Lyceum Record (England) / 1913
Corporate background:
One of many German-made records marketed in
England prior to WWI.
The word ‘Lyceum’ originates
from the Greek school associated with Aristotle, and is often
used to describe scholastic institutions.
The ‘CB’ either side of the
portrait refer to the store William Cooper Brothers of London,
through whom this label was sold (see also the Coliseum label).
Label scan courtesy of UK music researcher
and collector Bill Dean-Myatt.
Design: A
well-laid out design featuring a stylized scroll containing the
label name.
Instead of being treated as a single unit
with the word ‘Lyceum,’ the word
‘Record’ is separated from it and scaled down, as
if becoming aware of its own redundancy.
Following WWI, ‘Record’ would
disappear from almost all 78 rpm labels.
Even the letters ‘C’ and
‘O’ have been modified so as not to interfere with
the portrait.
Art Nouveau influence lingers in the
flowing lines of the borders in both the upper and lower
segments.