Communications

WANN Microphone

Tools of communication have transformed American society time and again over the past two centuries. The Museum has preserved many instruments of these changes, from printing presses to personal digital assistants.

The collections include hundreds of artifacts from the printing trade and related fields, including papermaking equipment, wood and metal type collections, bookbinding tools, and typesetting machines. Benjamin Franklin is said to have used one of the printing presses in the collection in 1726.

More than 7,000 objects chart the evolution of electronic communications, including the original telegraph of Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell's early telephones. Radios, televisions, tape recorders, and the tools of the computer age are part of the collections, along with wireless phones and a satellite tracking system.

Resource Type: Audiovisual equipment

Telephone Answering Machine

This Phonetel model KH-141B answering machine used a removable cartridge to record telephone calls. This unit, with just a few simple controls, was imported from Hashimoto Corporation of Japan.
Description (Brief)
This Phonetel model KH-141B answering machine used a removable cartridge to record telephone calls. This unit, with just a few simple controls, was imported from Hashimoto Corporation of Japan. The founder of that company, Kazuo Hashimoto, held several answering machine patents.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1980
maker
Hashimoto Corporation, Ltd.
ID Number
2000.0101.10
catalog number
2000.0101.10
accession number
2000.0101

Telephone Answering Machine

This PhoneMate model 960 telephone answering machine was advertised as "SAM" or Smart Answering Machine. The user carried a small remote control and could retrieve messages by calling from any location.
Description (Brief)
This PhoneMate model 960 telephone answering machine was advertised as "SAM" or Smart Answering Machine. The user carried a small remote control and could retrieve messages by calling from any location. A tone emitted by the remote control activated the play-back function on the recorder.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.04
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.04
model number
960

Telephone Answering Machine

In 1971, PhoneMate introduced the Model 400 answering machine that held twenty messages on a reel-to-reel tape. An earphone allowed the user to listen privately to incoming messages.
Description (Brief)
In 1971, PhoneMate introduced the Model 400 answering machine that held twenty messages on a reel-to-reel tape. An earphone allowed the user to listen privately to incoming messages. Bell Telephone resisted the introduction of answering machines for many years, fearful that people would make fewer calls if they thought they might be recorded.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1974
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.03
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.03
model number
400

Telephone Answering Machine

This “AutoMatic TelePhone” unit combines an answering machine with a telephone. Like many early answering machines, the tape is not in a removable format. Twenty minutes of recording time is permitted before the tape must be erased and reset to the beginning.
Description (Brief)
This “AutoMatic TelePhone” unit combines an answering machine with a telephone. Like many early answering machines, the tape is not in a removable format. Twenty minutes of recording time is permitted before the tape must be erased and reset to the beginning. A more advanced model featured a remote access feature that allowed the user to use a small tone-generator to activate the machine from any telephone.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980
maker
American Telecommunications Corporation
ID Number
2000.0101.08
catalog number
2000.0101.08
accession number
2000.0101

Reel-to-Reel Wire Recorder

This GE wire recorder is a licensed copy of the Armour model 50 recorder designed and made for the U.S. military during World War II. Based on the work of Marvin Camras, Armour fabricated wire recorders at a small, specially-built plant until 1944.
Description (Brief)
This GE wire recorder is a licensed copy of the Armour model 50 recorder designed and made for the U.S. military during World War II. Based on the work of Marvin Camras, Armour fabricated wire recorders at a small, specially-built plant until 1944. The demand for increased production of recorders led GE to begin production of the model 51.
The Armed Forces Radio Service used a variety of recording devices, including wire recorders, to bring programming to troops stationed around the world. This wire recorder used four vacuum tubes and ran on alternating current.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
1992.0438.01
catalog number
1992.0438.01
accession number
1992.0438

