Help Us Solve a Mystery

For the Victor records included in the Discography of American Historical Recordings database, we are fortunate in having access to copies of original Victor documentation and in being able to consult many experts for advice. However, some issues remain unresolved. If you have knowledge about either of the issues listed below, we would appreciate hearing from you. If you can shed any light on these mysteries, please contact the editors.

• Victor blue history cards (cards created by the company that document the content and source of each disc side issued) cite a matrix series about which we have insufficient information. The matrix numbers are in the early 96000s and bear a "b" suffix. They represent recordings made about 1905 in Mexico City. Is this a Victor matrix series, or perhaps one from another company? They are not Gramophone Co. numbers. We list them as Zonophone masters, but that is speculative.
• Blue history cards also cite a G- matrix series, recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 1907. There is no documentation about this field trip, aside from references to the G- numbers on the cards. These are different from the masters made during a 1914 trip to Cuba and Trinidad. It is unusual that Victor used the same matrix prefix twice.