownBey]

I want 78 RPM records to come back now

[@ericsmith8996]

Did i see 2 of the little wonder records you showed pictures of with code numbers or somthing scratched into and across ghe grooves of those records ??? Ouch !

[@MarkAtnip]

Greetings, Eric! Were you referring to the matrix numbers that were etched or written into the area outside the label? Those are in the dead wax area and don't affect the playing of the recording. They were written into the original wax recordings to help the company keep track of recordings and takes. If there were etchings in the actual grooves, let me know on which record you are looking at and I will pull the record off the shelves and take a look at it.

[@larrpeninger]

I have slowly been getting into collecting 45rpm records, and now I need to get smaller boxes? But seriously, I have seen a few AL Jolsen in 78s and 45s, but I haven't seen any of the little wonder. Could be they just get snatched up. But then again, the record store probably holds them back and sells them at a premium price point.

[@MarkAtnip]

Hello! The Jolsen recording on Little Wonder isn't credited. It's not common, however I presume that 95% of record stores wouldn't know that Little Wonder #20 was a Jolson recording and would not charge a premium for it.

[@JaneManske]

I recently found a couple1909 Little Wonders. Do they need a special needle to play them? I have heard our newer needles get ruined by old 78's

[@MarkAtnip]

They will play a lot better with a 78rpm needle (2.5 mil) as opposed to a normal microgroove (33/45rpm) stylus. As to whether it will ruin them or not... it will indeed wear out a 33rpm needle faster, but playing a few isn't going to damage or wear the diamond enough to cause a problem unless you are using a REALLY high-end system. (and you have really good hearing) If you have something to play them on, then play them and see if you like them! Let us know what you find out! If you decide you want to play them regularly then seeking out a 78rpm stylus shouldn't be too hard.

[@MrWolfSnack]

All you need is any record player that has a diamond-tipped stylus for 78's, or that can accommodate one. Shellac is more abrasive than vinyl and it can file down softer needle materials. My Emerson Multiplex stereo from the 1970's has one of these special styluses and it has no trouble playing shellac 78's.

[@notmanatee2445]

Explain to me why little wonders LPs arent for kids?

[@MarkAtnip]

Because the music was intended for adults. The reason people think they are for kids is because of the size of the disc and the fact they had the little kid on some of the labels. There ARE small kids records from that era (Cameo made some) but the content of those discs is clearly for kids. Little wonders are usually just shortened versions of regular Columbia releases are were marketed to grown-ups.

[@notmanatee2445]

So they are 90 second previews of songs that normally adults would buy and are intended for the adult audience? And what about children,what if they like some discs that aren't exactly kids music?

[@Iconoclasher]

Maybe the thinner ones were thinner because of war time shortages. The lower numbers would have been about the middle of WW1.

[@MrWolfSnack]

You are on the right track about the reason being shortages, but it was not because of the war. It started long before that. The great Panic of 1910-1911 for the US economy triggered a decline in industrial activity and resulted in a deflation of the US dollar. This in turn spurred a recession from 1913 to 1914. This triggered the Federal Reserve Act which resulted in the creation of the Federal Reserve System and the protection of banks from economic recessions. Now - had WW1 not started in 1914 this recession likely would have continued and got even worse, however because of the start of WW1, the US economy surged with a new market of buyers wanting US goods, especially the British. This set off a 44-month period of growth for the United States and solidified its power in the world economy. Going back on topic about the records, it is more than likely because of that recession and nobody being able to afford normal music records, record companies invented that way of selling records to keep the working class buying music to keep some sort of money coming in through the recession, and made the discs entirely to fit the price point they needed to sell them at to make a profit. This resulted in less material, the smaller record size, chopping up the song, so on and so forth.

[@hern01134]

i have a thin #14