Columbia (U.S.A.) / 1928
Corporate background:
The ‘Viva-tonal’ notation,
which showed that these masters were now being recorded
electrically (rather than acoustically), was added in 1927.
Design: The
label has been divided into round-edged segments above and
below the fat-faced label name, which gives the design a
‘chubby’ look.
The colours have been reduced to a minimum
gold and black.
(See variations below)
Columbia’s ‘ethnic’
releases had a green and gold colour combination; this
Russian-language label is from 1928 (scans courtesy of
Bulgarian collector Dimitar Malchev).
This label from 1926 shows a slightly
different treatment of the ‘Magic Notes’ logo;
also, the label name lettering has been redrawn in a more
condensed style.
On this 1929 label the label name lettering
is again redrawn, the blobby rounded serifs being sharpened
into points. The ‘Magic Notes’ are now wider.