RCA Victor Demonstration Record" K-4 by Leopold Stokowski and Lily Pons 1933

[melvind]

This is a very interesting record perhaps more for its label than the recorded content. But an example of this same label in Mike Sherman’s “Collectors Guide To Victor Records” book was included in “The Kit Of Demonstration Records” provided to dealers/customers in 1933. My copy is one number larger so it too may have also been part of that set of demonstration recordings. The K-3 example in Sherman’s book had 78rpm on one side and 33 1/3rpm on the other side. K-4 has 78rpm on both sides.

 

From what I can gather the kit of demonstration records were given to customers that bought the new dual speed machines that could play both 78rpm and 33 1/3rpm records. Both sides of the record are from already released records. 

 

Side A sounds pretty great and is lively orchestral music. Side B also sounds great but has a couple of things going against it. Firstly, it is a pretty softly recorded record with lots of dead space between phrases. And, it has obviously been played much more often that Side A. It still shows how magnificent the soprano voice of Lily Pons was.