Na počá ku ne(byl)
Edison.
P ůkopníci záznamů a ep odukce z uku e s ě ě a
českých zemích: Od osko ého ono álečku k inylo é
desce
Gab iel Gössel, Filip Ší
•Seminář je ealizo án ámci p ojek u
"Mode ní in o mační a komunikační echnologie
kniho nic í 2017" za inanční podpo y p og amu
Minis e s a kul u y VISK 2 (Veřejné in o mační
služby kniho en – podp og am 2 Mimoškolní
zdělá ání kniho níků).
1891–1914
The sound indus y in Bohemia and Mo a ia
The i s ime ci izens o Czech lands we e able o ge acquain ed wi h
Edison’s phonog aph and phonog aph cylinde s was in 1891 a he
P o incial Jubilee Exhibi ion in P ague. The demons a ion was held a he
s and o he Be lin ep esen a i es o Edison’s company, which was
ado ned wi h an Ame ican lag.
1891 P o incial Jubilee Exhibi ion in P ague
Impe ial and oyal phonog aph cylinde s
and eco ds
In P ague, hese included he company:
•impe ial and oyal cou op ician and mechanic
A. Rosen hal (Na příkopech S ee ),
• he wholesale s o e o Jose V ba (Poříč 6),
•Max C. S eine ’s company (Poříč 25),
• he ac o y musical ins umen wa ehouse o
Vilém Ho mann (K álo ské Vinoh ady),
•J. Pöschl a add ess Ka lín, (K álo ská 55),
•impe ial and oyal cou pu eyo O o Fischl
(Cele ná S ee 24),
•and Wilhelm Klein (Hybe nská S ee 7).
By he end o he nine een h cen u y, a numbe o
companies, mos ly om la ge ci ies, began
impo ing phonog aphs and phonog aph cylinde s
o he Czech lands.

The Czech language was i s hea d on
comme cially published g amophone eco ds in
1900.
The ope a ic eno F an išek Pácal,a ha ime
pe o ming wi h he Vienna Cou Ope a, and
choi mas e and compose Ja omí He le, engaged
he e as well, eco ded a o al o 14 Czech ope a
a ias and na ional songs on single-sided
g amophone eco ds o E. Be line ’s G amophone
company in May o ha yea .
Toge he wi h en mo e eco dings by F an išek
Pácal om ea ly 1901, hese a e no only he
oldes , bu also he only eco dings o Czech a is s
made on g amophone eco ds by g amophone
in en o Emile Be line . E. BERLINER’S GRAMOPHONE
Single-sided eco ds, 17 cm,
1900–1901 ( eco dings in Czech)
These shellac discs eco ded in Vienna
p esen his o ically he e y i s
eco dings o Czech singe s.
1900 Emile Be line ’s G amophone
1902 Columbia/G aphophone
The Ame ican Columbia company main ained s ong
ep esen a ion in Eu ope, o iginally h ough i s
phonog aph cylinde s, and, since he beginning o
he cen u y, also h ough i s g amophone eco ds.
In 1902, Vienna-based company R. E. Thallmaye
ook o e he egional ep esen a ion o he company
in Bohemia and in he Balkan coun ies. The Czech
epe oi e was published by businessman and
ep esen a i e o he Be lin b anch o he pa en
company, Jose Paco ský, om abou 1902.
Reco dings we e issued on single-sided g amophone
eco ds wi h he labels Columbia Disc Reco d and
Columbia Phonog aph Co., and since 1906, on
double-sided g amophone eco ds wi h he label
Columbia G aphophone Reco d. COLUMBIA DISC RECORD
Single-sided, 25 cm, 1902
The oldes e sion o a Columbia disc wi h
a eco ding by he Czech a is . Violine
i uoso Ja osla Kocian eco ded me e
h ee sides o his company
1902 The G amophone Company L d.
The Czech ca alogue o The G amophone Co. was
illed wi h eco dings made by echnicians o he
pa en company du ing hei equen wo king
isi s in P ague (and in 1908, also in Vienna and
B no).
