About EDVR

Project Overview

The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) is an index to master recordings (matrixes) and published discs made by the Victor Talking Machine Company beginning in 1900.

The database is edited by a team of researchers based at the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries. It includes master recordings made by Victor in the United States and Central and South America, releases derived from masters recorded in Europe by the Gramophone Company, and trial recordings of new artists and sessions from which no discs were issued.

Approximately 1,000 new master recordings are added to the database monthly and the database will eventually extend to the end of the 78rpm era in the early 1950s.

 

Contribute your knowledge to the discography

We are fortunate in having access to copies of original Victor documentation and in being able to consult many experts for advice. But some issues remain unresolved. If you have knowledge about the either of the issues listed below, we'd appreciate hearing from you.  If you can shed any light on these mysteries, please contact the editors.

  • Victor blue history cards (cards created by the company which document the content and source of each disc side issued) cite a matrix series we're unsure about. The matrix numbers are in the early 96000s and bear a "b" suffix. They represent recordings made about 1905 in Mexico City. Is this a Victor matrix series, or perhaps one from another company? They are not Gramophone Co. numbers. We list them as Zonophone masters, but that's speculative.
  • Blue history cards also cite a G- matrix series, recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 1907. There is no documentation about this field trip, aside from references to the G- numbers on the cards.  These are different from the masters made during a 1914 trip to Cuba and Trinidad. It's unusual that Victor used the same matrix prefix twice.

 

EDVR Project Staff

Staff Information

Glossary

Glossary

Matrix and Disc Series

Status of Matrix Series
Status of Disc Series

Sources Consulted

Bibliography

Special Thanks

Acknowledgements