Park Foundation Music App
Home > Labels
Audio Book Company
Profile
Audio Book Company (published as A.B.Co.) was a United States music record label and producer based in St. Joseph, Michigan, then located at 501 Main Street. They went bankrupt due to a disappearing sales of the vinyl record format and didn't transition into the cassette tape format capacity of the audio book industry. Audio Book Co. did manage to create some of the very first audio books in history available to the public for mass consumerism. As a unique, niche market company, they produced all recordings on ultra-microgroove 16-2/3 RPM phonograph records that have the ability to play up to 1 hour each. They reintroduced the use of a spindle format on their vinyl records through both the "Talking Books" and "Literature for Listening" series. Most included an official "Audio Book Co. speed-reducing Adapter" which this piece of plastic, shaped like a human finger, would rub against the edge of a turntable to slow down the speed. The Owner's manual reads the following play instructions on a 33-1/3 RPM setting for record players: Set phonograph turntable speed at 33-1/3. Place Adapter on turntable over spindle. Rest wire extending from Adapter against tone arm post or any other projection on phonograph which will keep it from turning. Place record on Adapter and play. Many record sets were releases of classic novels, essays, or writings by such authors as William Shakespeare, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Socrates. As well as several, popular storybook titles: Alice in Wonderland [C 300] The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood [C 302] The Wizard of Oz [C 303] Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow [C 305] The King of the Golden River and The Great Stone Face [C 306] Gulliver's Travels [C 307] Just So Stories [C 308] Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [GL 605] The Red Badge of Courage [GL 609] In 1953, the Holy Bible King James Version was released in collections for the both 'The Complete Old Testament ' [R 902] and 'The Complete New Testament ' [R 901] (separate box sets of 26 individually-sleeved, housed binders for holding the 7" records). A 'Catholic Edition' (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Text) [R 903] consisted of 30 audio records, read by Rev. Robert I. Gannon, S.J.. In 1954, The Great Tales And Poems Of Edgar Allan Poe [GL 600] by Edgar Allen Poe, read by Marvin Miller (actor). In 1955, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin [GL 603] by Benjamin Franklin, read by Michael Rye. In 1956, The Best Of Mark Twain [GL 602] by Mark Twain, read by Marvin Miller (actor). In 1959, Heart of Darkness [GL 613] by Joseph Conrad, read by Dan O'Herlihy. In 1961, the science fiction novel The Time Machine [GL 17] by H. G. Wells was the very first ever release as an audio book, read by Dan O'Herlihy.