1889 – 1931
Columbia
The oldest name in records, and the one that kept changing hands
Columbia Phonograph Company / Columbia Graphophone · New York and London
The house
Columbia started in 1889 as the District of Columbia sales agency for Edison's phonograph, which is where the name comes from. It began making its own cylinders, then took on discs from 1901, and for a while it was the only serious rival to Victor in America.
Columbia's American and British arms drifted apart and became separate companies, and both had a habit of financial trouble followed by rescue. The magenta label of the 1920s covers an enormous popular catalogue: dance bands, blues, gospel, old-time fiddle music and vaudeville.
Columbia held the crucial electrical patents in Britain and used them well. Its merger with the Gramophone Company in 1931 created EMI; in America the label passed through several owners before becoming part of CBS in 1938.
What it sounds like
Consistently well engineered in the electric period, with a fuller bass than most 1925–1926 rivals. The subsidiary Harmony and Regal labels carry the same masters at a lower price and a rougher pressing.
On the shelf
Pulling sleeves…