Block, Julius, 1858-1934

Julius Block (b. 1858, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; d. 1934, Switzerland) was a businessman and music lover. While residing in Russia, he demonstrated an Edison phonograph for many musicians and other celebrities and in many cases recorded them in performance. He "kept beautifully bound autograph books in which he collected written testimonials from those who had attended his phonographic soirées. He called these his 'Edison Albums'. Two are known to exist today: one at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public Library, the other at the Antique Phonograph Monthly in Brooklyn, New York. The location and possible existence of additional volumes is unknown"--Liner notes for The dawn of recording : the Julius Block cylinders, p2008 (Marston : 53011-2), p. 41.