Scranton Button Company

For records released 1939 or later and stamped "Ƨ," please use Scranton Record Company.

Founded in 1885. the company originally manufactured buttons, insulators, and other molded goods. They first pressed records around 1916, drawing on the expertise of former Auburn Button Works personnel. One of their first customers was the Emerson Phonograph Company Inc.. An early hit pressed at Scranton was the well known World War I song "Over There." By 1922, Scranton was pressing cheap National Music Lovers discs, and they bought a large stake in that company to ensure continued lucrative business. In June 1922, Scranton purchased a majority interest in the Regal Record Company, Inc.. The Regal Record Company, Inc., together with the Independent Recording Laboratories, produced records that were pressed by the Scranton Button Company and marketed through the Plaza Music Company. By the end of summer 1922, this conglomeration of four legally separate entities was poised to enter the cheap, dime-store record market on a large scale.

In July 1929, the Scranton Button Company merged with the Cameo Record Corporation, the Pathé Phonograph & Radio Corp., and the Regal Record Company, Inc. to form the American Record Corporation (ARC). After this new entity had leased the Brunswick label from Warner Bros. in December 1931, Scranton Button Company began pressing Brunswick, Melotone, and [Vocalion (2)] records (1932-1936), in addition to the other ARC labels. For two years (1934-1936), Scranton also pressed Decca records.

In addition to these labels, the Scranton Button Company pressed discs for the following labels: Acme (12), Audola, Banner, Bell (1923-1927), Broadway (1932-1935), Cameo (from 1929), Champion (August 1935 - April 1936), Clover (4) (1924-1927), Dandy (3) (1924-1926), The New Emerson (1924-1927), Federal (1920-1925), Grey Gull, Jewel (2) (c. 1921-1924), National Music Lovers (1922-1927), New Phonic (1927-1928), Oriole (1923-April 1938), Radiex (ca. 1921-1926), Regal, Resonance Recordings (1925), Romeo (1929-1938).

When CBS acquired ARC in December 1938, they dropped the Scranton plant and moved all their pressing to the old Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Bridgeport. In 1939, however, the Scranton Button Company received new capital and was reorganized as the Scranton Record Company. 30% of the shares in this new company were owned by Eli Oberstein, who then began using Scranton Record Company as the pressing plant for his newly formed United States Record Corporation, until both Oberstein, who fell behind on his payments, and the Scranton Record Company had to declare bankruptcy once more in Fall 1940.