Kismet (Romania) / c. 1922
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Design: The crescent moon and star, symbolizing the Islamic religion, appears on the flags of several Islamic countries (the word 'Kismet' derives from a Turkish-Arabic word to do with one's fate or destiny).
History: Label scan courtesy of collector Florin Caloianu of Romania, who writes: "The Kismet record is a Lindström label (it appears on Lindström lists) which I believe was made, like the flagship Odeon label, in Germany. The Kismet above is one of the rarest, most beautiful and enigmatic records I have in my collection. Although it appears to be Turkish (why it was designed in an oriental style I don't know), this one features folk songs from Transyvania, in western Romania. The word 'Kismet' means 'destiny' in Turkish and 'good luck' in Bulgarian, and for me it's amazingly appropriate because of how I acquired it. Having bought the record in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, I accidentally left it in the train in Bar, a town in Montenegro. From there I went on a bus trip to another city, and then realized I had lost my precious disc. In spite of my girlfriend saying I would never find it, I went back to Bar, and despite my poor command of the Serbian language I eventually found the train I had been in, and the driver gave it to me! I was very lucky (kismet!) and so happy to recover it, not only because it is such an interesting label, but because the recording (made between 1920 and 1924 by Odeon in Bucharest) was limited to only about 50 Romanian discs!" Alternate label scan (below left) from 1920 courtesy of UK collector Bill Dean-Myatt. The 'One Step' notation beneath the song title ('Happy Dance') refers to a dance style that was basically 'a walk on each beat of the music,' and was one of several dance crazes to become popular just prior to WWI. Alternate colour label scan (below) courtesy of collector Georg Richter of Germany, who surmises that this 1921 French-made Kismet issue was intended for export to French-African colonies. |
