William Conrad GAISBERG

PIONEERRESPOND

William Conrad GAISBERG ("Will")1876 - 1918


aka	William C. Gaisberg, W. C. Gaisberg, William Gaisberg, Will Gaisberg, W. Gaisberg
nationality
occupation

birth	25 June 1877 or 1878, Washington DC, USA
baptism
death	5 Nov 1918, Hampstead, London, ENGLAND (death residence: 13 Avenue-mansions, Finchley Road, Middlesex)
burial

PARENTS

father	Wilhelm/William Konrad GAISBERG/GAISBURG b. .. May 1842, Würtemburg, GERMANY d. 17 Dec 1902, Washington DC) bookbinder
remark	arrived in USA in 1854 from Bavaria, GERMANY
mother	Emma KLENK (KLING?) b. .. 1853, New York d. 3 Feb 1914, Hampstead, London, Middlesex, ENGLAND
marriage	married in 1870:
children	Caroline/Carrie b. 5 Sept 1872, Washington DC d. .............. Frederick William b. 1 Jan 1874, Washington DC d. 2 Sept 1951, London, ENGLAND Charlie/Charles John b. .. May 1875, Washington DC d. .............. William Conrad b. 26 June 1877 or 1878, Washington DC, USA d. 5 Nov 1918, Hampstead, London, ENGLAND Emma Maria b. .. Oct 1878, Washington DC d. 14 Apr 1939, Washington DC, USA Isabel(la) b. Feb 1880, Washington DC d. ............... John b. .... <1882>, Washington DC d. 27 Dec 1882, Washington DC Louise Wilhelmina b. .. Oct 1883 (or 1889), Washington DC d. .. July/Aug/Sep 1973, Westminster, London, ENGLAND John b. Washington DC; died at 13 months of age

LIFE

recorder (prefixes/suffixes: Con 1/d Con100/e Con500/f ; Rad0100 Rad 0500)
emigrated as gramophone agent in 1900 to Canada (residence Saint Antoine, Montreal, Quebec)

Will Gaisberg arrived in England on 31 May 1901
Passport Application # 41094 (issued 13 May 1901): "I follow the occupation of special laboratory work."

Description of Will in Music on Record, p. 45
See also A Voice in Time, p. 53, 57-58

Left the United States on 17 Jan 1903 (source: Passport Application # 1144 (issued at Berlin on 16 Apr 1904)) or 17 Feb 1903 (source: Passport Application # 382 (issued at Stockholm on 12 Nov 1904 and also signed by Emil Hartkopp)

Passport Application # 1144 (issued at Berlin on 16 Apr 1904): "That I desire the passport for the purpose of travel in Turkey."
Made recordings in Constantinople, Turkey (from ca. 28 April to 9 May 1904)
370d - 426d (7"/18cm)
(A)605e - 700e (10"/25cm)

Wm. C. GAISBERG
+ Belford G. ROYAL (39y)
ethnicity: American
profession: .........
date of departure: 18 Feb 1905
port of departure: Southampton, Southamptonshire, ENGLAND, UK
ship's name: SS "PHILADELPHIA"
date of arrival: 25 Feb 1905
age on arrival: 35y
place of residence: .........
NO FURTHER DATA

London, 8 Aug 1914: US Passport Applications 1795-1925: Passport Application of Wm. C. Gaisberg, No. 811, issued in London, 8 Aug 1914. Wm. C. Gaisberg: born on 16 Jun 1879 in Washington, DC. And his occupation was Manager for the purpose of returning to USA.

Issued Washington on 13 April 1918: Passport Application, No. 5076, belongs to W. C. Gaisberg. Born on 16 Jun 1878, Washington, DC. Purpose: Manager Gramophone Co. Identified by W. S. Darby.

On 8 Oct 1918 Will goes to the front lines near Lille (FRANCE) and after recording the Royal Garrison Artillery's gas shell attack went back to Boulogne (A Voice in Time, p. 149-152)
Died on 5 November 1918 in influenza epidemic (Peter Martland has late November, instead of 5 November)

NOTES

Picture of Will Gaisberg in: The Talking Machine Review No. 23, Aug 1973, p. 222

Music on Record by F. W. Gaisberg. Robert Hale Limited. London, 1946, p. 45

A Voice in Time. The Gramophone of Fred Gaisberg 1873-1951 by Jerrold Northrop Moore. London, 1976, p. 53, 57-58

The Romance of Recording by Will C. Gaisberg (in: The Voice of 1918)

Will Power. A reproduction of a memorandum entitled "Proper Quarters for Recording Dept." dated 14 July 1911 written by W. Gaisberg to Alfred Clark and S. W. Dixon (in: Hillandale News No. 170 of Oct 1989) (pp. 264-266) containing a memorandum

History On Records No. 4: Gas shell bombardment by the Royal Garrison Artllery near Lille on 9th Oct, 1918. by Leonard Petts (in: Hillandale News No. 36 of Apr 1967 (pp. 106-107))

HMV The Gramophone Company Matrix Series Identifying Letters: A Summary by John Milmo (online publication; revised 21 June 2020)

Probate of 17 January 1919 in "England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957," (Middlesex, ENGLAND, UK). Death Date: 5 Nov 1918. Benificiary: Frederick Willoiam Gaisberg.

COMPANIES & LABELS

PHOTOS

Will Gaisberg

Recording in the Vatican, April 1902. Left to right:
William Michaelis, the castrato Alessandro Moreschi and Will Gaisberg.

THANK YOU

Jenifer Krieger-Johnson
Sybille von Gaisberg