In 1903, Richard Jacob a Russified German founded the Russian gramophone factory "Jacob-Record" in Moscow. The company was one of the first one not only in Russia, but also in the world that began producing two-sided records (initially records were one-sided). The gramophone repertoire of Jacob-Record totaled to more than 6000 numbers of by 1904. The greatest selection was for opera arias. Operetta enjoyed the special success in public. They played cheerful sketches from "Golden Fish", "Geisha" in front of the mouthpiece in studio. There were a lot of Russian songs in the catalogues as well. The orchestral recordings of marches, waltzes, polkas and dances were made. The rich repertoire and well organized retail was highly appreciated by customers. The business was constantly expanding, in Moscow firm owned three shops: on Nikitskaya, Tverskaya and Myasnitskaya, also there was a shop in St.-Petersburg.
The mysterious death of Richard Jacob on the peak of his career was absolutely unexpected. They said, the day before he had serious conversation with the representatives of a company that pirated his records (alas, it was already then …)