The las g amophone eco dings o his company
we e made in July 1914, jus be o e he
beginning o Wo ld Wa I. Ou o hund eds o
eco dings wi h Czech a is s made om 1902 o
1914, a discog aphy o 99%o he eco dings has
been cap u ed.
The lis includes all he bes Czech ope a singe s
o he e a ha we e pe suaded o pe o m on
g amophone eco ds. CONCERT RECORD “GRAMOPHONE”
Ma ices Vic o , 25 cm, cca 1921
Reissue o his eco ding, o iginally made
in New Yo k, was in Us i/Aussig p essing
plan eleased on label o his design
1905 Fa o i e Reco d
Since 1905, likely he mos ex ensi e and bes
p og amme was conduc ed by he Ge man
Fa o i e label, hanks o i s Vienna b anch
managed by Ha kopp & Fische .
In addi ion o he eco dings o impo an ope a
singe s such as F an išek Pácal, which a e
ela i ely a e oday, ope a ba i one and collec o
o sound eco dings Š ěpán Chodounský made
se e al eco dings on es g amophone eco ds
o his b and.
O he o he excep ional ac s, wo h men ioning is
a eco ding om 1910 (published on a special
label wi h pa io ically oned colo s, on which
Sena o Václa Klo áč p esen s a ousing speech
en i led “Fo na ional and social jus ice”.
FAVORITE RECORD
Ma ices Fa o i e, 25 cm, 1909
Pa io ically in ed label was chosen o
eco ding o he Czech na ional an hem
backed by he speech o sena o Vacla
Klo áč, la e on one o he ounde s o
Czechoslo ak Republic.
1910 Čechie b and
The las chap e o o iginal phonog aph cylinde p oduc ion in he Czech
lands saw he ounding o he Čechie.Čechie cylinde s we e ad e ised
as he “ i s ac o y p oducing gold cas cylinde s in P ague”, and he
company was announced by i s owne , Ka el Š e n ald,in he daily
p ess o he i s ime on 12. Janua y 1910.
Al hough Čechie began i s p oduc ion ia he eco dings o Robe Polák
(la e he di ec o o Na ional Thea e in P ague), i s subsequen Czech
p og am was no pa icula ly in e es ing o unique.

1918–1946:
The sound indus y in Czechoslo akia
Al hough he c ea ion o he new independen s a e in he economic and poli ical sphe es
was slow and di icul , he en e ainmen indus y enjoyed a golden e a in he yea s
immedia ely a e 1918.
Many en e ainmen enues and poli ical caba e s saw an upsu ge o en husias ic in e es
om audiences. These enues a i s ode he wa e o hemes a lá “how we demolished
Aus ia”bu hei p o agonis s quickly began o cas iga e he sho comings o he new
s a e es ablishmen .
1921 Ma a on / Ma a on Reko d
MARATON /MARATON REKORD
Ma ices Homoko d, 25 cm, 1921–1927
These eco ds we e dis ibu ed by wholesale s An onin & A noš Fučik Co. o P ague, who ob ained hei
ma ices om Homoko d. The “Ma a on o ches a” is in ac one o many mani es a ions o he no o ious b ass
band led by A noš He man; his band made abou 5000 eco dings (!) be ween 1902 and 1930, o p ac ically all
labels wi h he Czech epe oi e.
1930-1947 ESTA
The his o y o he i s Czechoslo ak eco d
company, Es a, and he discog aphy o i s Czech
eco dings we e ecen ly examined in de ail.
Czech ca alogue o eco dings o g amophone
company Es a 1930–1946. Elec onic e sion:
h ps://a chi e.o g/de ails/ceskyka alognah a ek
g amo ono e
Le us he e o e jus b ie ly men ion some
miles ones in he de elopmen o hese eco d
companies.
Ma ices Es a, 25 cm, 1930–1931
Ano he colou a ia ions o he Es a
labels. I s i s eco dings om own
ma ices begun his i s Czechoslo ak
g amophone
company o p ess on shellac eco ds in
au umn o 1930.
