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There are two and possibly
three completely different 'Standard" labels and all are very scarce, so
details here will be somewhat sparse! Firstly was an Edison Bell product from pre-WWI, wit a quite plain black label and gold lettering (see first example, right). This image is of the only one I have ever had. It had not been discovered for who this was produced, like other similarly scarce Edison Bell "clones" of this period. Secondly, around the same period the Sound Record Company (whose labels include Grammavox & Popular) also produced a "Standard" record. These were manufactured by Crystalate. The first example I've ever seen turned up in 2022 in Tasmania, implying to me that these were probably made for export to the Antipodes. The label design is almost identical to the similarly obscure "Stavophone" record of the same period, also made by Sound Recording Company/Crystalate, which may also turn out to be an export-only label (if any ever turn up!). From this sole example (kindly sent to me by David Kent), it can be seen that Standard S-44 is actually the same as "Popular" P-44. It may be that the two labels share a catalogue, but maybe it is too much to assume that based on just one example. Finally, in the 1920s, Crystalate, makers of Imperial records, produced some issues from their Imperial catalogue issued on a Standard label, see other images here. Again it is not know the reason for this label, and as I mentioned before, they are very scarce. There is a link here, as Crystalate were the actual manufacturers of Grammavox & Popular mentioned above, and absorbed the Sound Recording Company in the early 1920s, so would be the current owner of the name Standard. Considering the name of the label, all versions of Standard are very scarce today, most liekly reflecting a very limited distribution. |
 Edison Bell manufacture  SRC manufactred .JPG) (courtesy Norman Field)  |