Recording Pioneers


Emile BERLINER  1851 - 1929   arrowarrow PIONEER    PARENTS    LIFE    NOTES    LABELS    PHOTOS    THANK YOU

PIONEERRESPOND

Emile BERLINER  1851 - 1929

aka Emile Berliner, E. Berliner
nationality
occupation
birth 20 May 1851, Hanover, GERMANY
baptism
death 3 Aug 1929, Washington DC
burial
marriage married in 1881:
Cora ADLER

b. 1 Jan 1862, Baltimore, MD
d. 21 Nov 1942, Washington DC

children
  • Herbert Samuel

    b. 13 Sept 1882, ....

  • Hannah Edith

    b. 19 Mar 1884, ....

  • Edgar Maurice

    b. 25 July 1885, ....

  • Oliver

    b. 20 Dec 1887, Washington DC, District of Columbia
    d. 6 Mar 1894, Washington DC, District of Columbia

  • Louise

    b. 13 Apr 1894, ....

  • Henry Adler

    b. 13 Dec 1895, ....

  • Alice Elizabeth

    b. 29 Apr 1900, ......
    d. ..........


PARENTS

father Samuel BERLINER

b. 1 May 1813, ........
d. .... 1872

mother Sally FRIEDMANN

b. 1826, .......
d. .... 1903, ........

marriage they got married on 28 Febr 1847
children
  • Hermann

    b. 1848

  • Jacob

    b. 1849

  • Adolph

    b. 1850

  • Emil

    b. 20 May 1851, Hanover, GERMANY
    d. 3 Aug 1929, Washington DC

  • Manfred

    b. 29 Jan 1853
    d. 24 Feb 1931, Hanover

  • Franziska

    b. 1854

  • Rebecka

    b. 1855

  • Moritz

    b. 1856

  • Johanne

    b. 1857
    d. 1857

  • Joseph

    b. 1858

  • N.N.

    b. 1859
    d. 1859

  • Rahel

    b. 1864

  • Else

    b. 1869


LIFE



Emil(sic) Berliner (19y; clerkleft Germany for New York)
SS "HAMMONIA"
dep.: .... 1870, Hamburg/Le Havre, GERMANY/FRANCE
arr.: 11 May 1870, New York, USA


Passport Application of 18 April 1881



Emil Berliner (30y)
SS "..........."
dep.: .... 1881, .........., USA (later than 18 April 1881)
arr.: .... 1881, .........., .........



Emil Berliner (30y) Kaufmann
SS "LESSING"
dep.: 24 Aug 1881, Hamburg, GERMANY
arr.: .... 1881, New York, USA



Emile Berliner (ca 38y)
Cora Berliner (ca 27y)
+ Herbert (ca 7y)
+ Hannah (ca 5y)
+ Edgar (ca 4y)
+ Oliver (ca 2y)
SS ".............."
dep.: .... 1889, ..........., USA
arr.: 11 Sep 1889, Hannover, GERMANY



Emile Berliner (ca 38y)
Cora Berliner (ca 27y)
+ Herbert (ca 7y)
+ Hannah (ca 5y)
+ Edgar (ca 4y)
+ Oliver (ca 2y)
SS ".............."
dep.: .... 1890, ..........., GERMANY
arr.: .... 1890, ..........., USA


Emile Berlines (sic): US Passport Application 3037 of 6 Mar 1899
"I intend to return to the United States within six months."



Emile Berliner (ca 48y)
SS "............."
dep.: .... 1899, ........ (later than 6 March 1899)
arr.: .... 1899, ........



E. Berliner (ca 48y)
SS "ST. LOUIS"
dep.: 13 May 1899, Southampton, ENGLAND
arr.: .... 1899, ........, USA


Census Washington City, 1 June 1900
E. Berliner (20 May 1851, GERMANY) inventor
Cora Berliner (1 Jan 1862, Washington DC, District Columbia)
- Herbert (13 Sept 1882, Massachusetts)
- Hannah (19 Mar 1884, Washington DC, District Columbia)
- Edgar (25 July 1885, Washington DC, District Columbia)
- Louise 13 Apr 1894, Washington DC, District Columbia)
- Henry (b. 13 Dec 1895, Washington DC, District Columbia)
- Alice (b. 29 Apr 1900, Washington DC, District Columbia)




Emile Berliner (55y)
SS "ST PAUL"
dep.: 24 Nov 1906, Cherbourg, FRANCE
arr.: 3 Dec 1906, New York, USA



Emile Berliner (56y)
+ Mrs. Emile Berliner (45y)
+ Louise (13y)
+ Henry (11y)
+ Alice (7y)
SS "PRINCESS IRENE"
dep.: 11 Oct 1907, Naples, ITALY
arr.: 23 Oct 1907, New York, USA



Emile Berliner (58y) merchant
+ Mrs. Emile Berliner (47y)
+ Louise (15y)
+ Henry (13y)
+ Alice (9y)
SS "KAISER WILHELM DER GROSSE"
dep.: 5 Oct 1909, Bremen, GERMANY
arr.: .. Oct 1909, New York, USA
final destination: Washington DC


Emile Berliner in Deutschland in Phonographische Zeitschrift of 1 Nov 1906 (with picture of Berliner and Georg Rothgiesser)


