Pathé Records
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Pathé Records was a France based international record label active from the 1890s through the 1930s.
Pathé was founded by brothers Charles & Émile Pathé, who were owners of a successful bistro in Paris. About 1890 they saw an Edison phonograph demonstrated at a fair and, captivated by the device, arranged to lease one as an attraction at their bistro. The early phonograph soon brought so many curious people to the Pathé establishment that lines formed to listen to it. Some even asked about purchasing phonographs for themselves. The brothers decided that, rather than give more business to Edison, they would make their own phonographs. In 1894 they started selling their own phonographs—initially based on Edison Company design—together with blank phonograph cylinders for people to make records with. Some time later they also started marketing pre-recorded cylinder records, and by 1896 had offices and recording studios not only in Paris, but also in London, Milan, and Moscow.