Recording Faust for Pathé in 1899... Source: Bulletin phonographique et cinématographique, november 1899 - Gallica.
Complete operas on records
"A revolution in the phonographic art" - 25 double-sided 35cm (14") Pathé records for Carmen! Source: La Mode du Temps : supplément au journal "Le Temps", April 15th, 1913 - Bibliothèque Forney via Gallica. http://c.bnf.fr/gtq
When Gallica’s pictures come to life
The website I've been working on for a few months has just been launched today. It's called Gallica Studio and it aims at encouraging and showcasing creative or innovative uses of the digital library Gallica's contents. The following video was made for the occasion by the French motion designer Julien Schickel. It shows a 1902 … Continue reading When Gallica’s pictures come to life
Et pourquoi pas ?
Source: Vogue, november 1931 - Gallica.
Some rare recordings of Auvergne folk music on Le Soleil label
I've been collecting folk music from Auvergne for several years but it's the first time I manage to find some of the early vertical-cut records on Martin Cayla's label Le Soleil. Those are much more difficult to find than the lateral-cut ones. These ones belonged to a native from Cantal who moved to Paris in … Continue reading Some rare recordings of Auvergne folk music on Le Soleil label
The Ghost Groove
A transparent flexible record on the obscure French Virginia label. Unfortunately too warped to be played, as it's often the case with flexible records.
A must-have accessory for the 1930’s DJs
The pigskin record bag... by Hermès! Source: French Vogue, december 1931 - Gallica.
Egyptian brown wax
Egyptian music on a beautiful brown wax needle-cut Pathé from the mid 1920's.
When blues 78s turn up in France…
Blues 78s are really hard to find in France but I had the chance to buy a small bunch of them from the family of a former French jazz musician who got them in the U.S.
When Habiba Messika was singing in Nice
A portrait of Tunisian singer Habiba Messika on the cover of Nice-based magazine "L'Éclaireur du dimanche" in 1929, one year before she was tragically murdered by her former lover. Messika was singing in an oriental cabaret in Nice called "L'Oriental" at that time. Source: L'Éclaireur du dimanche, February 3rd, 1929 - Gallica. Her voice can be … Continue reading When Habiba Messika was singing in Nice
Ceints de bakélite 