Mechanical (& other) Copyright Stamps

Last Update 21 June 2007

Get the Book!

Stamps on Music Book cover Published in March 2007, Adam Miller's The World-wide Catalogue & Handbook of Stamps issued under Copyright Acts,  describes the background to the stamps, and catalogues in considerable detail the issues of over 220 companies and individuals from over a dozen countries.

The book runs to 240 A4 pages and catalogues around 4,000 different stamps including many sub-varieties. There are over 1000 full-colour illustrations throughout of the stamps and their usage.  The introduction covers the background to the issuance of the stamps, printed indicia, usage of the stamps on other than 78rpm labels (illustrated with examples), a detailed description of the catalogue itself, and a section on collecting the stamps.

The comprehensive reference section includes an inventory of known multiples, a bibliography of published articles, a listing of auction entries, background references of the issuers and an index.

Printed in an initial run of just 100 copies, this can be yours for just NZ$110 plus p&p.


Click on the cover above to view some sample pages and see the purchasing information.



What they are.

These stamps were issued to show the pre-payment of mechanical copyright royalties due under various Copyright Acts and General Regulations. They were first introduced in the UK in July 1912, and had largely faded by the Second World War, although in Australia the continued well into the 1950s. They were intended to be affixed to the record, pianola roll or cylinder box to show the royalty had been paid.
 
A longer article is here.
 

Issuers by Category

Each category has a list of the relevant issues, by country.  A few issuers have a linked page which shows the basic stamp types issued, and some detail of these, per the "Stamps on Music" catalogue.  
The terms used are defined here.

Unless otherwise shown, all images on the subsequent pages are scanned at 200% for an 800x600 256 colour display (75dpi).  Record labels are generally scanned actual size. The stamps below are actual size at 100dpi.

  1. Music Publishers
  2. Record companies
  3. Copyright Agencies
  4. Composers
  5. Miscellaneous & Unknown
  6. Purchase Tax stamps

Gallery
A selection of images of records, rolls, stamps and sheet music relating to mechanical copyright stamps.

 

Files about 78rpm Records

©Adam Miller 1997-2008

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Last updates
21/6/2007         Added a bunch of new sets to the Gallery
26/5/2007        Added J. Albert, Allans detail types.
26/1/2007        Book publicity added, removed obsolete stuff
13/4/2006        Added Help Wanted
27/1/2006        Added assorted new issuers, courtesy of C.T.
30/12/2005      Added Gallery items, notably Sample Sets and more items on Pianola Rolls, Sheet music and large blocks
29/12/2005     Added Music Publisher company details for Allans, Associated Copyrights, Boosey & Co, L. F. Collin, D. Davis & Nicholson
24/1/2005       Added new Gallery items
8/1/2005         Added 12 new issuers, updated other images, esp. Miscellaneous
15/11/2003     Some additional publishers images e.g. Carisch
15/1/2003        Added list of overprinted names
26/05/2002     Added LOTS of stamp images to the main lists below - will take longer to load now, but worth it
23/01/2002     R.L. Stevenson Copyright stamps
15/10/2001     (new entries in stamp issuer tables)
                         (78rpm records pressed in New Zealand)
1/8/2001       (new entries in Australian and New Zealand 78s)
24/7/2001     (US Patent & License royalty stamps)
21/7/2001     (Miscellaneous & Unknown, Gallery additions)
29/4/2001     (Australian and New Zealand 78s)

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