Magnetic Disk Recorder

Magnetic Disk Recorder

<< >>
Usage conditions apply
Downloads
Description (Brief)
This Brush “Mail-A-Voice” recorder was designed in the late 1940s as an office dictating machine. As tape recording technology was developed, experimenters tried a variety of formats including flat paper or plastic discs. These discs resembled the record players familiar to many in that era and did not require threading a wire or tape. The discs could also be folded and mailed to a recipient in an ordinary business-size envelope, something impossible to do with an inflexible record.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
recording device
dictating machine
date made
ca 1947
maker
Brush Development Company
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
rubber (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 6 in x 12 in x 10 1/2 in; 15.24 cm x 30.48 cm x 26.67 cm
ID Number
1995.3101.01
nonaccession number
1995.3101
catalog number
1995.3101.01
Credit Line
from Ruth W. Begun, in memory of Semi J. Begun
See more items in
Work and Industry: Electricity
Magnetic Recording
Communications
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.   

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.

Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.