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Portland records were sold by
Currys, probably in the 1920s, as a sideline to their successful bicycle
manufacturing business. All Portland records are paste-over labels upon
existing Winner issues, although some of the red-labelled ones are
cleverly disguised by having the label fit neatly into the sunken
central area of the Winner record. Currys obviously had an arrangement with J.E. Hough Ltd (who produced the Winner records) but whether they obtained the records in bulk or gradually as they went out of catalogue, I don't know. There were three series of Portland records, and some of the Winners being over-stuck and sold as Portland could have been as much as 5 years old at the time. The extent of each of the series is unknown. Series 1: A pale blue label with gold printing, which makes them almost impossible to read. The label shows no artists names, just the type of music, and the catalogue was in a 1000-series. The original Winners on known examples all date from pre-1920. Series 2: A dark red label of the same design as "Westport" (another Currys Winner over-paste, q.v.) with black printing. The artists names generally match the ones on the Winner label beneath and the catalogue is in an 8000-series Series 3: A mauve label with dark blue printing and a catalogue in a 9000-series. The label states "Curry 1927 Ltd" though the original Winners found with this label are usually from about 1924 ! |
Series 2
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