The City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS)In the United Kingdom, the term '

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

' is used for a player of cylinders, while a 'gramophone' plays disc records. In many other parts of the world the term 'phonograph' is used for both. is a British society and

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

dedicated to the

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

in all aspects of early

recorded sound Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

. Founded in 1919, the CLPGS is likely to be the oldest society of its type in the world.

History

The CLPGS was founded under the name "The London Edison Society" in 1919, when Norman Hillyer and some members of the North London Phonograph and Gramophone Society decided that a group was needed within the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. The founding members agreed to approach

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

to ask if he would become a Patron of the new venture. Edison would only agree if the group changed its name to the City of London Phonograph Society, so this was done. The group's initial membership numbered about forty. In the 1920s, with the shift away from

phonograph cylinders Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

, the group changed its name to "The City of London Phonograph and Radio Society", reflecting many of the members' interests in early radio technology. Meetings of the society have continued since these early beginnings, interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Covid pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, but resumed afterwards. The society has met at various locations in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

throughout its history, with meetings presently held at

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

, in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

(rather than the City of London itself). Regular meetings are also held in the UK regions. Despite its historic name the Society has members world-wide, although the majority of them are located in the UK. By the late-1940s the interest in radios as a hobby had waned, and the group renamed themselves with their present name to reflect their interest in gramophones and early recorded sound technology in general. One of the society's current patrons is Oliver Berliner, grandson of the recording pioneer

Emile Berliner Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) originally Emil Berliner, was a German-American inventor. He is best known for inventing the lateral-cut flat disc record (called a "gramophone record" in British and American English) used with a ...

; another is Simon Blumlein, son of Alan Blumlein, who invented stereo recording. The CLPGS is now the oldest such society in the world.

Publications

Since 1963, the society has published its quarterly magazine, initially named ''The Hillandale News,'' and (since 2002) called ''For the Record''. These authoritative, quality publications have been a significant vehicle for research on early talking machines and recordings.Since its inception, the CLPGS has documented and published works dedicated to the origins of audio recording, 65 works in 67 publications in two languages and 262 library holdings. Since 2010 the society has also published a growing list of ''Reference Series'' titles, a series of A5-sized books, designed to provide an accessible library of relevant historical information, in both text and audio form. New titles are produced regularly; they now form an extensive body of information for those interested in early talking machines and recordings. For more details se
the CLPGS website

Notes

References

External links

*

* ttp://www.antiquephono.org Antique Phonograph Society website {{DEFAULTSORT:City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society, The Music industry associations Music organisations based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1919