New Orleans First Record Label Louis Vasnier and

New Orleans’ First Record Label: Louis Vasnier and the Louisiana Phonograph Co. , 1891 Tim Brooks Author, Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890 -1919

New Orleans, 1890

The Phonograph in New Orleans Early 1880 s: Tin foil phonograph exhibited n 1889: Four brothers found Texas Phono. Co. in Galveston u H. Lee and Robert Sellers u Hugh and Thomas Conyngton n 1891: They found Louisiana Phono. Co. n Jan. 26, 1891: Demonstration at Tulane n

Louisiana Phonograph Co. Emphasized entertainment from start u Import music cylinders from North u Active program recording “local talent” n Conyngtons proselytize in The Phonogram n May 7, 1891: 1 st coin-in-slot machine placed in May’s Palace Drug Store on Canal and Chartres n

Canal Street, 1890 s

West End Pavilion, Lake Pontchartrain

The Phonogram, July 1892

The Phonogram, August 1892

Louis “Bebe” Vasnier Born 1858 in New Orleans, “creole of color” n House painter n Talented comic, banjo player n 1880 s: Johnson & Vasnier’s Colored Minstrels, as sideline n 1891: Makes first recordings n

Louis “Bebe” Vasnier n n n 1891 -93: Actively recording Sold nationally, played by exhibitors in north Samples sent to Thomas A. Edison Promoted at Mardi Gras Repertoire: u Banjo solos, quartets u “Brudder Rasmus” sermons

Louisiana Phonograph Co. – Later History 1893: Major economic downturn in U. S. n 1893 -94: Company winds down n 1894: Moves out of Equitable Bldg. n 1896: Becomes kinetoscope agency n 1897: Last listing in city directory n

Louis Vasnier – Later History n n n 1897 -98: Reported as sick, off stage 1898: Moves to St. Louis, MO 1899: Marries 1900: Advertises in Indianapolis Freeman u Original monologues u Five dialects u “The only colored comedian who can do it” Jan 24, 1902: Dies of consumption

The Vasnier Cylinder n n n Only surviving example “Trophy” owned by a series of collectors u John Coles, Rich Reinold – 1980 s u Reported clear, understandable u None preserved it u To John S. Dales (U. K. ) u By 1990 s, audio destroyed When will we ever learn?

For more on this and related subjects see Lost Sounds Thank You! www. timbrooks. net