Funny picture of American pianist and bandleader Billy Arnold. Source: La Rampe, March 1st 1926 - Gallica.
Waiting for the weekend’s yardsales…
... how about digging in digital libraries? Paris Saint-Ouen flea market photographed byAndré Zucca in 1941. A record on the rare early 1910's French label "La Semeuse" can be seen on the second picture. Source : André Zucca / Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris / Roger-Viollet (Photo 1/Photo 2).
When Parisians discovered the Phonograph
Parisians discovering Edison's phonograph at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. Source: Collection Jaquet de gravures extraites de périodiques et de journaux illustrés du XIXe siècle - Gallica.
Gorgeous illustrations from the 1930’s issues of French Vogue
In the early 1930's, the French edition of Vogue included a column on newly published records featuring great illustrations by Swiss and French artists Herbert Libiszewski, aka Libis (1897-1985) and Raymond de Lavererie (1901-1956). Here is a small selection. Source: Gallica. November 1931 - http://c.bnf.fr/fMv May 1930 - http://c.bnf.fr/fMH June 1933 - http://c.bnf.fr/fME June 1930 - … Continue reading Gorgeous illustrations from the 1930’s issues of French Vogue
In the footsteps of the Ogooué-Congo Mission
A few months ago, I had the chance to meet the French ethnomusicologist Gilbert Rouget in his apartment in Paris. Rouget joined Paris Musée de l'Homme in 1942 as the assistant to André Schaeffner and was appointed Head of the Ethnomusicology department in 1965. His most famous work is his book "Music and Trance" ("La … Continue reading In the footsteps of the Ogooué-Congo Mission
A guest post on the British Library’s Sound and Vision blog
A large collection of early record catalogues is available on The British Library's website. I was invited to write a guest post about it for the BL's Sound and Vision blog. Follow this link to read it. Thanks to Jonathan Ward and Suresh Chandvankar for their help and to Andrea Zarza Canova for the invitation!
Acajou et Palissandre: guitar, ukulele and cavaquinho on 78 rpm records
A new 78s mix for 716lavie.com, this one is made of guitar, ukulele and cavaquinho records (solo or accompaniment) from my collection. It features 14 tracks from Spain, Congo, Vietnam, Brazil, Guadeloupe, Zambia, Tahiti, Portugal, Japan.. Big thanks to Guillaume Le Roux from 716 La Vie and to JiHoon Suk who translated the title of … Continue reading Acajou et Palissandre: guitar, ukulele and cavaquinho on 78 rpm records
Electronic music in 1937: a promotional 78 rpm record for the Ondes Martenot
A promotional 78 rpm record for the Ondes Martenot released during The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne held in Paris in 1937. Transfer by Claude Fihman.
Pathé sleeves from around the world
Here are some (unfortunately empty) 11.5" Pathé sleeves from around the world, including some examples from Morocco, Algeria, India, Siam, Cambodia, China, Russia, Hungary, Spain and Italy. What kind of records were included in these sleeves? Local music? Foreign music? I never came across any Pathé records from Cambodia so far, did they ever exist? … Continue reading Pathé sleeves from around the world
A Christmas concert for the penguins…
Antarctica, Christmas 1904. French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot playing a cylinder of Baryton Jean Lassalle for a public of penguins. The program of this Christmas concert included "Ouvre tes yeux bleus, ma mignonne" (Jules Massenet) and "Connais-tu le pays où fleurit l'oranger?" (Ambroise Thomas). Source: Le Monde Colonial Illustré, January 1939 - Gallica.
Ceints de bakélite 