Foot-tapping music from the early 20th century is proving a hit for Past Perfect, an Oxfordshire company specialising in restoring records from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Past Perfect was founded more 20 years ago in Launton by local musician Michael Daly, starting with a handful of CDs and cassettes.

Still based near Bicester, it is now run by Kathy Garner, who said: "There seems to be a craze for anything vintage — china and clothes as well as music. It's great that younger people are keeping these classics alive."

But while the original 78 rpm vinyl gramophone records had hisses, scratches and crackles, Past Perfect specialises in digitally remastering, using modern technology to remove any faults.

She said: “We digitally remaster original records with the characteristic crackle removed and we then give them a new life on audio CDs.”

More recently, many sales have come via downloads from websites such as iTunes, Spotify and Amazon.

Ms Garner, 54, who grew up listening to her parents' records of Nat King Cole and Dean Martin, said: “Our most popular album by far is Tea Dance: A 1920s, 30s, 40s Vintage Tea Party.

“This is certainly an album which sells to younger people — for vintage tea parties, hen parties, vintage weddings, village hall tea dances, and to set the scene at 1930s events."

At the other end of the price range is the Vintage iPod, with more than 1,000 re-engineered tracks uploaded to the latest 16Gb touchscreen Nano, (pictured) costing £299.97 and with the sales motto ‘iPods for Old Boys’. Ms Garner said: “We have had amazing feedback and our oldest buyer for this is 92.”

She took over after Mr Daly moved on to a career in music production and composing.

Mr Daly had teamed up with music enthusiast and fine wines dealer Nigel Jagger, who invested to allow the company to expand as technology developed. He is now chairman and managing director.

Having joined as an administration assistant in 2001, when the company had six staff, she kept the firm going throughout the recession and now runs the venture on her own.

The speed of the transition away from physical CDs to Internet downloads took many in the industry by surprise, with retailers such as HMV struggling.

Witney-based retro gift retailer Past Times was one of the biggest suppliers of Past Perfect CDs before it went into administration in 2012 with the loss of hundreds of jobs — but the Bicester company is still moving forward.

Ms Garner said: “Turnover has dropped, but we are still making a profit because the margins are higher.”

Licencing deals can be particularly lucrative, with film companies paying thousands of pounds for particular tracks.

She was particularly thrilled that Past Perfect was credited at the end of blockbuster movie The King's Speech, which used Shout For Happiness by Al Bowlly in the ballroom scene. Ms Garner added: “We may be a small company, but the quality of our recordings make them extremely popular for high-profile media use, particularly BBC radio stations, plus many local stations."

Another customer is holiday company Saga, which targets older customers.

Outlets include Blenheim and the Cotswold Motor Museum, plus Coles bookshop in Bicester. And each new series of Strictly Come Dancing means more buyers.

Copyright ends 70 years after the date of first recording.

Ms Garner said: "Most of the recordings being restored and reissued have been ignored for years by the major companies that first recorded them."

Past Perfect commissions artist Philip Castle to create album covers and the remastering is done by Ted Kendall, a former BBC sound engineer.

She said: “Independent record companies like us are not making a fortune from restoring old recordings.

“Although the actual CDs are becoming cheap to manufacture, the computer equipment to process the 78s or early LPs is expensive — not to mention the cost of actually locating the discs, paying someone to compile them and write the notes, print the booklets, and so on.”

Mr Jagger said: “We made up our minds to create only superior recordings, and to combine those with beautiful packaging and useful information. What you see and hear is the result. For my part, I simply love the music and the feeling it creates — feel good and whistle, I say!”

The feelgood factor was increased when the company was chosen by former Dragons’ Den presenter Theo Paphitis for his Small Business Sunday awards, and re-tweeted to his thousands of followers.

Her winning tweet was“Nostalgia ain't what it used to be — it's digitised and trending on Twitter.”

Although record shops are fast disappearing from our high streets, Ms Garner said: "Wherever retailers play our music, they will sell it. People always want to buy the music they hear, especially if it is good foot-tapping music that makes you feel happy — or thoughtful music that strikes a chord.”

The company is now targeting museums, teashops and gift shops. And she believes the music appeals to young and old.

"The new Italiano Americano compilation will have a track on it which my four-year-old grandson Oliver absolutely loves. We are going to use a Bing Crosby version, and it is superb. You see, vintage music appeals to all ages.”