Edison Blue Amberol Records

This is an Edison Blue Amberol Record, manufactured by the Thomas A. Edison Inc. holding company between 1912 and 1929.

On one of the sides is a photograph of Thomas Edison with his signature marking the trade mark. The cylinder container is mostly blue with a green border at parts. On the top of the container is a blue sticker that provides the patent information and the title of the record within. This one is slightly damaged but you can still read the artists name: Fred Van Eps. Within the cylinder box is the original record.

Prior to the Blue Amberols, Edison produced four-minute cylinders that were made of a fragile, black wax-like substance. These would become the standard until 1912, while also causing a resurgence in the interest of cylinder records. However their fragile state would become noted very early on, as seen in the cracks that could occur while being played - or in some cases outright shattering.

Edison Blue Amberols were the result of Edison not wanting to pay royalties to Thomas B. Lambert for a celluloid cylinder patent in 1912. Eventually he bought it but changed the production over to a thin blue-tinted reinforced celluloid. These Blue Amberol records were noted for their high quality at the time, both in sound and durability.