Sold Date: March 8, 2016
Start Date: February 1, 2014
Final Price: $19.95 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 2238
Buyer Feedback: 2

'Push Dem Clouds Away
Goodbye Manhattan Isle'

Sung by: 
Minstrels

Little Wonder Records
5 1/2 inch (See picture)
No. 53
Year of release: 1914 (WWI ERA)

Historical Note:  In 1914 the record industry was nearly a monopoly controlled by Edison, Columbia and Victor.  These companies controlled all of the record patents and virtually controlled the industry.  Keeping the prices from 0.75 to $2 each ($20 today). Considering wages at that time, these prices kept most of the music out of the reach of most of the people.
    Enter 'Little Wonder Records', brought to market by Henry Waterson.  Waterson massed produced these records and sold them for 10 cents each.  Stores that sold them were the stores like today's Walmart (S.H. Kress, S.S. Kresge, F.W. Woolworth, 5 & Dime stores, Sears, etc.) So many of these small records sold (20 million from 1914 - 1916) that Waterson had to install more printing presses to keep up with the demand. 
    The demand forced the other record companies (Columbia, Edison and Victor) to lower their prices.
    Waterson secretly partnered with Columbia in 1914 to manufacture the records. In 1918 'Little Wonder Records' was back in the hands of Columbia.
    In 1923 Columbia Records went bankrupt and 'Little Wonder Records' were no longer produced.
    In 1933 Waterson died.
Note:  Of the millions of 'Little Wonder Records' that were produced, very few of them are in existence today.  Many of them were destroyed or lost.  A lot of them were destroyed by skeet shooters using them as 'clay pigeons' for them to shoot at.  Ironically, the use of 'clay pigeons' to shoot at started in 1920. This is evidenced by the number of them available for sale on the internet. (There are less than 50 for sale on eBay and not many more on the internet??) If nothing else, they are a great conversation topic.
    
The photos are of the actual record.