Record catalogs and other issues
of the
Victor Talking Machine Company

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One of the things the Victor Talking Machine Company did well was to consistently produce some of the most beautiful advertising literature of any company of the era. Here are links to some of the early Record Catalogs and Monthly Supplements.

The "Complete" catalogs prior to approximately January 1910 and Monthly Supplements prior to July/August 1910 measure approximately 3-1/2" x 6". Occasionally a piece is slightly "taller" but very seldom. After these dates the literature was generally in the 5" x 7-1/4"range

"Complete line" Catalogs

"Content"
The early Victor Talking Machine Company Record Catalog had the records arranged by category. Each band, each orchestra, each instrument, each voice range, etc had their own section. There was also a section in the middle, printed on pink paper, which listed the Red Seal Records (by artist) separately. There was an Index of Artists, a Classified Index (which listed the categories), and a Red Seal Index (which listed the Red Seal artists only). As the number of records grew, the catalog must have become VERY "unfriendly".
In January 1912, the catalog was issued as "The First Complete Record Catalogue!". It was called "The Victor's New Alphabetical and Subject Catalogue". There were still lists of "Band Records" and "Trombone Solos", etc but now everything-category, title, and artist-was in one long alphabetical list!

"Appearance"
The April 30, 1905 catalog had a nice early look to it.

The catalogs from around January 1906 through January 1910 were identical except for a slight change in the 1907-1908 period. The January 1906 catalog shows four record labels on the cover. By the September 1908 catalog there were only three labels on the cover.
Also prior to the September 1908 catalog the back cover was devoted to their triumphs at the St Louis Exposition. Sometime after the September 1907 catalog they emphasized their relationship with the royalty of England, Spain, and Persia.
In January 1910, with the advent of the 5" x 7-1/4" catalog, they pictured four record labels on the back cover. This back continued thru the May 1914 issue. After that point the back contained a drawing of Nipper and the phono until the mid-1920’s.
When the “new style” catalogs arrived in January 1912, the covers were much plainer (as shown here)
The "complete" catalogs I am aware of were dated:
1906-January, September
1907-May, September
1908-January (SS),September
1909-July
1910-January, July
1911-May

When Victor moved to the “new style” catalog they were titled/colored as follows:
January 1912 - "The First Complete Record Catalogue!” - brown
May 1912 - Nothing printed - blue
November 1912 - “Third Edition” - brown
May 1913 - “First 1913 Edition” - blue
November 1913 - “Second 1913 Edition” - brown
May 1914 - “First 1914 Edition” - blue
November 1914 - “Second 1914 Edition” - red
May 1915 - “First 1915 Edition” - green
November 1915- “Second 1915 Edition” - red
May 1916 - “First 1916 Edition” - green
November 1916 - “Second 1916 Edition” - red
May 1917 - “First 1917 Edition” - green
November 1917 - “Second (November) Edition” - red
May 1918 - “First Edition May, 1918” - green
This would lead one to believe there was a “Second Edition 1918” - I’m told one was never issued AND in 30 years of searching, I’ve never seen one.
1919 and beyond were issued annually

"Speciality" Catalogs

Victor also periodically issued small catalogs on specific subjects.
In February 1907, they issued a 48 page catalog of "Foreign" Records. The records were listed in the same manner as the "Complete line" catalogs of the day. This catalog included Spanish, German, Bohemian, Italian, French, Hebrew, Russian, Polish, Swedish, and Norwegian as well as Gregorian Chants, a portion of the Red Seal line, and Hawaiian and Indian (Native American) recordings.
In January 1908, they issued an 8 page catalog of their Eight-Inch 35c Records. The records were also listed in the same category method as the"Complete line"catalogs.

In June of 1908 and January of 1909 they issued a 48 page Index of Grand Opera Records which listed the records alphabetically by their opera.

Victor Double-Faced Records were given their own catalogs also. A 16 page catalog was issued in November 1908 and a 32 page was issued in March 1909. They both contained lists by category and by record number.

Monthly Supplements

February 1905-December 1905

The front covers of the Victor monthly supplements of 1905 and early 1906 contained the trademark picture of Nipper and the phonograph along with four various sizes of Victor records. The pre-May and post-June 1905 supplements vary slightly from each other.

The back covers contained various pictures and information as pictured and described below
Some supplements, such as the February 1905 edition contained general advertising for Victor records. It contains 12 pages including covers

March 1905 supplement contains a short list of records by Marcella Sembrich and another by Maud Powell
10 pages including covers

May 1905 supplement contains a small picture of Emma Eames and a short list of her records
12 pages including covers

June 1905 supplement contains a small picture of Mme. Lillian Blauvelt and a list of her records
14 pages including covers

July 1905 supplement contains a testimonial letter from Mme. Eames
12 pages including covers

August 1905 supplement contains an short article about the British Museum preserving the voices of "eminent men and women"
12 pages including covers

September 1905 supplement contains a small picture of Louise Homer and a list of some of her records
12 pages including covers

October 1905 supplement contains a picture of, and statement by, Sousa
8 pages including covers

November 1905 supplement contains a small picture and article on the life and death of recording artist Tamagno
10 pages including covers

December 1905 supplement contains a small picture of Giuseppe Campanari a list of some of his records
12 pages including covers

January 1906-November 1907

The January 1906 supplement follows the same early design; it contains 14 pages including covers.
With the February 1906 supplement the Victor Talking Machine Company launched a series with incredibly beautiful artwork on the cover.

