(String Quartet in F major by Ravel, played by The International String Quartet. Note the facsimile signature of the composer to the right of the center hole. Two NGS issues have these (the other is with Arnold Bax). They indicate that the recording was supervised by the composer.)
The NGS was founded in England, by Compton MacKenzie in 1923. Its purpose was to promote music neglected by the major record companies, especially chamber music. In addition to works by the likes of Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart, the society issued music by important living composers such as Elgar, Bax, Warlock and Vaughan-Williams.
Compton MacKenzie was a famous novelist and prolific writer on many subjects. He's best remembered today, at least among record collectors, as having founded The Gramophone, a magazine devoted to the review of recordings and audio equipment. This magazine, which was started at about the same time as the NGS, is still thriving today. The NGS, by contrast, did not fare so well, and was discontinued in 1931, about eight years after its inception.
Compton Mackenzie wrote a book called My Life in Music, which contains much information on his involvement with records, The Gramophone, the NGS and the music scene in England during the first half of the century.
Click the following link to see an NGS discography: discography