Ducretet Thomson

French label that was introduced in 1950 by Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston and Maurice Selmer of Henri Selmer Paris and the Selmer label. CFTH were a manufacturer of radios. The label was distributed in several countries. In the US for example, it was distributed by London Records. In 1958 Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston went into a partnership with Pathe Marconi, with the companies distributing each other's products. Eventually Les Industries Musicales Et Electriques Pathé Marconi [EMI] took over the label in 1961. The "Ducretet" part of the name comes from "Ducretet et cie." a company that CFTH acquired in 1929. Ducretet et cie. was a French company founded by scientist Eugène Adrien Ducretet which produced, among other scientific instruments, an early "plate phonograph", or tinfoil disc player (1879) and a tinfoil phonograph for cylinders. The repertoire focused on world music, including UNESCO recordings. Today back catalog is owned by Warner Music France [Warner Music Group].