Telephone Answering Machine

The model 5500 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. These answering machines were produced for differing markets. The model 5500 featured a metal case and front-facing controls.
Description (Brief)
The model 5500 Code-a-Phone was one of several telephone answering machines Ford industries produced in the early 1980s. These answering machines were produced for differing markets. The model 5500 featured a metal case and front-facing controls. The design, intended for commercial rather than residential use, was durable and easy to use for a seated receptionist. This particular unit was used in a hospital.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1981
maker
Ford Industries, Inc.
ID Number
2000.0101.06
catalog number
2000.0101.06
accession number
2000.0101

Reel-to-Reel Wire Recorder

This small, portable wire recorder is an interesting example of transistorized miniaturization. The user can carry the recorder in a coat pocket while wearing the wrist-watch microphone with a connecting wire running up the sleeve.
Description (Brief)
This small, portable wire recorder is an interesting example of transistorized miniaturization. The user can carry the recorder in a coat pocket while wearing the wrist-watch microphone with a connecting wire running up the sleeve. The watch does not keep time but serves solely as an unobtrusive microphone. The recorder does not use transistors but rather uses vacuum tubes. It thus requires three batteries: one for the motor drive, one for the tube filaments and one for the tube anodes.
Accessories include the wristwatch microphone, a power supply, an automobile adapter, a headset, and three patch cords. It is unclear how much noise the motor assembly made and so how useful this recorder may have been in making secret recordings. Since the tubes would have generated heat it’s also probable that the device might have been uncomfortably warm if worn. The donor’s father owned a business equipment store in Washington, D.C., and may have acquired this piece through the store. A handwritten evaluation was critical and did not recommend acquiring the product.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Geiss-America
ID Number
2011.0101.02
accession number
2011.0101
catalog number
2011.0101.02

Telephone Answering Machine

PhoneMate’s model 5000 answering machine sold for about $120 in the late 1980s. In order to save space many answering machine makers adopted a tape cartridge that was much smaller than the standard audio cassette.
Description (Brief)
PhoneMate’s model 5000 answering machine sold for about $120 in the late 1980s. In order to save space many answering machine makers adopted a tape cartridge that was much smaller than the standard audio cassette. The model 5000 took this miniaturization one step further by reducing the size of entire machine. One advertisement shows the unit being held in a man’s hand.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.01
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.01
model number
5000

Magnetic Sheet Recorder

This unusual magnetic recorder was used an a dictation machine in the 1960s. The recording medium is a letter-sized sheet coated with a magnetic powder. The round plate on the machine carried the read-write head and spins under the stationary sheet.
Description (Brief)
This unusual magnetic recorder was used an a dictation machine in the 1960s. The recording medium is a letter-sized sheet coated with a magnetic powder. The round plate on the machine carried the read-write head and spins under the stationary sheet. One can then fold the recording and mail it to the recipient. The donor’s father owned a business equipment store and acquired this piece as a marketing demonstration. In this instance, the product did not succeed in the market.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Riken Optical
ID Number
2011.0101.01
accession number
2011.0101
catalog number
2011.0101.01

Cassette Tape Recorder

The Scott model 2560 Casseiver combined an AM/FM stereo receiver with a cassette tape deck. Scott, a manufacturer of high-end radio receivers, adopted the cassette format invented by Philips in 1962. Philip’s cassette was one of several on the market.
Description (Brief)
The Scott model 2560 Casseiver combined an AM/FM stereo receiver with a cassette tape deck. Scott, a manufacturer of high-end radio receivers, adopted the cassette format invented by Philips in 1962. Philip’s cassette was one of several on the market. After its introduction in their Norelco line, the company offered free licences to other manufacturers who adopted the format. The original price on this Scott Casseiver was about $300, about $1700 in 2012 dollars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
maker
H.H. Scott, Inc.
ID Number
1997.0080.01
accession number
1997.0080
catalog number
1997.0080.01

