Scranton Button Company

For much of its early history, this company was controlled by Canadian immigrant William Connell (September 10, 1827 – March 21, 1909).[1] Connell's family moved to Scranton when he was a small child,[2] and, at the age of seven he left school to work in the coal industry to help support his family.[2] With time, he moved up to supervisory positions and became wealthy enough to buy the company when its charter expired. Connell then became an influential Scranton businessman, serving on several boards of directors, and purchased the Scranton Button Company shortly after its founding.[2]

In addition to buttons, the company manufactured parts for telephones and advertising novelties.[3] By 1915, the company was pressing three million buttons per day.[2] Many of the buttons were made from shellac. During the 1920s, the company branched out from making buttons into pressing phonograph records by expanding its use of the same material. It subsequently offered full-service record production to any retailer that desired its own label.

In 1924, it bought Emerson Records and in July 1929 it merged with Regal Records, Cameo Records, Banner Records and the US branch of Pathé Records to form the American Record Corporation.

From 1929 on, the company pressed Brunswick, Melotone, Perfect, Banner, Regal, Domino, Conqueror, Vocalion and other ARC labels. (Even though Columbia was bought by ARC in 1934, Columbia records were pressed at Columbia's Bridgeport, CT. plant.)

The Scranton plant was acquired in 1946 by Capitol Records. Though some sources have asserted that Capitol closed the factory in 1970,[4] the label continued to operate the plant until July 1973 and then sold it in November of that same year to a Pittsburgh firm, North American Music Industries,[5] which kept the plant in business until its final closure c. 1980.