New Book Release – Now Available

Pathé Frère
To Conquer the World with Sound

A History of Pathé Frères and Associated Companies in the World of Talking Machines and Disques – 1896 to 1936

Author:  Michael Kinnear
(Published Posthumously)

(With special research assistance from André Brunel)

Pathé Frères – To Conquer the World with Sound
A history of the activities of Compagnie Générale de Phonographes, Cinématographes at Appareils de Précision, (Paris) and its associate companies and affiliates in the Middle and Near East, India and Asia – from Algeria to China, along with a guide to the numbering systems and blocks used for repertoires in various languages and dialects, within the general scope of ‘Oriental’ recordings made and issued by the companies involved. In general, the history is mainly concerned with the talking machine side of   and the several associated companies in the ‘Orient’, but also with aspects about the motion picture side of the activities in the East. The history will attempt to provide accurate and verified information about the associated companies and their products produced and marketed in liaison with, and the scope of the repertoires involved. Basically, the study covers the period from the beginning of Pathé Frères in Paris in about 1895 up to the merger of this company into Columbia Graphophone Co., Ltd., in 1928, and also it’s absorption into Pathé-Marconi, Ltd., in 1934, and later.

The text of this work in English has been written and compiled from various documents and resources, primarily in the French language. Apart from these documents and files, numerous documents, mainly in the English language have been obtained primarily from institutes and individuals outside of France.

Fig.3 Pathé Advertising Brochure, New Trademark, 1907
Discobolus throwing a Disc around the World
“Pathé Discs Play without Needle”

Page 35. Fig.21 T.J. Theobald Noble, a recording expert engaged by Pathé Frères, recording Algerian musicians during his three-year Europe and Asia tour – c. 1910

SAMPLE PAGES