The Vaping Friar

1904 - 1924
A.B.C. GRAND RECORD was an Austrian record label. "A.B.C." represents the Austrian Beka Company, owned by Mr. Theodor Pichler, Porzellangasse 25, Vienna.

The label used Beka masters from 1904 - 1924 which were recorded mostly in Austria, Germany, Hungary and Poland.

1946 - 1955
Gerhard "Moshe" Mendelson (1913 - 1976) was a German music-producer and label owner living and working in Vienna. He discovered Peter Alexander and Peter Kraus among numerous others.

In May 1946 Gerhard Mendelson founded the "Austrophon Schallplatten Studio GmbH", a recording studio and the label AUSTROTON. He organized within a few months the almost dead music infrastructure including a pressing plant.

The recording studio was located in rooms of the famous "Wiener Konzerthaus". Mendelson and his label "Austrophon-Serie, Elite-Special (Austroton)" developed fast into a center of German language record production.

In 1948 they started a connection with the austrian outlet of Swiss Turicaphon. In November 1954 he joined Kirt Feltz in Koln and the result was contract with POLYDOR on Jan. 1st 1955.

Today the "Austrophon-Schallplatten-Studio GmbH" is still located in Vienna. One special feature of the records is the reinforced ring, which embraces the center hole. The intention for this is to make the records more long living in record changers as jukeboxes.

1948 - 1952
ELEKTROVOX was a record label based in Vienna/Austria. It was active from 1948 - 1952.

1930s
Paloma was an Austrian record label active in the 1930s.

1907 - 1912
SCALA-RECORD was an Austrian company and named in honor of the famous La Scala Opera House in Milan, the facade of which is depicted on the label. The owner of "Scala Record" was Sigmund Weiss (Siegmund Weib) whom we can consider as a pioneer of the Austrian recording industry.

The label was founded 23.04.1907. One year later it was bought by BEKA.

SCALA-RECORD was dissolved in July 1912

1931 - 1938
The history of the Tilophan company is closely linked to the personality of the entrepreneur Robert Pollak-Rudin. Born in Vienna in 1891, he studied at the Technical University and served in the First World War. After the war, he dedicated himself to acoustics, radio technology and sound recording. In 1920, he married and began research into disc recording.
In view of the record quality available at the time, Pollak-Rudin searched for an improved material and was granted a patent for a "sound recording medium" in 1930. He drove development forward with further patents, including one for a loudspeaker.
From 1931, Tilophan brought innovative records and accessories onto the market, advertised as leading recording discs in terms of sound quality and durability. Pollak-Rudin opened a recording studio and produced Tilophan discs, also for the replacement of recording waxes. The company released its own shellac discs, including a series of chamber music study discs. By 1936, the recordings had reached matrix number 800 and the company expanded with a new studio.
With the annexation of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, the family's life situation changed fundamentally. After emigrating to the USA, Pollak-Rudin worked in New York and died in late 1956 or early 1957.

1922 - 1930s
Viennola was an Austrian record label based in Vienna that was active in the 1920s and 1930s. It was founded in 1922 by Oskar Czeija and specialized in the release of shellac records. The label made a significant contribution to the spread of jazz, swing and popular music and played an important role in the music scene in Vienna and beyond.

Famous artists such as Josephine Baker had contracts with Viennola, and her recordings in 1927 and 1928 contributed to the label's fame. Viennola was known for its high-quality recordings and the promotion of talented musicians.

Unfortunately, the Viennola era ended in the late 1930s due to economic difficulties and political circumstances. The label was no longer actively continued.