Diva, Harmony, VelveTone, etc.—all subsidiaries of Columbia, sold in different dime store chains.
In 1924-5, Columbia spent a big chunk of money on new recording equipment, just months or weeks before Victor decided to go with the Western Electric system. Columbia did the same, but they continued to make records for their dime-store labels on the “new” acoustic equipment. They had an economic incentive to do so: A royalty was owed to Western Electric on every electrical disc sold, so Columbia saved money on their dime-store records by sticking with the acoustic machinery. They started issuing electrical records in late 1929. There are a few discs with one acoustic side and one electrical side. Others built their own (crummy) electrical amplifiers and cutters.
Those acoustic budget records are lousy—greatly inferior to many acoustic recordings of the preceding 20-25 years.
They would have been bought primarily by people who were still using machines that didn’t reproduce the louder, clearer electrical recordings all that well, anyway.
The acoustic machines designed to play electrical records were sold from late 1925 to 1928. The largest Victor Orthophonic model, the Credenza, sold about 250,000 copies in those three years. In 1931, the whole business collapsed. Most people didn’t start hearing electrically-reproduced records at home until the second half of the ‘thirties, or even after WWII.
Never knew there were any discs with one side acoustic and one side electric. The few Velvet-Tones I have never played very well. But the Divas and Harmony records always did... but they were hampered by their boxy acoustic sound, which was indeed worse and less-satisfying than the earlier (early-1920s) acoustics of labels like Brunswick, Vocalion, and Victor, which sounded so much better. Also akin to Harmony, I have about three high-grade Puritone 78’s, which are also late acoustics. I think one is of Joe Candullo’s band. They play smoothly, but again, the music is boxy acoustic.
I do have a late Diva example, with the usual graphics but under a smaller-size label, which is electric. Probably a late one, from around 1930.
Well, your thread compelled me to dig out some of my old neglected records. I found that later-era, small-label “Diva” item I had, and it’s a “Golden Gate Orchestra” (CA Ramblers, I assume) recording. Also found a late “Harmony” with a small-label, by Frank Auburn and his Orch., which is also electric. Seems of similar vintage to the one “Clarion” record I have, which is of Kate Smith. Found a VelvetTone with an original sleeve. Those just never played well for me. Have several Annette Hanshaw’s on VT and Diva. Always adored her.
I have a separate collection of about 200 records that I got from a neighbor to my grandparents. These records had belonged to her grandfather, and had been in the attic. The lady gave them to me, knowing I liked vintage music. Her grandfather was a budding musician (cornet?), and since this was slightly before access to radio (early-to-mid-20s) here in the TX/LA region, he’d buy records to learn the trends. Very jazz-heavy collection, with a couple of King Oliver “Gennett” records, and lots and lots of regional/territory items, especially the stuff from New Orleans, like Tony Parenti, Johnny DeDroit, Scranton Sirens, Johnny Bayersdorffer, and such. There was a “Black Swan” record sleeve, but no Black Swan record. Lots of odd items and odd labels. Like some small-size 7-inch 78’s on a “Marathon” label, done by the Nutmeg Record Corporation, with original sleeves. 7-inch Melodisc and Emerson. Altogether a wild mishmash of things. Johnny Dodds, Carmichael’s Collegians, Harry Reser stuff. Varied condition, some fine, some a bit rough.