Adelina Patti Consents To Record
This rather mysterious photo is my own, and shows the very place where Fred and Will Gaisberg recorded the immortal voice of Madame Patti in 1905.
Fred's account of the protracted negotiations to secure her voice for posterity can be found in his book Music on Record (page 86f). He then provides a fascinating description of his visit to her palatial home in Wales, with the recording apparatus set up in a bedroom.
Sadly, at present, this is in a bit of a state, as you can see, but let's hope that as Patti's castle at Craig-y-Nos is restored, this room will become a tribute to this historic occasion.
The place is well worth a visit! You can even stay in the castle, for a hefty consideration, and see the fine tributes to one of the greatest ever sopranos

Acoustic Recording Artists: Arthur Gilbert
Arthur Gilbert was born in St Helen's Lancashire. His first stage work was at the Strand Theatre in Aladdin. He toured in the comic opera Ermine before joining the company of Ernest Dottridge, a well known producer of pantomimes.
He also toured the music halls and appeared in pierrot shows in the summer in his native county and in North Wales.
His first recordings were made for Lambert cylinders. He went on to record for the Gramophone Company, his discs appear on the Gramophone and Typewriter label. A move to the Edison Company saw him not only performing comic songs but also acting as an assistant recorder. Having learnt this skill, he was enabled to obtain a post with the Beka Company, for whom he became their chief recording engineer. However he continued to make records, these were now under the pseudonym Arthur Osmond and examples of his numerous songs are easily found today. He was also associated with the Sound Recording Company.
In 1920 he was running a business in Keats Grove Hampstead, offering, as "Recording Expert of the late Beka Co," to make private recordings, fee two guineas plus five shillings per disc. Arthur also worked as a stage manager and producer for the Gaumont Film Company. He died sometime in the late 1920s.

Old Gramophone Societies: Glasgow
The inaugural meeting took place on Wednesday September 20th 1922 at the Christian Institute Bothwell Street. After the well attended meeting had voted in officers, they settled down to a talk by their president, Mr Percy Gordon Musc Bac LRAM musical critic of the Glasgow Herald.
He told the audience of his impressions on hearing a gramophone for the first time. The unusual place for this had been on a ship in mid Atlantic. The date was autumn 1901, those were the days, he explained, when there was no label on the disc, a voice informed you of the content. Because of the noise he was unable to make out much detail about the records except that the firm was "of New York, London and Paris." Probably Columbia.
The meeting also listened to a selection of records played on a machine supplied by Messrs Biggars. The discs were "sent up by the manufacturers," which were the Scala record company.

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