The Record Player (1887–?)

For almost two years the American record market has been stimulated and also bewildered by the impact of the Long-Playing record – or LP, as it is there universally called.

From across the Atlantic came echoes of the battle: company after company entering the field, new concerns springing up on all sides, wild claims and counter-claims made on behalf of each system, and self-respecting turntables asked to revolve at three different speeds – 33⅓ rpm, 45, and plain old-fashioned 78. As the confusion spread, many small dealers and record buyers retired into their shells with gestures of despair.

During this period the well-informed English collector has been able to sit back with a superior smile. Splendid! By all means let the Americans see their new invention through the awkward teething stage; neutrality, for the time being, had distinct advantages. But the period of our neutrality is almost over. Next month Decca releases a first English list of some 50 LP records, together with a variety of apparatus on which to play them; and it seems likely that the Gramophone Company will soon follow suit.