The Aeolian Company

U.S. record company, 1918-1925. A major producer of player pianos, organs and other musical instruments, Aeolian entered the phonograph market in 1915 and began producing records in 1918. Earliest releases had a fine-groove vertical cut and were introduced in May 1918. These did not sell particularly well, and in late 1919 the company began to produce standard lateral-cut discs. The first were announced in the January 15, 1920 issue of The Talking Machine World . Distinctive reddish-orange pressings were introduced in August 1920, at which time the company shortened the name of its flagship label from The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, citing a desire to focus fully on the production of musical instruments. That sale became effective on January 2, 1925 and marked the end of The Aeolian Company's involvement with record production.