My scans don't do justice to the vibrant colors and quality pictures they used but here's an attempt to convey the beauty of these items:

April 1906 supplement--16 pages including covers

May 1906 supplement--16 pages including covers

June 1906 supplement--scan provided by a friend - assume (but can't guarantee)
page count to be 16 pages including covers

July 1906 supplement--16 pages including covers

August 1906 supplement--20 pages including covers

An interesting "variation" occurred in the September 1906 supplement. I have copies with both the earlier "Nipper" cover and an "Art" cover. The contents are identical including a paragraph in the "Nipper" cover edition describing the "After the Opera" cover--???
The backs of the September supplements are also indentical except for the color and border. Was this a one-time occurrence or were all the Art cover months issued in duplicate?
12 pages including covers

October 1906 supplement--12 pages including covers

November 1906 supplement--16 pages including covers

December 1906 supplement--12 pages including covers

January 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

February 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

March 1907 supplement--16 pages including covers

April 1907 supplement--8 pages including covers

May 1907 supplement--8 pages including covers

June 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

July 1907 supplement--8 pages including covers

August 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

September 1907 supplement--8 pages including covers

October 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

November 1907 supplement--12 pages including covers

December 1907-June 1910

In January 1908, Victor returned to a "standard" cover with the Nipper trademark in the center being the only graphics. They varied the color scheme in a six month rotation.
January and Julyused shades of gray
February and August used shades of salmon/peach
March and Septemberused a green layout
April and October used a blue center with a grayish border
May and November used shaded orange in the center and a brownish border
June and December used shades of lighter brown

An interesting variation is theblack and white, fold-out "version". I can't say it was used every month but I've seen quite a few examples of it. The first issue I've seen is the December 1907 issue. This would have been the last month for the beautiful "art" covers used from February 1906 to November 1907. It also could have been the first month for the "standard" cover used from January 1908 to June 1910. Or the b/w fold-out issue could have been the only one used that month. Given Victor's immense advertising budget, and December being the month of greatest sales, it seems unlikely a plain b/w brochure was used-but anything could have happened. In any event, the b/w fold-out"edition" contained the same information and illustrations as their colorful "booklet" counterpart except it was printed on a single piece of glossy paper. The piece was then folded to the same dimension as the "booklet" version. At first glance it appears to be a "xerox" copy of one of the colorful booklets. However, early in 1909, Victor began to number and date their forms. Prior to this none of their advertising literature had any "Printer's" dates or "Form numbers". By comparing two supplements for the same month in the different formats, it can be seen they have different "Form numbers". For example the colorful booklet October 1909 issue is marked"1079 8-4-09 JTXA" while the b/w fold-out issue is marked "1080 8-4-09 HOXA". One assumption could be made that the b/w were a less-expensive version for dealers who weren't able or willing to purchase a higher quality give-away. In any event an interesting anomaly.

During this period, the backs of each month were different and illustrated below:
December 1907 supplement contains five pictures of Royalty who own Victor phonographs
12 pages including covers

January 1908 supplement contains four pictures of Enrico Caruso on the back
8 pages including covers

February 1908 supplement contains a picture of Antonio Scotti on the back
8 pages including covers

March 1908 supplement contains a picture of Johanna Gadski on the back
12 pages including covers

April 1908 supplement contains a picture of Marcella Sembrich on the back
16 pages including covers

June 1908 supplement contains a picture of Enrico Caruso listening to an early Victrola on theback
8 pages including covers

July 1908 supplement contains a statement from Enrico Caruso on the back
8 pages including covers

September 1908 supplement contains a picture of Emilio de Gogorza listening to an early Victrola
8 pages including covers

October 1908 supplement contains a picture of Evan Williams sitting by an outside-horn Victrola
8 pages including covers

December 1908supplement contains a picture of U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Evans testifying to the pleasures gained from the Victor
12 pages including covers

February 1909 supplement contains six small pictures of Geraldine Farrar in various costumes
12 pages including covers

April 1909 supplement contains six small pictures illustrating Marcella Sembrich's career
12 pages including covers

May 1909 supplement contains an ad for $15 Victor Wood Horns and an endorsement of thembyNellie Melba
12 pages including covers

June 1909 supplement contains a small picture of Blanche Ring and text about her new record
8 pages including covers

August 1909 supplement contains a small picture of Maud Powell and a list of eleven of herrecords
12 pages including covers

September 1909 supplement contains pictures of a Victrola model XII and model XVI
8 pages including covers

October 1909 supplement contains an advertisement for the new 18-1/2" Victor WoodHorns
12 pages including covers

November 1909 supplement contains text advertising the Victor
12 pages including covers

December 1909 supplement contains an advertisement for the Victor Needles
16 pages including covers

January 1910 supplement contains a picture of Enrico Caruso and a list of five of his records
12 pages including covers

March 1910 supplementcontains small pictures of Enrico Caruso and Frances Alda along with text extolling therecordingof their "Great Misere Scene" from Il Trovatore
16 pages including covers

June 1910 supplementcontains a large picture of Blanche Ring
16 pages including covers

"Speciality" Supplements

Occasionally Victor would issue supplements to their supplements. Here are a couple single sheets found in the October 1908 and September 1909 Monthly Supplements.

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Accesses:

Record catalogs and other issues of theVictor Talking Machine Company