Berliner Gramophone formulations remained the standard disc record material until the first vinyl records – initially made only for radio use and other special applications – were introduced in the 1930s. Beginning in 1896, Berliner's gramophones were made by Philadelphia-based machinist Eldridge Johnson, who added a spring motor to drive the previously hand-rotated turntable. Berliner also opened an office in New York City, staffed by Frank Seaman and O. D. LaDow and organized as the National Gramophone Company. Master recordings were made onto zinc plates, which were then electroplated and a negative-image "mother" made from them to stamp discs. A major reversal
Lucky Records Lucky Records Lucky Records is the name of several different record labels. Lucky Records of the 1930s was a record label based in Tokyo, Japan, which specialized in issuing American popular music to the Japanese audience. Lucky was founded in November 1934 by the Lucky Record Co. Tokyo, owned by the Saito Shoten cotton importing business. It made arrangements with the American Record Corporation to issue material from ARC labels in Japan. Its most successful imports were the recordings of Bing Crosby. Many of the other Lucky Records issues are surprisingly eclectic, including recordings by Eddie Condon, Red Allen, Cab