Busy-Bee was a Chicago-based record label founded in 1904 that sold both cylinders and discs, often (but not always) with content licensed from other labels. Their cylinders could only be played on special Busy-Bee players, which were most commonly Columbia model Q graphophones outfitted with a special, larger mandrel. This allowed the customer to only buy Busy Bee cylinders, a premium scheme similar to Aretino discs. A 1906 cylinder catalog shows artists including Gilmore's Band, Billy Murray, Arthur Collins, Bob Roberts, and Ada Jones.
History Busy Bee was founded in April 1904 in Chicago by Arthur James O'Neill (1868–1916), Winifred B. James, and Sherwin Nelson Bisbee (1862–1924). The label is the namesake of Sherwin Nelson Bisbee (1862–1924), a banker, born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, who, at the time, was General Sales Manager for O'Neill-James Company. All of its cylinders had Columbia matrix numbers.
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Sutton is the owner of Mainspring Press, LLC. The data was compiled by Bryant.
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Note: Prescott was responding to a contributor of a May 1929 article, "Adventures in Collecting," by Oman. Prescott, a recording pioneer on various levels, had been affiliated with International Zonophone Company, which incorporated in Jersey City March, 7, 1901. His brother, Frederick Marion Prescott (1869–1923) became Managing Director and J.O., himself, was one of the shareholders.