ABSTRACT
A British firm, having several names over its 36-year history. It was established on 2 Aug 1901 as the Crystalate Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Originally the products were billiard balls, bottle stoppers, and similar items made of a patented hard plastic material, in addition to disc records. Holder of the patent was George Henry Burt, an American inventor of notable business acumen: he contracted to make discs for Berliner and Zonophone; and he also set up a firm, Globe Record Co. (It was Globe that made the first matrices for Columbia, which were released on the Climax label.) Whether or not Crystalate was the first British presser of disc records-as it claimed in its advertising-
remains unproved, but the firm was apparently the earliest to make experimental pressings in the U.K. It may have supplied materials to Nicole, which made seven-inch, brown-colored records beginning in 1903 (Burt was associated with that firm, too).