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

This reel-to-reel BK-401 “Soundmirror” used paper recording tape coated with artificial magnetite particles. Brush Company designed the BK-401 after Semi Begun’s experiments convinced him that a thin, flexible tape would give good audio performance.
Description (Brief)
This reel-to-reel BK-401 “Soundmirror” used paper recording tape coated with artificial magnetite particles. Brush Company designed the BK-401 after Semi Begun’s experiments convinced him that a thin, flexible tape would give good audio performance. Introduced in 1947 with tape made by Shellmar Company, the expensive BK-401 malfunctioned easily. Despite good initial sales, production ceased in 1952.
Before leaving Nazi Germany in 1935, Begun had heard of Fritz Pfleumer’s work on printing cigarette paper with a gold-colored band. Pfleumer also made paper tape coated with magnetizable materials and fabricated a demonstration tape recorder in 1931.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Brush Development Company
ID Number
EM.336308
catalog number
336308
accession number
1977.0895
model number
BK-401
serial number
6677
model number
BA-106

Cassette Tape Recorder and Radio

This Radio Data System (RDS) demonstration car radio was used in a 1995 ceremony on Capitol Hill marking the establishment of the 100th RDS-capable broadcast station, WKYS-FM in Washington, DC.
Description (Brief)
This Radio Data System (RDS) demonstration car radio was used in a 1995 ceremony on Capitol Hill marking the establishment of the 100th RDS-capable broadcast station, WKYS-FM in Washington, DC. RDS technology consisted of an inaudible text data stream transmitted from specially-equipped FM stations. The data included artist identification, community-service bulletins and traffic information. The demonstration receiver also includes a cassette tape deck with Dolby noise reduction. Engineer Ray Dolby designed a “sound compander” in the mid-1960s to improve audio output quality of recordings while working at Ampex and later founded a company to improve this technique.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
maker
Delco Electronics
ID Number
1998.0073.01
accession number
1998.0073
catalog number
1998.0073.01
model number
16174681
serial number
3100085

Telephone Answering Machine

While some answering machines used special recording formats, this model 757 “Dictaphone” used standard cassettes for both incoming and outgoing messages.
Description (Brief)
While some answering machines used special recording formats, this model 757 “Dictaphone” used standard cassettes for both incoming and outgoing messages. The user could set the machine to record a 30 second incoming message or use a “continuous” setting to record however long a message the caller wanted to leave. A text transcription of the outgoing message shows this machine was used at the Indiana University Dental Clinic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1985
maker
Pitney Bowes
ID Number
2000.0101.03
catalog number
2000.0101.03
accession number
2000.0101

Cassette Tape Recorder

The miniaturization of electronic components has allowed designers to add features to audio products that previously would have been impractical or simply too expensive. This TEAC model A-170 cassette tape deck includes input equalizing controls more typical of studio equipment.
Description (Brief)
The miniaturization of electronic components has allowed designers to add features to audio products that previously would have been impractical or simply too expensive. This TEAC model A-170 cassette tape deck includes input equalizing controls more typical of studio equipment. The donor, who used this tape deck as a teenager, added the “do not touch” admonition in an effort to prevent family and friends from changing the settings.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
maker
TEAC Corporation
ID Number
2011.0101.05
accession number
2011.0101
catalog number
2011.0101.05

Cartridge Tape Recorder

This DeJur-Grundig portable tape recorder was made in West Germany in the mid-1960s. The recorder featured an unusual tape format, a specially-made tape cartridge rather than using a reel or cassette. The cartridge is a modular unit that slides out from under the name plate.
Description (Brief)
This DeJur-Grundig portable tape recorder was made in West Germany in the mid-1960s. The recorder featured an unusual tape format, a specially-made tape cartridge rather than using a reel or cassette. The cartridge is a modular unit that slides out from under the name plate. The user turns it over and slides it back into place in order to use the other side. Since this was a special format not adopted by other manufacturers, unlike Philips’ cassette format or the Lear 8-track cartridge, it quickly faded from the market.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
maker
DeJur-Grundig
ID Number
2010.0125.12
catalog number
2010.0125.12
accession number
2010.0125

