Adam Miller
The story of A. Eady & Co. commences at Dover, England on May
20th 1865. Aboard "The Andrew Jackson" that day bound for New Zealand
were William Lewis, his wife Mary Louisa and their three sons Arthur (b. 1856),
Lewis and William. They arrived in Auckland on August 24th. William
began to farm at what is now Meadowbank shortly thereafter.
Around 1874, Arthur and a Mr E. Triphook assumed management of
what was at the time Auckland's only music store, at 68 Queen St, owned by Sir
Henry Brett - a founder of the Auckland Star. Shortly thereafter Brett sold out
to Milner & Thompson of 116 Queen St, but his managers formed their own
company at the old address. Eventually the company relocated to 112 Queen St,
and ultimately extended to Milner & Thompson's premises when they closed
down. Figures 1 and 2 below show two early bill-heads of the company.
At one point, Arthur began an orchestra, in which his brother
Lewis played. In 1884 Lewis began a rival music business "Lewis R. Eady &
Sons". After a court action in 1919-20, Arthur won the right to use the name
"Eadys" over his brother [3]. Lewis' company became known by the appellation
"The Box Office" due to their branching out into ticket sales. A. Eady
& Co. took on the appellation "The Old Firm" at this time. Arthur was also
the owner of the 1ZR radio station until it was closed down by the government.
Figure 1. Bill-head of 1885
Figure 2. Bill-head of 1912.
Arthur died in January 1929 and was survived by three children -
Trevor, Clifford and Phyllis. The company was sold to Beggs in 1939, then the
name "Eadys" was eventually sold to Lewis' company. Lewis Eady Ltd and Robert
Eady Music Ltd are both still listed in Auckland today.
The third son William was also musically inclined, and his eldest
son Kenneth also owned a music shop. Gordon, his second son, spent some time as
Manager of A. Eady & Co.
It is necessary to document the Act and Regulations under which
this stamp was issued in New Zealand [4,5]. Copyright royalties payable upon the
mechanical reproduction of a work were covered under the 1913 Copyright Act [4
Geo V], based heavily upon the British 1911 Copyright Act. The relevant portions
state:
25(1.) Copyright shall subsist in records,
perforated rolls and other contrivances by means of which sounds may be
mechanically reproduced…
25(3.) The rate at which such royalties as aforesaid are to be calculated shall -
(a.) In the case of contrivances sold within two years after the commencement of this Act by the person making the same, be two and one-half per centum; and
(b.) In the case of contrivances sold as aforesaid
after the expiration of that period, five per centum, on
the ordinary retail selling-price of the contrivance calculated in the
prescribed manner, so, however, that the royalty payable in respect of a
contrivance shall in no case be less than a half-penny for each separate musical
work in which copyright subsists reproduced thereon, and, where the royalty
calculated as aforesaid includes a fraction of a farthing, such fraction shall
be reckoned as a farthing.
In the 1914 Regulations under the Copyright Act 1913, Part III -
Royalty System (Mechanical Musical Contrivances), the manner of collecting
royalties due was proscribed as follows:
44. (1.) Unless otherwise agreed royalties shall be payable by means of adhesive labels purchased from the owner of the copyright and affixed in the manner provided by this part of the regulations.
(2.) After the person making the contrivances has
given the prescribed notice of his intention to make or sell the contrivances
the owner of the copyright shall in writing, sent by registered post, intimate
to him some reasonably convenient place within New Zealand from which adhesive
labels can be obtained, and on demand in writing and tender of the price shall
supply from such a place adhesive labels of the required denominations at a
price equal to the amount of royalty represented thereby.
45. Subject to these regulations no contrivance
shall be delivered to a purchaser until such label or labels denoting the amount
of royalty have been affixed thereto, or in the case of cylinders to which it is
not reasonably practicable to affix the labels, until such label or labels have
been affixed to a carton or box enclosing the cylinder.
