Online  Discography Weco-Tonbild-Postkarten

Weco-Tonbild-Postkarten

Please note: This is a discographical catalog - items are NOT available for sale from us
Achtung: Dies ist eine Discographie - die Platten stehen NICHT zum Verkauf

Acknowledgements:
Peter Bastiné, Lyle Boehland, Margarida Estanyol Ullate, Jos Hocks, Hermann Sachse, Paul Sonntag, Kirk Thorsteinson

Introductory notes:
The basic idea of a gramophone postcard is to glue a single sided miniature disc record onto a postcard and punch a center hole through both card and disc. For further details see the exploratory history of the phono postcard

Weco:
We know next to nothing about the Weco company background. The only flyer ever found (undated, but listing cards in the range 133 to 219) identifies the supplier as Arthur Meier, Hamburg 20, Nissenstr.11. Most of the music was published by "Verlag moderne Tanzmusik", at Moritz-Strasse 11, Berlin, Germany. Some postcards state on the reverse "D.R.P. ang.", which was the standard abbreviation for "Deutsches Reichs-Patent angemeldet". However, we have not yet been able to locate the actual patent application. Some cards show a company logo, the word "Weco" enclosed in an oval. The appearance of Weco phono cards occured at the time of the introduction of sound films. All recordings are electrical. It may therefore be speculated that Weco stands for the Western Electric Company. The cards are numbered from 100 upwards, the highest number identified is 234. The earlier cards were organized  as "Mappen" (portfolio files), of four cards each. Each "Mappe" was identified by a Roman numeral, from I [1] upwards, the highest number identified is XIX [19;  this "Mappe" contained card 182]. Weco also manufactured custom cards to order, and those may not have been allocated a number. In most cases, matrix numbers are identical to order or catalog numbers. Weco recommended that their products should be played with Pegasus "Winkelnadeln" and enclosed such flyers with their cards.

In contrast to its competitors, the Weco company in Germany mostly used excellent black-and-white photographs, but there are also graphic designs and combinations. The postcards are entirely coated with a translucent material into which the grooves of the electric recordings were pressed. Musical content and graphic designs often matched, and renowned artists were employed to record recent compositions. Most of the earlier cards identified artist, composition and authors on the picture side, but later cards just reproduce the image of a beautiful girl or a pair of lovers, while basic details (usually the title) are listed on the reverse. The same masters occasionally surface with different designs and different languages printed on the back. Weco also produced advertising cards. Although the Weco phono cards seem to have been quite popular in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, The Netherlands, Spain and probably other countries – at least 230 cards were produced in quick succession – the economic depression wiped this high quality product off the market within less than three years.

Wecoton appears to have been a subsidiary of Weco, specifically for advertising purposes.

Numerical listing: Attention: This is a large file which may require a long loading time. Be patient...
Weco-Tonbild-Postkarten

100	101	102	103	104	105	106	107	108	109	110	111	112	113	114	115	116	117	118	119
120	121	122	123	124	125	126	127	128	129	130	131	132	133	134	135	136	137	138	139
140	141	142	143	144	145	146	147	148	149	150	151	152	153	154	155	156	157	158	159
160	151	162	163	164	165	166	167	168	169	170	171	172	173	174	175	176	177	178	179
180	181	182	183	184	185	186	187	188	189	190	191	192	193	194	195	196	197	198	199
200	201	202	203	204	205	206	207	208	209	210	211	212	213	214	215	216	217	218	219
220	221	222	223	224	225	226	227	228	229	230	231	232	233	234	235	236	237	238	239
..1							167x 147x					134x	113x	114x	115x	116x

                                                                                              127x

It is not presently possible to determine the total number of cards produced, and information on matrix numbers etc can only be derived from physical autopsy of the artifacts. Some cards have same numbers with different photos. Some cards are known to exist with and without description on the photo side, or with and without lyrics an the reverse side.  Some matrices show a suffix "B" (for Bachaphon?) or a suffix -1 (a take identification?). If you have additions or corrections: Please contact us by e-mail: Rainer E. Lotz

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  LAST UPDATE: 2008-12-31

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