Video Cassette Recorder

Engineers began to develop magnetic recorders for video use in the early 1950s and Ampex produced the first commercial unit in 1956. Twenty years of further refinement resulted in miniaturized components and several types of video recorders practical for home use.
Description (Brief)
Engineers began to develop magnetic recorders for video use in the early 1950s and Ampex produced the first commercial unit in 1956. Twenty years of further refinement resulted in miniaturized components and several types of video recorders practical for home use. The Video Home System or “VHS” format was jointly developed in Japan by Japan Victor Company (JVC) and Panasonic.
VHS cassette were originally designed for two hours of programming although this was later lengthened to four hours by slowing the tape speed and sacrificing some of the image resolution. This model VBT200 machine is unusual in that it features a top-loading cassette, most VHS machines used a front-loading design that allowed for easier placement in a video rack or entertainment cabinet. The VHS format was challenged in the market for about ten years by a rival format, the Sony Beta. Ultimately VHS became the defacto standard for home video recording until it was superceded by an optical format in the late 1990s, the digital versatile disk or “DVD.”
date made
1977-09-19
maker
RCA Corporation
ID Number
2007.0140.01
serial number
7392FM229
accession number
2007.0140
catalog number
2007.0140.01
model number
VBT200

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

This Akai reel-to-reel tape recorder was imported from Japan in the late 1960s. The professional-grade recorder used transistors rather than older style vacuum tubes. That reduced power consumption and made the electronics much lighter.
Description (Brief)
This Akai reel-to-reel tape recorder was imported from Japan in the late 1960s. The professional-grade recorder used transistors rather than older style vacuum tubes. That reduced power consumption and made the electronics much lighter. However, the unit features a wooden case and cover that makes it heavier than most recorders in the collection.
Japanese industrialists viewed the task of rebuilding after World War Two as an opportunity to modernize their production facilities and product lines. The transistor was one new technology in which they invested heavily.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
maker
Akai
ID Number
2003.0147.06
accession number
2003.0147
catalog number
2003.0147.06

Telephone Answering Machine

Ansafone Corporation first sold telephone answering machines in the United States in 1960. As seen in inventor Kuzuo Hashimoto's patent (US 3376390) the Ansafone used a single tape cartridge system for incoming messages.
Description (Brief)
Ansafone Corporation first sold telephone answering machines in the United States in 1960. As seen in inventor Kuzuo Hashimoto's patent (US 3376390) the Ansafone used a single tape cartridge system for incoming messages. Another tape looped through the machine and played the outgoing message. The user placed an ordinary desk phone on top of the Ansafone. Two arms slid under the handset. An incoming call would cause the arms to lift the handset and play the outgoing message. Once the incoming message was recorded, the Ansafone replaced the handset in the cradle, hanging up the phone.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
maker
Ansafone Corporation
ID Number
2000.0101.02
catalog number
2000.0101.02
accession number
2000.0101

Telephone Answering Machine

This Code-A-Phone 700 answering machine was produced in 1966, several years before a series of legal battles forced Bell Telephone to allow connection of non-Bell equipment to their telephone lines.
Description (Brief)
This Code-A-Phone 700 answering machine was produced in 1966, several years before a series of legal battles forced Bell Telephone to allow connection of non-Bell equipment to their telephone lines. Ultimately the Code-A-Phone was produced by Ford Industries with parts made by Western Electric, the Bell System’s manufacturing unit. Having decided that they could not prevent the use of answering machines, Bell used Code-A-Phone in an attempt to control the market.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
maker
Western Electric
ID Number
1996.0224.01
catalog number
1996.0224.01
accession number
1996.0224

