The more cynical of you may think that this page could contain every flexi disc ever made as they are all a novelty!
Here’s a selection of greetings cards that could be posted from your destination and usually feature some awful native music. They were very much a novelty that started life in the late 20’s, the bulk of later production was in the Eastern Bloc countries.
Postcard manufacturer Raphael Tuck was a prolific producer of greetings cards and made many thousand cards. However, circa 1929 the company produced a small series of 78rpm Gramophone Record Postcards. These were 3”shellac discs glued to the front of his cards. These cards are believed to have been made by Worldecho who also produced the novelties for Huntley & Palmers. Whilst the songs remain the same, the images that the discs were glued to seem to be a random selection as illustrated by series F where we have the same tune but on “Pictuesque Devon” and “Hastings Bandstand”.
Tucks were excellent at self marketing. An example was that they ran picture competitions. To enter, one would have to submit an image on a blank Tuck card, providing sales and new talent! Each of these Gramophone Record packs contains a printed stiffner which you were encouraged to include when you posted the card to save it from getting creased. This printed card advertises the other packs in the series – early viral marketing?
The next section of greetings cards are by Melody Cards, 349 Royal College Street, London. Publishers of musical greetings cards. The are all 78s and you can imagine that the needles would rip through the plastic with repeated play? The last two are 45rpm and are oversized postcards that would become the norm for a number of years.
Here in the 21st century we can talk and see anyone in the world with a smartphone at the press of a button. We probably don’t send many postcards when we’re on holiday, we’re more inclined to add our “memories” as they happen on social media. The smart thing to do in the late 50’s was to send a postcard with music on it. The following oversized postcards are card backed and feature tunes of the day, or folk tunes relative to the country. We’ll start with a few odd ones that have cropped up in the collection, then head to the more abundant pickings!
The next section of musical greetings deal with several companies; Vistasound, Fonoscope, Phonoscope and Fonoscope Ltd. We know that Fonoscope Ltd were based at 7 St James Square, Bristol 2, England. It is likely that the Bristol company were Harvey Barton and Son Ltd, who were making musical cards in the 50s and was a natural progression as Harvey Barton was a landscape photographer. They made cards with the “Sensational Vistasound – The Singing Picture” and Fonoscope branding, virtually identical to the continental Fonoscope. The continental Fonoscope cards all had international flags on the front with instructions in four languages. These were printed in Milan. It maybe that the Bristol outfit were pressing under license, or round the other way, as on a couple of the Bristol cards, they had the Registered Trademark and had applied for patent. It maybe that this didn’t extend to the continent? . Just to add confusion, there is also a Phonoscope that looked like they were a French company? They too, on occasion, used the flags and instruction. My guess is, that there were several independent companies producing these as separate entities under license.
The next section we have some flexi disc postcards from the Eastern Bloc. The first lot are by Colorvox, a now defunct label owned by Képzömüvészeti Alap Kiadóvállalata from Hungary. There are some lovely cards and the series of national dress still have a protective film over them. The next section are the Polish flexis by Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza who owned Tonpress. The postcard art work is a delight as are the envelopes they came in. A real treat for the eyes, and occasionally the ears, using western “hits”.
This next little group are the “Novelty” cards and flexi discs. Included are self recordings, birthday greetings, tourist offerings alongside festival freebies and bus promotions!
