Leonora

Leonora (Canada) was a short-lived export imprint pressed by the Compo Company Ltd. at its Lachine (131 – 18th Avenue) works in Montreal, Quebec. Launched circa 1924 under the stewardship of Herbert Berliner, Leonora belonged to a family of special labels Compo created to serve overseas markets—most notably Australia and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand. True to that mission, many surviving discs carry the proud legend “Made in Canada” while being found almost exclusively in Australasian collections.

Rather than operating as a full, independent company, Leonora functioned as a branding window onto Compo’s pressing floor. Its catalog drew from Compo’s in-house recordings alongside licensed material, mirroring number blocks familiar from other Compo-related lines. On the turntables this translated into a cosmopolitan mix: North American dance-band and popular vocals, Hawaiian strings that were in vogue worldwide, and occasional light classics—all tailored to what Australasian buyers wanted in the mid-1920s. Contemporary artists you’ll spot on Leonora include names like Vera Guilaroff and Frank Ferera, reflecting both Canadian talent and imported masters.

Distribution in Australia was handled by local commercial agents, allowing Leonora to slot neatly into existing retail channels while Compo focused on manufacturing quality at home. The approach worked for a handful of seasons, but by the later 1920s the export-label experiment had run its course. As Compo’s priorities shifted and international licensing patterns evolved, Leonora fell silent by about 1927, leaving behind a compact, collectible footprint of Canadian-pressed 78s made for listeners half a world away.