Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Dr. Alton F.R. Lawrence (1922-1972) and the Columbia Group Archive donated the Columbia Records Paperwork Collection to the Library of Congress in August of 1970.
Dr. Alton F.R. Lawrence created the Columbia Records archive in 1960.
No further additions to the collection are expected.
The collection was processed by Jill Metcalf in 2001 and by Jennifer Lewis in 2005. Much gratitude goes to Michael Gray for his invaluable assistance with matrix prefix information. Jennifer Lewis worked on the collection and updated the finding aid in 2005 and Karen Fishman updated the finding aid in 2006.
The collection was originally housed in 286 two-ringed notebooks. For preservation purposes, the papers were removed from the notebooks, placed in folders, and housed in document storage boxes, but the arrangement of the material by original notebook number has been retained. Volume numbers were written on the spines of some (not all) of the original notebooks; known volume numbers are included in the inventory portion of this finding aid.
The first of the 38 boxes initially shipped to the Library of Congress is not described in this finding aid because its contents differ significantly from the rest of the collection. This box contained the Helen F. Chmura Matrix Number Lists and is housed in the Recorded Sound Reference Center.
More information on these files can be found in the A.F.R. Lawrence correspondence files, also located in the Recorded Sound Reference Center.
Restrictions may exist on copying, quoting, or publishing materials included in the collection. For additional information, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20540-4690; (202) 707-7833.
The Columbia Records Paperwork Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required; please contact the Recorded Sound Reference Center.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [Container number, eg., Box 3], Columbia Records Paperwork Collection, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.
The story of Columbia Records extends back to the late 1880s and the founding of the Columbia Graphophone Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The company's most successful subsidiary, the Columbia Phonograph Company, was a distributor of cylinder recordings and Edison phonographs in the Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. area. In 1902 Columbia began issuing recorded discs as well as cylinders, and in 1904 it introduced the double-sided disc. Following the post-war boom of 1919, the company underwent a decline, and the American branch of Columbia went into receivership. The new owner of the British branch of the company, Louis Sterling, took control of American Columbia in 1923, and electrical recording replaced the old acoustic process.
Columbia was successful during the 1920s, but it was hit hard by various legal problems and the financial difficulties of the Depression. In 1934 Columbia was sold to the American Record Corporation (ARC), which was itself sold to William Paley's Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1938. A year later ARC became known as the Columbia Recording Corporation. The name of the company was changed to Columbia Records, Inc., in 1947, and one year later CBS introduced the 33 1/3 rpm microgroove long-playing record (LP). In 1988 Columbia was acquired by Sony and is currently a division of Sony BMG.
The Columbia Records Paperwork Collection spans the years 1923 to 1964 and contains materials such as record label orders, record label copy sheets, press release information, recording studio job sheets, and cut-out project information (describing records to be cut out of the catalog). Many of the papers, if not the whole collection, appear to have come from the Columbia Records pressing plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Additional information on matrix numbers can be found in the Columbia Matrix
Number file located in the Recorded Sound Reference Center in the Library of
Congress.
The collection is arranged in 5 series:
This series primarily contains record label and pressing orders made by Columbia for the company itself, for various clients, and for the United States government. Names on the government order forms include Voice of America, U.S. Marine Band, Air Force Reserve, Civil Defense Department, Army Hour, and Library of Congress.
The orders made for Columbia and for various clients were arranged within each original notebook by ascending matrix number. Within in each matrix number prefix, arrangement is generally chronological. Because of the different content of these prefix groupings, each has a slightly different organization system.
A Miscellaneous Transcriptions section, beginning with box 54, follows the papers that are grouped by prefix. The first part of the Miscellaneous Transcriptions section is arranged in general chronological order, but the second part is grouped by type of matrix prefix, record label, or client name. The orders made for the U.S. government are organized chronologically.
Matrix numbers beginning with prefix ZTSP represented 7-inch mono single masters.
Arranged by volume number.
Matrix numbers beginning with prefix XTV represented 12-inch mono LP masters.
The original notebooks for the record label and pressing orders with XTV matrix numbers were never assigned volume numbers. The orders are therefore arranged in ascending matrix number order, with the exception of those in box 158, which was a 2004 addition to the collection.
The original notebooks for the record label and pressing orders with YNTY matrix numbers are arranged in ascending matrix number order, with the numbers for Sesac, Inc. grouped near the end. The materials in box 159 were a 2004 addition to the collection.
Record label and pressing orders with TV matrix numbers are arranged by original volume number.
The matrix prefix, record label, or client name makes up the major part of each original notebook, but many notebooks may contain as many as twenty other sections, often made up of just a few pages each.
The first part of the Miscellaneous transcriptions grouping is arranged by volume number, and the second part is organized by type of matrix prefix or record label.
Consists of record label orders and pressing information for the records made by Columbia Records for the United States government. Names on the order forms include Voice of America, U.S. Marine Band, Air Force Reserve, Civil Defense Department, Army Hour, and Library of Congress.
Organized chronologically.
This series is divided into three main groupings: Spanish/Latin America (indicated by the suffix "x"), Columbia popular, and Miscellaneous transcriptions.
Arranged by matrix number.
Arranged by matrix number, which, for this material, is basically chronological.
Some of the miscellaneous transcriptions contain one type of matrix number or catalog number, while others contain up to fifty different types of orders.
Grouped by type of matrix prefix or client name. Original notebooks (volumes) containing many different types of matrix prefixes or client names were organized by the predominant number or name.
This series contains promotional information and advertisements for Columbia Record releases. The titles on the release information are mostly "Monthly Masterworks Releases" and "New Columbia Record Releases."
Arranged by date.
Recording studio job sheets provide important information about studio sessions such as program title, master or safety number, date and time of recording, special instructions, and shipping instructions. They also show the studio engineer and recording engineer for each session.
The recording studio job sheets for Columbia alone are arranged by date.
The recording studio job sheets for Columbia Records and its clients are similar to the studio job sheets for Columbia Records alone but are in a different format. The papers in box 156, approximately half of which are orders from Sears, Roebuck and Co., are in yet another format but include similar information.
The recording studio job sheets for Columbia Records and its clients are interfiled. Orders are arranged by date.
The papers in this series are lists of records to be cut out of the catalog as well as records to be scrapped. Each has a memo attached with specific directions.