Norwegian company sleeve
Odeon (Norway): needles and “De beste kunstnere synger for Odeon”
A Norwegian Odeon sleeve advertising British and Norwegian dance bands and Odeon needles, with three singers’ faces on the back.
Dating at a glance
- Printed
- about 1935–1938
most likely 1936–37 - In use
- Before April 1940 at the latest
- Confidence
- Medium
- Basis
- The bands named on the front, and when they were active on record
The sleeve
The front, under a large ODEON
, lists:
DE BESTE ENGELSKE ORKESTRE: HARRY ROY, VICTOR SILVESTER, NAT GONELLA
DE BESTE NORSKE ORKESTRE: KR. HAUGERS RADIO-DANSEORKESTER, „JUBELGUTTA“, JOLLY’s HAWAII ORKESTER
(“The best English bands” and “the best Norwegian bands”.) Beside two needle tins it says Bruk ODEON Electric kvalitetsnåler
(“Use ODEON Electric quality needles”), with a micro-photograph of a needle, new and used once, and advice to change the needle for every side. The back reads DE BESTE KUNSTNERE SYNGER FOR ODEON
(“The best artists sing for Odeon”) over a record with three cut-out faces. No names are printed.
Simon rephotographed the sleeve on 12 November 2026, and those clearer photographs are used here. (His notes of that evening call the faces side the front; this page keeps its earlier naming.)
The evidence
- DocumentedNot before 1935. Victor Silvester and His Ballroom Orchestra made their first record in 1935 (Parlophone F 240). Scandinavian Odeon issued Parlophone material.
- DocumentedNat Gonella and His Georgians recorded for Parlophone from 1935 until 1940, when they moved to Columbia.
- DocumentedNot after about 1938. Kristian Hauger ran his Radiodanseorkester from 1932 to 1938, on record and on the radio (Norsk biografisk leksikon).
- DocumentedJolly’s Hawaii Orkester recorded for Odeon in Norway in the mid-1930s, for example Skjønne Tahiti / Under palmene (D-3224) in 1935.
- DocumentedJubelgutta were already recording for Odeon by 1931, so they do not narrow the range.
- InferredBefore the occupation. Norway was occupied from April 1940, after which British dance bands would not have been promoted.
The three faces
| Position | Description | Identification | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom left | Heavy-set, laughing, hair combed back | Probably Einar Rose (1898–1979), Norway’s leading revue singer and a major Odeon artist. The face matches his Wikimedia portrait closely. | Medium |
| Top left | Lean, middle-aged, hair combed back | Not identified | — |
| Bottom right | Young man with wavy, slicked hair | Not identified. Steinar Jøraandstad, Hauger’s main Odeon vocalist, is a possible lead only. | Low |
Sources
- Wikipedia, Victor Silvester: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Silvester
- Wikipedia, The Georgians (British band): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Georgians_(British_band)
- Norsk biografisk leksikon, Kristian Hauger: https://nbl.snl.no/Kristian_Hauger
- 45cat, Odeon (Norway) 78 rpm listing: https://www.45cat.com/78rpm/label/odeon-no
- Norsk biografisk leksikon, Jolly Kramer-Johansen: https://nbl.snl.no/Jolly_Kramer-Johansen
- Jubelgutta, steinkaker.no: https://www.steinkaker.no/?page_id=2420
- Einar Rose portrait, Wikimedia Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Einar_Rose.jpg
- Wikipedia (Norwegian), Einar Rose: https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einar_Rose
- Store norske leksikon, Jens Book-Jenssen (recorded for Columbia, not Odeon, so unlikely to be one of the faces): https://snl.no/Jens_Book-Jenssen
What we could not find
- A dated example of this sleeve on DigitaltMuseum, 45cat, Tradera, finn.no or elsewhere online.
- Identities for two of the three faces. The Odeon Norway catalogues of 1936–38, listed at historisklyd.no, would be the best place to look.
Researched 2 November 2026. Photographs replaced with Simon’s of 12 November 2026.