This is a companion volume to the Italian catalogue, La Voce del Padrone, already published by Greenwood Press. This new volume provides a complete catalogue of French gramophone recordings made by the Gramophone Company Ltd. between 1898 and 1929. During this period the Compagnie Francaise du Gramophone was the continental European, African, and Asian end of a powerful partnership between the Victor Talking Machine Company and the Gramophone Company Ltd.
The volume includes details of Victor recordings issued outside the Americas and hence is a useful adjunct to the series The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings, also published by Greenwood Press. The first three sections conform to the previously established pattern of listing Gramophone black and celebrity labels followed by the Zonophone green labels and the Gramophone green labels. In 1920, it was decided to issue records specifically for the Belgian/Flemish market; these are detailed in the fourth section. The contents of each section are listed in numerical order following the pattern of the early printed catalogues, that is, bands followed by orchestras followed by talking, etc. A list of the series actually used precedes each section and acts as a table of contents for the section. Each catalogue entry comprises as much as possible of the following information: the original numerical catalogue number; the matrix (serial) number; the date of the recording; the name of the artist(s) involved; the title of the piece; alternative issue numbers; and occasional notes. The introduction provides an overview of the company's recording practices and cataloging systems. This volume provides much-needed guidance for the serious collector and will be a valuable resource for the music historian.
