Re: [ARSCLIST] REPEAT request for information - REENA 78rpm album A110

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Lennick" <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> That was RENA. And Canadian Columbia Graphophone discs issued here only from
UK
> sources had an R-prefix. But no connection with the 40s-50s Jewish label.
>
Rena started out as a UK label owned by Louis Sterling...who essentially
took over the moribund UK Columbia operation and merged the two, resulting
in UK Columbias being sold under the Columbia-Rena identity for several
years (don't know exactly WHICH years, though...?!).

As DL notes, Columbia(C) did issue some UK Columbias under R-prefix
catalog numbers (which may...or may not...have repeated the UK Columbia-
Rena numbers). However, Col(C) issues in the R-40xx series...and, possibly
also the R23xx (I have one such record, using North American sides)...were
records issued specifically for Canada (in some cases, using NYC sides
not issued in the US).

In 1924, when prefixed numbers were supplanted by suffixed ones, the
R-40xx series was replaced by a 16xxx-D series (a group of us Canuck
78ophiles are trying to identify all the issues in this series...?!).

Also in 1923-4 Sterling essentially arranged for Col(UK) to take over
the failing US Columbia operation. As a result, when Col(UK) and the
Gramophone Company merged in 1931, they were forced to sell off the
US company...to Grigsby-Grunow, makers of the expensive Majestic
line of home radios. By 1934, G-G was also broke...and ARC acquired
US Columbia for a mere $70,000 (Herbert Berliner wanted to buy it,
but couldn't raise the 70 grand...!).

Steven C. Barr
(More about Columbia than you wanted to know, eh?!)