Any Familiarity with Research Craft? (L.A. Pressing Plant)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by W.B., Feb 13, 2011.

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  1. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Looking through various Billboard articles, I had another epiphany. I'm sure many of those on this Forum have LP's pressed in the mid-to-late 1950's on many labels (i.e. Riverside, Bethlehem, Key, Chapel, Warner Bros.) with this info on the deadwax:
    As mentioned on this thread, these patents were held by one Allan R. "Al" Ellsworth. Turns out that at the time these pressings were made with that deadwax info, Mr. Ellsworth was the president of a Los Angeles pressing plant, Research Craft Co. (later Research Craft Corp.) As of the mid-1950's, the Research Craft plant was across the street from the Radio Recorders Annex which, along with Radio Recorders itself, cut lacquers for Warner Bros. in the 1958-61 period. And based on this info, one has to conclude that Research Craft itself pressed such LP's. (They also pressed 45's in the late 1950's, but such info was never on their deadwax.)

    In 1965, Research Craft was acquired by Liberty Records and made their West Coast pressing operation (All Disc in Roselle, N.J., a heretofore independent pressing plant, became their East Coast factory, in 1966); by then their LP's had the same 2.875" diameter circular indent in the label area as on Monarch pressings. But mid-1960's onwards pressings on Liberty and subsidiaries (and, after 1968, United Artists) with 2.875" diameter circular indent came from Research Craft; after Transamerica's acquisition of Liberty and consolidation with United Artists, followed in short order by the dissolution of Liberty and moving of their remaining artists to UA, that plant did West Coast pressings of UA LP's. They may well have switched to styrene 45 pressings by the mid-to-late 1960's, I'm not sure.
     
  2. niftymusic

    niftymusic New Member

    Any idea when the Research Craft plant closed? I have an LP from 1983 that I suspect may have been pressed there (it has a 2.875" pressing ring), but am not sure if they were closed by this point or not.
     
  3. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Around 1982 or '83 was when it closed, from what I've read. After 1981, it and the All Disc plant in Roselle, NJ were sold off by Capitol (which inherited the plants after acquiring their prior owner, United Artists Records) to ElectroSound.
     
  4. Brian Donnelly

    Brian Donnelly New Member

    My day was the GM
    I worked there in college
     
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