Peter, regarding your comment above, if you have Red Label 7" Figners and/or Vyaltzeva, I would be very grateful if you could send me some scans.
I find it hard to believe that the Sobinov 22519 recording, made in June 1901, was not issued for almost a year or more! This is equally true of the Figner and Vyaltzeva recordings made in December 1901. Why would they have been issued with labels AFTER the Caruso recordings of April 1902?
Someone asked what Old Style and New Style meant in reference to dates used in Russia. These terms actually refer to the calendar systems used before and after the Revolution. Before the Revolution, the Russian Empire had never accepted the new Gregorian calendar of 1582, which had added 14 days to the Julian calendar in order to coincide more correctly with the seasons. Following the Revolution, the Gregorian calendar was made the official one, by which time the difference between Julian and Gregorian dates was 15 days. Hence the date of April 25, 1899 (OS) was actually May 10, 1899 (NS).
Alexander, the record mentioned in Janin book is most likely a pirate copy of the Gramophone Company record 3-22576 (4995L). This disc is also pirate copy, but from record 3-22831 (7843L). The other side is copy of 3-22827 (7777L). I even made it visible from the main Gramophone Company catalog under its original numbers. (Look here). The catalog of "International Parlophon Record" is probably exists, but it is extremely rare thing because pirates were not in favor among collectors in the past.
Yuri, in V.L.Janin book “Catalogue of vocal recordings of Russian branch of «Gramophone Company», M.: Yazyki Slavyanskoy Cultury, 2002, -736p” there is an example of production of “pirate” record labels, acted in Russia at the beginning of XX century. It is a very similar label with Cat. No 12624 “The Wolves” of Rubinstein performed by V. Kastorsky. The matrix number is the same as number shown on the label. What do you think about it? Are there any catalogs of this company? (There are no such catalog numbers in the «Gramophone Records» catalog).