NOTES

  • The Origin and History of the Family and Branches of the Berliners of Hanover 1720-1997 by Philipp Goldmann, Philipp. Professional Press. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1997
  • The Berliner Family by Walter Kwiecinski. Transl. by Stephen Wyler (in: Talking Machine Review No. 23 (Aug 1973), pp 212-218)
  • 100 Jahre Schallplatte. Von Hannover in die Welt
  • Picture of Emil Berliner (in: The Talking Machine Review No. 23, Aug 1973, p. 225)
  • Picture of Emil Berliner on cover of: The Talking Machine Review No. 75, Autumn 1988
  • Oliver Berliner by George Frow (in: Hillandale News No. 169 of August 1989 (pp. 230-231))
  • S. Berliner, III's Hannover Berliners Page (online)
  • "Both Sides Then": The Strange Origins of the Double-Sided Disc Record by Allen Koenigsberg (in: The Sound Box of December 2010, pp. 8-12)
  • Emile Berliner in Deutschland 1889-1890 by Stephan Puille (online article)
  • Emile Berliner in Deutschland (in: Phonographische Zeitschrift of 1 Nov 1906) (p. 532 of Vol. 2 of Gunrem/Schulze reprint)
  • The Launching of the Gramophone in America 1890-1896 by Raymond R. Wile (in: ARSC Journal Vol. 24, No. 2 (Fall 1993)) online article
  • Emile Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry: Selected Bibliography (Internet)
  • Etching the Human Voice: The Berliner Invention of the Gramophone by Raymond R. Wile (in: ARSC Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring 1990))
  • Emile Berliner Collection. Authors: Karen Lund, Karen Fishman (2011). Contains also material on Joseph Sanders. (online inventory)
  • Greek, very old and ultra-rare. The oldest Greek commercial recordings: the 1896 Greek Berliners by Hugo Strötbaum. (in: Contributions to the History of the Record Industry /Beiträge zur Geschichte der Schallplattenindustrie, Vol. 12 (pages 81-99) by Pekka Gronow, Christiane Hofer, James Mitchell, Mathias Böhm (eds.)). Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger, Vienna 2022. ISBN 978-3-9502906-6-0.
  • How William Sinkler Darby Came to the Rescue After One Hundred and Twenty-Four Years: A Reappraisal of Certain Recording Dates 0f 7-inch American Berliners by Hugo Strötbaum (in: ARSC Journal LIII / ii 2022)
  • Berliner Gramophone Records: American Issues, 1892-1900 by Paul Charosh (compiler). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1995.
  • Berliner Gramophone Records: American Issues, 1892-1900 (2nd edition) by Paul Charosh (compiler). Mainspring Press. Denver, 2012.
  • Berliner's Gramophone: Physical Characteristics and Label Iconography of the 7-inch American Berliner Record, 1892-1900 by Michael W. Sherman & David Giovannoni. Monarch Record Enterprises (January 1, 2018)
  • Ethnic Music on Records (7 volumes) by Richard K. Spottswood. University of Illinois Press. Urbana & Chicago, 1990.
  • The First Commercial Disc Records by Stephan Puille (in: Pekka Gronow; Christiane Hofer (eds.) The Lindström Project.: Contributions to the History of the Record Industry / Beiträge zur Geschichte der Schallplattenindustrie, Vol. 10, Vienna, Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger e.V., 2018, pp. 5-11.
  • The First Commercial Disc Records by Stephan Puille (online Supplemented version (1 Oct 2018) of the article by Stephan Puille, first published in: Pekka Gronow; Christiane Hofer (eds.) The Lindström Project.: Contributions to the History of the Record Industry / Beiträge zur Geschichte der Schallplattenindustrie, Vol. 10, Vienna, Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger e.V., 2018, pp. 5-11. Norman Bruderhofer's Cylinder Archive Resource Articles
  • Grammophon-Fabrik Kämmer, Reinhardt & Co. Waltershausen in Thüringen (1890-1898). Hersteller und Vertrieb der weltweit ersten Plattenspieler und Schallplatten unter dem Markennamen "E. Berliner's Grammophon" by Stephan Puille (in: Pekka Gronow; Christiane Hofer, James Mitchell, Mathias Bèhm (eds.) The Lindström Project.: Contributions to the History of the Record Industry / Beiträge zur Geschichte der Schallplattenindustrie, Vol. 12, Vienna, Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger e.V., 2022, pp. 27-37).
  • Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Discs, 1889-1895. GRAMMY-nominated compilation on Archeophone Records (www.archeophone.com). Produced by Richard Martin and Meagan Hennessey, with album notes by Stephan Puille, David Giovannoni, and Richard Martin. The tracks were restored and remastered by Richard Martin and David Giovannoni.


COMPANIES & LABELS



PHOTOS

Emile BERLINER
Picture of Emile Berliner.
Written in the top right hand corner: "To Sinkler from his friend Emile Berliner. W[ashington] D.C. Mar[ch] 17, 1920"
Berliner gave an almost identical photograph to Fred Gaisberg (see opposite p. 11 of Music on Record by F. W. Gaisberg)
From left to right: Emile Berliner, Joseph Berliner and Manfred Berliner
from l. to r. (sitting up front): Emile Berliner and Werner Suess
from l. to r. (standing in the middle): Fred Gaisberg, Joe Sanders and Zip Sanders
from l. to r. (standing at the back): W. Sinkler Darby and Raymond Gloetzner



THANK YOU


Maria Kapkidi (co-researcher RP)
Stephan Puille