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HMV means His Masters Voice. I don't really remeber, I guess the dog on the pic hears his master's voice, that's why it became this.

Yes, and the dog's name was "Nipper." [Linked Image]

In the U.K., the symbol became the trademark of The Gramophone Company Ltd., and appeared on the H.M.V. record label for decades. Here's an example from the 1940s:

[Linked Image]


It became somewhat less prominent in later years, however, as this example from the late 1950s shows:

[Linked Image]

(H.M.V. became part of the giant E.M.I. group in the 1960s.)


In the United States, however, the symbol was the trademark of RCA Victor:

[Linked Image]

When RCA started issuing British pressings of records over here in the 1950s, they had to use a completely different label as "Nipper" was already the HMV Trademark.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 12-20-2005).]