49. The adhesive label supplied as aforesaid shall
be an adhesive paper label, square in shape, the design to be entirely enclosed
in a circle, and the side of the label not to be greater than 3/4 in. in length. The label
shall not be in a form which resembles any postage-stamp, nor bear the effigy of
the Sovereign or any other person, nor any word, mark or design such as to
suggest that the label is issued by or under the authority of the Government for
the purposes of denoting any duty payable to such Government.
50. The ordinary retail selling-price of any contrivance shall be calculated at the marked or catalogued selling-price of single copies to the public, or, if there is no such marked or catalogued selling-price, at the highest price at which single copies are ordinarily sold to the public.
Copyright stamps issued under these regulations by New Zealand
companies are very scarce, with most agreeing to an accounting basis excusing
the requirement for the labels.
In 1928 and into 1931, Columbia records, and their subsidiary
Parlophone commenced to issue a series of recording of Maori artists and songs.
On some of these can be found a rather small and insignificant looking stamp for
Arthur Eady Ltd.
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The stamp is surface-printed in vermilion and the wording reads: COPYRIGHT / ARTHUR EADY LTD / AUCKLAND / NZ.
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They are rouletted 10, with one or more edges imperforate. The
design measures 12.5mm square. The paper is unwatermarked, fairly thick and soft
with a vertical mesh. The printer is unknown. The sheet size is also unknown,
but from the fact that all four known copies bear at least one imperforate edge,
it can be assumed to be small.
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Figure 3. Stamps on original record (courtesy National Library of New Zealand)
The four examples known to the author, to date, appeared on
these records.
1. Parlophone Maori Label (c1930, record serial number
unrecorded). Imperf top.
2. ditto. Imperf bottom.
3. Columbia DO55
(T914) 1930 E Moi Te Ra - Shadows of Evening (Eriana Maewa Kaihau). Imperf top
and left.
4. Columbia 01060 (T566) 1928 Haere Tonu (Hoben & Horne).
Imperf bottom & right.
The last two items are on records in the Salkald Collection in the
General Music Collections of the National Library of New Zealand.
Eady's was of course a retail music shop, selling musical instruments and sheet music. Like many other retailers of the time, Eady's had adhesive labels or seals printed for attaching to the sheet music and records sold, after starting with a handstamp
There were many variations over time, some of which are shown
here. The dates are approximate and are primarily derived from the date of the
sheet music itself. The evolution of style and wording used also assists in
sequencing the labels.
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1892? Violet handstamp. 58x26mm |
1911. Violet handstamp, also known in Black and Blue. 53x34mm |
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1918. Deep Blue. 48x34mm |
1919. Black. 108x15mm |
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1923? Black.135x27mm | |
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1925?. Green. 63x29mm |
1925? Black. 93x57mm |
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1925. Green, embossed, die-cut. 60x40mm |
1926. Black. 63x18mm Also very similar design 120x31mm |
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1928-30? Black. 99x17mm | |
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1930. Black, red lettering. 95x16.5mm Black, white lettering. 132x26mm Black 130X23mm | |
Advertising Postcard
In 1913 or shortly thereafter, A. Eady & Co produced a
postcard advertising their copyrighted waltz "The Amber Glow", by Walter Impett.
The card was printed in Saxony in shades of buff, and is inscribed in two places
variously "COPYRIGHT MCMXIII BY EADY & CO" and "Copyright MCMXIII by A. Eady
& Co". Others may exist, but to date, this is the only one sighted by the
author.
References
[1] Auckland Chamber of Commerce Journal
Vol. IV/28 March 1 1928 p5
[2] Obituary, Auckland Star, Jan. 12 1929
[3]
Eady & Another v. Lewis R.. Eady & Son Ltd. New Zealand Law
Review [1920] p636-44
[4] 1913 Copyright Act, New Zealand Statutes 4 Geo V.
[5] Regulations under the Copyright Act 1913. The New Zealand Gazette No. 32
April 1 1914.
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