Jubiläum Seiner Majestät Des Kaisers Und Königs Wilhelm II 1888-1913

[melvind]

I posted these pictures and a video a few years ago elsewhere, but this is an interesting record and I thought it should be here too.

 

A very beautiful record in an elaborate round cardboard container. The pictures show both sides of the record in varying detail and also the tray that the record sites in to be played. Because of the raised decoration of the Kaiser in the center of the record there is no hole to play the record on a turntable. Instead, the record sits in a lined tray that has a hole to fit on the turntable spindle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The record playing sitting in its special tray

The 

 

Elisabeth Boehm van Endert, Singer on the record

 

 

Jubiläum Seiner Majestät Des Kaisers Und Königs Wilhelm II 1888-1913

 

 

 

The following is the wording on the box and back of the record that describes the song and performance. I did my best at translations. Perhaps someone with better German than mine can give me better translations.

 

Zur Erinnerung an das fünfundzwanzig jährige regierungs-Jubiläum Seiner Majestät Des Kaisers Und Königs Wilhelm II 1888-1913 (A remembrance to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of His Majesty The Emperor And King William II 1888-1913)

 

Aveläuten (Angelus bell - Ringing of the Ave Maria bells - I assume some type of celebration song)

 

Song: Dass du mich liebst M 043229 Monarch Platte Grammophon Elisabeth Böhm van Endert, Kammersängerin (Sung by Elisabeth Böhm van Endert, Female chamber singer)

 

Text von Ernst Zahn, Musik von Oscar von Chelius (Text by Swiss Author Ernst Zahn , Music by German composer Oscar von Chelius)

 

Begleitet vom Komponisten, Berlin (Accompanied by the composer, Berlin)

 

Vertrag: Genossenschaft deutscher Tonsetzer (Contract: Association of German Composers)

 

An interesting site with information on various special labels including this type of record:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Friedman/page18.htm

Edited June 7, 2020 by melvind

[phonogfp]

What a fascinating and odd artifact!  I wouldn't think there are many of these surviving - - especially on this side of the Atlantic. 

 

If only Wilhelm II had called it a day and abdicated in 1913...

 

Thanks for sharing, Dan!

 

George P.

[melvind]

24 minutes ago, phonogfp said:

If only Wilhelm II had called it a day and abdicated in 1913...

 

Indeed!

[Don_Wilson]

Thanks or sharing these!  The others I've seen are quite different.  The only other "throne" (adapted to play the discs with) I've seen was made of wood but painted to look exactly like shellac. 

 

A year or two ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to copy two of these, King Edward and Wilhelmina (thanks to David Giovannoni).  The King Edward disc also has the lid, an image is which is also attached.  The backs of the originals have four or five small, raised Berliner Gramophone logos pressed into them and (IIRC) some sort of small indentations of pins that probably pushed the disc out of its mold.  I have a mold of the back but will have to find it.

 

The lip in the outside edge makes it difficult to play on a modern turntable, so one of the copies I had made was then machined to remove the lip, allowing a cartridge to reach the outside grooves. 

[melvind]

I saw one of these without the box and with a big crack at Union a few years ago so I passed on it. But, I was so tempted to get it anyway. I hope to run into one in the box as well. Fun and unusual items always attract me and they are a nice piece of history.