Little Wonder Records
Four different labels appeared sequentially
on Little Wonder records: a no-label embossed black version, a "horn
and violin" version that appeared in both blue letters on cream
background and black letters on an orange background, and a "child
conductor" version that appeared with black letters on an orange
background.
As discussed in the History
section,
it is likely that the no-label versions were manufactured while Henry Waterson
controlled Little Wonder records -- the timing corresponds.-
This makes sense given that the contract Waterson signed with Columbia stipulated that if Waterson
wanted paper labels, he would be responsible for the cost of
manufacturing the labels and shipping them to Columbia.- Columbia was
required to indicate the name of the tune on each record, and so the embossed black version labeling format
was born. -When Little Wonders returned to Columbia, the blue and cream
paper label appeared.
Very generally, here are
the record number ranges for the labels (see scans of LW #15 variations
at left):
1 through 434:-
Black (click here
to see trademark)
435 through 749:-
Blue on cream "horn and violin" (the highest cream label
I've seen is #779)
750 and above:- Orange
"child conductor" (click here
to see trademark)
The orange "horn and violin"
version appeared during the transition from the cream "horn
and violin" to the "child conductor."
As records were re-pressed, the label
placed on the record reflected the current labeling style.-
So it's possible to find earlier records bearing later label styles.
It’s also possible to find records
bearing more than one style of label. -For
example, look at Little Wonder #36 at left which has the blue-on-cream
label pasted on top of the black version.
Within a particular label style, there
were variations in the typography.-
For example, four different versions of the blue-on-cream label
for Little Wonder #458 are shown at left.
There is also variety in the "child
conductor" orange versions. -For
example, another version of the Little Wonder #15 is shown at left
(compare to the others shown above).
Two versions of Little Wonder
#1177 are also shown at left.
The
Harper-Columbia (and Hodder-Columbia) Acoustically Recorded
Version of the Bubble Books
The most common record labels appearing
on the acoustically recorded Bubble Book records are the cream-colored
versions. -There is a less common version
of the cream labels that has a larger image of the piper.-
Both of these variations are shown at left.
Bubble Books number 1 through 4 also
appeared with record labels of other colors (see variations at left).
- My hypothesis is that these colored
versions were included with the first editions of the books, and
that later editions of the books were published with the cream-colored
versions.- I believe that Bubble Books
#1 and #2 were originally published with orange labels, #3 with
blue labels, and #4 with red-orange labels.-
This hypothesis gets some additional support from the fact that
the alternate-colored versions generally appear in books that do
not have the book number on the spine and do not have a listing
of the entire book series included in the pages.-
As discussed in the History
section, these differences might also indicate that these
versions of the books were the first editions.
The
Victor Acoustically Recorded and Dodd, Mead-Columbia Electrically Recorded
Versions of the Bubble Books
I know of only one style of record
labels for both the Victor acoustically recorded and Columbia electrically recorded Bubble
Book records, and these are shown at left.
The
Clarion Electrically Recorded
Versions of the Bubble Book Records
I also know of only one style of record label for the Clarion
records produced of the Bubble Book records, and that is shown at left.
Libri Che Canta
& Piccola Meraviglia Records
As discussed in the History
section, what I believe to be the first edition of the first Libro Che
Canta contained records with the Little Wonder label.- Books 1-9 contained the
duotone pink-and-maroon label, as did records in the beginning of the standalone Piccola Meraviglia series.-
Books 10-12 and later Piccolo Meraviglia records had the maroon label. |