Oxford Records - History

History

In 1906, Sears introduced the Oxford disc to replace the earlier Harvard brand. These discs in the 11000 and 16000 series, were produced by Leeds & Catlin. The 1908 Sears catalot introduced 7-inch discs listed at 21 cents that were pressed by Columbia and numbered in the 7000 series. In 1909 10-inch discs from Zonophone, retailing at 30 cents, were introduced. Fall 1911 saw Sears return to Columbia for pressings. These later discs are the most commonly found. The brand was phased out in 1916 for the new Silvertone brand, although records with the Oxford label were still being shipped in late 1917. Recordings appearing on the Oxford label could be recorded anywere from 1901 to 1916. It should be noted that take number is important to dating the recording, particularly for Columbia pressings. Cal Stewart's "I'm Old but I'm Awfully Tough" (Oxford 22) first appeared on Columbia in 1901, but the issued take number of was probably recorded much later.