1932-1933 ESTA ČOS/MACCABI
ESTA MACCABI
Ma ices Es a, 25 cm, 1933
This cus om label was made o a gymnas ic
es i al, he
Maccabiah Games (some imes e e ed o as he
Jewish Olympics),
he i s o which was held in 1932 and which a e
s ill being held.
ESTA ČOS
Ma ices Es a, 25 cm, 1931–1932
Cus om-made label used on he eco ds p oduced
on behal
o he Czech gymnas ic o ganiza ion Sokol o i s
ally, which ook
place in P ague in 1932.
1932-1939 RADIOJOURNAL
1946-1947 ČESKOSLOVENSKÝ ROZHLAS
ČESKOSLOVENSKY ROZHLAS
Non-comme cial eco dings, Deceli h oil,
25 and 30 cm, 1946
The building ea u ed on his label housed echnical
backg ound o Czechoslo ak Radio and un il May o
1945 also se ed o b oadcas ing o he Ge man
b anch o Czechoslo ak Radio.
RADIOJOURNAL PRAHA
Non-comme cial eco dings. Ma ices Ul aphon,
25 and 30 cm, 1932–1939
Reco ds wi h hese labels we e made by he
Ul aphon on behal o Czechoslo ak Radio
(Radiojou nal). Un il 1938, abou 500 eco dings
we e made, in ended o use in he adio
b oadcas ing only.

1932 SYSTEM DR. RADWAN
The la ges and oldes P ague-based p o essional
g and ac o y o he adio-g amophone indus y
o Jan Ke ne also con ibu ed o he ca ego y o
cu iosi ies.
In he sp ing o 1932, i s owne had eco ded wo
g amophone eco ds in Be lin which epo edly
should ha e been an ideal aid o hose who
wished –as he b ochu e inse ed in he se
claimed – “ o again con ol hemsel es and hei
o ganisms, achie e li e ideals, heal h, wo k
e iciency and joy om li e…”
All his and much mo e was o ha e been ensu ed
o po en ial cus ome s ia sugges i e
g amophone eco ds na a ed acco ding o he
sys em o a ce ain D . Radwan by a subjec pu
in o a deep hypno ic sleep by he doc o . D .
Radwan called his me hod psychophony.
SYSTEM DR. RADWAN
Ma ices Odeon, 25 cm, 1932
Made-on-o de label p oduced o he
wholesale Jan Ke ne Co. o P ague.
These e y s ange “psychophonic”
eco ds we e eco ded in Be lin and
p essed bo h in he Czech and Ge man
language.
1929-1947 ULTRAPHON
The i s Ul aphon g amophone eco ds wi h a
Czech and Slo ak epe oi e appea ed on he
domes ic ma ke hanks o P ague dis ibu ion
company Ra i as a he end o 1929.
They we e eco ded in he Be lin eco ding s udio
o pa en company Deu sche Ul aphon
Ak iengesellscha , and Ge man echnicians la e
a i ed in P ague wi h eco ding equipmen .
The Ra i as company a i s also dis ibu ed
nume ous eco dings o iginally made o he
Ge man ca alogue, and i also ook o e he
dis ibu ion o he Musica Sac a and O ches ola
labels.
In 1931-1935, i in oduced cheap sub-labels
A ona, Selek on and, o a sho ime, also
Ul aphone .
ULTRAPHON
Ma ices Deu sche Ul aphon AG,
25 and 30 cm, 1929–1932
Label o eco ds wi h he e y i s
eco dings o Czechoslo akia, s ill wi h
add ess o he o iginal owne o his
company, he N. V. Kuchenmeis e ’s
In e na ionale Ul aphoon Maa schapij
Ams e dam –Be lin.
1938 ULTRAPHON
ULTRAPHON
Ul aphon, 30 cm, 1938
Reco ding o poli ical speech. P esiden Beneš esigned his p esidency a ew weeks be o e he da e o he e
p oclaimed “20 yea s o Czechoslo akia” was eached. Resigning on Oc obe 5, he immedia ely wen in o exile
in he Wes and new label had o be used o his speech.