Star Spangled Banner Record

"This was 100 years old on 29 March 1917. John McCormack's recording of The Star Spangled Banner. It didn't become the American national anthem until the early 1930's. This was the highest selling vocal record of 1917 – it was the biggest selling disc in the U.S. in 1917 in any case. He was at the height of his fame, and had sung this before President Wilson at the time, who said he had never heard it better sung. Typically of its day, a single-sided disc. The technology for making double-sided discs was around at the time but they often made big-sellers one-sided. This disc came from the collection of Sir John Paul Getty. I bought the whole McCormack section of his collection when they were auctioned upon his death. He had bought it from a well-known collector himself, Stuart-Liff. The cover is from my own hometown of Youghal – from W. & A. Fowkes, Youghal, opp. General Post Office. I'm still on a quest to find the former premises of this shop in Youghal because the post office has moved since then as well. Note on sleeve 'a dance one two, and nice'. I'd say that cover is from about the 1930's –it's not the original cover for this record. In those days they sold everything in the one shop – bicycles, type writers, etc."