Bohemia on Records: Early Czech Sound Recordings in the United States / Krajané za velkou louží: historické české nahrávky v USA

Bohemia on Records offers readers the first comprehensive overview of recordings produced by American gramophone companies for a growing community of Czech immigrants in the US during the first half of the twentieth century. In his introductory essay, R. Spottswood, eminent American discographer and leading researcher of early “ethnic” recordings, describes the circumstances that led the major American gramophone companies to publish recordings intended for immigrants in the USA. The work begins with profiles of several of the most significant personalities among those Czech immigrants, individuals who made their mark as businessmen in the music industry soon after coming to the US. The main section of the book presents a discography of sound recordings made by Czech immigrant ensembles and performers published on phonograph cylinders and shellac records between 1902 and the late 1940s in ethnic series offered by the American record companies. The volume concludes with documentary illustrations accompanied by scholarly text, along with a selection of labels from recordings made by performers discussed earlier.