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

The reel-to-reel format did not disappear overnight. This AIWA portable tape recorder dates from the mid-1960s, a time in which both the cassette tape and the 8-track cartridge formats were gaining popularity.
Description (Brief)
The reel-to-reel format did not disappear overnight. This AIWA portable tape recorder dates from the mid-1960s, a time in which both the cassette tape and the 8-track cartridge formats were gaining popularity. Reducing the size of the tape required moving the recording tracks closer together. That in turn required more advanced recording heads that could read and write the narrower tracks, as well as physically-stronger tape.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
AWIA Co., Ltd.
ID Number
2006.0253.01
accession number
2006.0253
catalog number
2006.0253.01
model number
TP-30

Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

This portable tape recorder was designed in the late 1950s by noted industrial designer John Vassos (1898-1985). Born in Romania to Greek parents, Vassos came to the US in 1919 and studied design.
Description (Brief)
This portable tape recorder was designed in the late 1950s by noted industrial designer John Vassos (1898-1985). Born in Romania to Greek parents, Vassos came to the US in 1919 and studied design. Famous for his modernist designs, he helped establish the look of radios and televisions after joining RCA in 1933.
Tape recorders were a relatively new product for home use when RCA entered the market. Drawing on experiences with early radio and TV designs, Vassos’ design made this new technology feel accessible for ordinary people. Being portable, the recorder was also designed to withstand rough use.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Radio Corporation of America
ID Number
1989.0657.08
accession number
1989.0657
catalog number
1989.0657.08

Telephone Answering Machine

This PhoneMate model 6950 illustrates answering machine technology in the midst of radical change. From the earliest designs in the 1900s, answering machines used magnetic recording technology, recording on either wire or coated tape.
Description (Brief)
This PhoneMate model 6950 illustrates answering machine technology in the midst of radical change. From the earliest designs in the 1900s, answering machines used magnetic recording technology, recording on either wire or coated tape. Most machines of the 1960s and 1970s used two tapes, one for the outgoing message and one to record the incoming message. Advances in digital memory design during the 1980s led the model 6950's designers to eliminate the outgoing message tape by using digital memory instead. The incoming message was still recorded on a standard tape cassette. The suggested retail price was $179.98.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
PhoneMate
ID Number
1989.0371.02
accession number
1989.0371
catalog number
1989.0371.02
model number
6950

Magnetic Recording Head

This “Red Head” recording-playback head was designed by Brush Company around 1950 for sale to tape recorder manufacturers. Inside the housing is a small, specially-shaped electromagnet designed to produce a focused magnetic field.
Description (Brief)
This “Red Head” recording-playback head was designed by Brush Company around 1950 for sale to tape recorder manufacturers. Inside the housing is a small, specially-shaped electromagnet designed to produce a focused magnetic field. When recording, a current fed into the head varied according to the strength of the input signal and that variation was captured by the recording tape. For playback, the magnetic field on the tape generated a signal in the head as it passed close. The closer the playback signal matched the input signal, the more accurate the recorded sound.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Brush Development Co.
ID Number
1995.0316.15
accession number
1995.0316
catalog number
1995.0316.15

Telephone Answering Machine

While telephone answering machines date to the early twentieth century, commercial units did not begin to enter the U.S. market until the 1960s. AT&T executives feared that users might cut back on telephone use if recording devices were widely adopted.
Description (Brief)
While telephone answering machines date to the early twentieth century, commercial units did not begin to enter the U.S. market until the 1960s. AT&T executives feared that users might cut back on telephone use if recording devices were widely adopted. The company sought to block the introduction of answering machines even while their engineers made significant technical advances in magnetic recording technology.
This model 100 “Record-O-Phone” by Robosonics was one of the early, commercially available answering machines. Introduced in 1963, these machines cost several hundred dollars each and were aimed at business customers. The unit used a reel of plastic recording tape to record incoming messages. The unit’s cradle-arms were placed beneath the handset of a desk telephone and lifted the handset off the base in response to an incoming call. Since the unit is not electrically connected to the telephone, the user avoided sanction by the telephone company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1964
maker
Robosonics Inc.
ID Number
2000.0101.01
catalog number
2000.0101.01
accession number
2000.0101

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