British Imperial Values
this page first published by John Wright, 3 Dec 1997
last update 14 Mar 2005
vintage@jabw.demon.co.uk
Note: values quoted are typical prices paid at a record fair stall where the stall-holder knows the demand for music and records.
A frequently found record label in a 78rpm collection, Imperial is a
favourite record label with collectors of hot American dance bands of the 1920's.
The first Imperial records appeared in 1920 as a bright blue label with gold printing. In 1923 American recordings began to appear
on Imperial, drawn from the Banner records, including jazz and dance bands. In 1926 the label changed to violet and mauve, then from 1930 the label changed to darkblue and scarlet. The Imperial label disappeared in 1934.
Many hot dance band records were issued under pseudonyms like Imperial Dance Orchestra, Hollywood Dance Orchestra. Most Imperial records are worth £2.00 or less, but there are many excellent recordings to be found.
For example:
| Cat. No. | Band or Artiste | Issue Date | Typical Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1420 | Fletcher Henderson Orchestra | 1925 | £20.00 | American jazz featuring a young Louis Armstrong |
| 1578 | Irving Kaufman | 1925 | £1.00 | popular tunes of the day |
| 1741 | Sam Lanin and his Orchestra | 1926 | £2.00 | pleasant American dance band titles |
| 1800 | Imperial Dance Orchestra | 1927 | £2.00 | a pseudonym used for many American bands, these titles are by Adrian Schubert Dance Orchestra |
| 1820 | Crichton Lyricals at the Cafe de Paris London | 1927 | £5.00 | very good British dance band (Syd Roy) |
| 1972 | Jay Whidden and his Band | 1928 | £2.00 | good band but dull titles |
| 2363 | Lou Gold and his Orchestra | 1930 | £2.00 | pleasant American dance titles |
| 2381 | Elsie Carlisle | 1930 | £4.00 | popular British female vocalist |
| 2559 | Jay Wilbur and his Band | 1931 | £2.00 | popular British studio band |
| 2694 | Jack Payne and his Band | 1932 | £2.00 | popular British band |
| . | . | . | . | . |
These records are only examples of what kind of values are put on some of Imperial's popular vocal and dance records. There will be some records by the same artistes worth more or less,
depends on the quality of the music and on how many copies of the records were sold.
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