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.
These recording discs were made for the Brush Company “Mail-A-Voice” dictating machine. This set of 62 discs includes several slightly different types, the most significant difference being that some are paper and some are plastic. All are flexible and coated with a magnetizable powder. The Mail-A-Voice was designed by German immigrant Semi J. Begun who also used the device for personal correspondence. Several of the discs in the set are audio letters from Begun to his mother.
This model BK-416 “Soundmirror” is a modified version of Brush’s model BK-401. Like the earlier unit, the BK-416 used a paper tape coated with a magnetizable material in a reel-to-reel configuration. The retail price in 1953 was about $280, nearly $2300 in 2012 dollars. Working in parallel with Bell Laboratories and the Armour Research Foundation, Brush Development Company spearheaded American research efforts in magnetic recording prior to World War II. Building on the research of Semi Begun, the company made military wire recorders during the war and introduced consumer products like this Soundmirror after the war ended.
This Ampex model 750 recorder is a professional-grade unit. In 1927, Alexander M. Poniatoff emigrated from Russia to the United States and in 1944 founded Ampex to make equipment for the U. S. Navy. Looking for a post-war product, he attended a demonstration of a German tape recorder. Poniatoff decided that magnetic recording would be a good post-war market. Ampex concentrated on building higher-quality products for professional studio use rather than selling consumer products.
The donor purchased this unit as a graduate student for use in field work in the late 1970s. He was researching black gospel music.
This portable tape recorder from Steelman Phonograph & Radio Company was produced during the early 1950s and featured miniature vacuum tubes in the circuits. Users found this recorder much easier to carry than earlier tape and wire recorders. While transistors accelerated miniaturization and portability in electronics, vacuum tube development had already made smaller and more portable devices practical. By the end of the 1950s however, this recorder was replaced by a transistorized design that used less power and was more rugged.
Recording machines designed for dictation have used many different formats over the years. This “Time-master” unit made by Dictaphone Corporation used a 3.5-inch wide belt coated with a magnetizable material. Sold as “Dictabelt Records” in a pack of 10, these belts were stronger than regular, thin plastic recording tape.
This machine was used in the office of historian Daniel J. Boorstin when he served as director of the National Museum of History and Technology. The unit includes a loudspeaker, two different types of foot-pedal controls, and a “Twin Ear” head set.
.01: Dictaphone “Time-master” electronic dictating machine, (version 1). Includes vinyl cover, power cord (~2 meters) and green extension cord (~ 2 meters). Also includes “Dictabelt Records” (blank recording belts), one full pack of 10 belts and one pack of 9. On bottom: label 1 reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”; label 2 reads: “Rated 110 VAC 60 Cycles 45 Watts (B)”; label 3 reads in part: “Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Registered Trade Mark electronic dictating machine”. Patents listed for 9 countries including US 2219030 to 2667613. Printed on front: “Dictaphone Time-master Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.”; knobs labeled: “V”, “T”, “S”. Printed on back: “Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Transcribing Machine”. Printed on vinyl cover: “Dictaphone Dictating Machine Time-master Model”.
.02: Dictaphone speaker. Cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Decals on front and back: “Dictaphone”. Painted on bottom: “51343”
.03: Dictaphone pedal control with 2 pedals and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “51349”, “Final OK”.
.04: Dictaphone FC-15 pedal control with single pedal and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “Model FC-15”. Bottom: label reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”
.05: Dictaphone FC-15 pedal control with single pedal and cord (~2 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Printed on bottom: “Model FC-15”. Bottom, one label reads: “UL Listed under reexamination service of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.”; second label reads: “Accepted by H. C.”
.06: Dictaphone “Twin Ear” head set with cord (~1.5 meters) to attach to transcription machine. Stamped on hinge: “Dictaphone Twin-Ear”.
This Morsephone model KH-270B answering machine is connected to a Sony model M-7 micro-cassette recorder. The cassette recorder has been modified, possibly by the user, so as to connect to the Morsephone. This modular adaptation permits the user to record telephone messages when needed but also allows the recorder to be used for other tasks.
Nippon Electric Company (NEC) produced this reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1962. Japanese industry took advantage of the post-World War II rebuilding effort to modernize their factories and enter markets for high-technology devices. Many of these devices used transistors in place of older vacuum tube technology. Modern, efficient factories and low labor costs made Japanese products price competitive with American products. This recorder has an inexpensive plastic case and operates with seven transistors.
This PhoneMate model PM-800S answering machine bears a label that reads: "California Public Utilities Commission Equipment Authorized for Direct Connection to Telephone Network." The Bell System resisted the development of telephone answering machines for several reasons, one of which was fear that devices produced outside of Bell’s tightly controlled research and testing environment might prove harmful to the overall system. California regulators adopted a certification program whereby manufacturers could demonstrate that their equipment would not damage Bell equipment, and hence was safe for customers to use.
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium. After ten years of failing to make a working model, Smith published his idea in the hope that someone else might benefit. Valdemar Poulsen of Denmark read Smith’s idea and in 1898 demonstrated the first practical magnetic recorder, a telephone answering machine he called a “telegraphone.” Various companies sold telegraphones for about ten years but microphone and amplification technology were not sufficiently developed to support the device. Poulsen turned to radio experiments in 1902.
The telegraphone spurred others to continue development of magnetic recording devices. Much early work took place in Germany where the telephone manufacturing firm of Ferdinand Schuchard hired engineer Semi Begun to work on circuit design. Begun became interested in magnetic recording and while working for Lorenz Company helped to design a new answering machine, the “Textophone.” Introduced in 1933, the textophone sold well since it could also be used as a dictating machine.
The Textophone consisted of two units: this telephone desk set, and a recording and playback console. The recording mechanism passed a steel wire from one reel to another in front of an electromagnet that impressed a magnetic field on the wire. When the wire was passed back in front of the electromagnet, a signal was induced in the speaker circuit. The desk set operated as a regular telephone but also includes control buttons for the recorder.
This Executary dictation machine was designed to allow people to record letters and other information for later transcription. Designs for dictating machines date back to Edison’s cylinder phonograph, and magnetic recorders were also adapted for this application as they became available. IBM introduced the Execuary in 1960 and used a magnetic belt as recording medium. Less likely to break than a thin tape, the belt could be folded and mailed to correspondents with similar machines. The unit could record two tracks, one for the dictation content and a parallel track for instructions to the transcriber.
One of the difficulties of using steel wire as a recording medium was the fragility of the thin wire. These RCA model MI-12877 recording cartridges from about 1948 were designed to address that problem. The user simply inserts the cartridge into the recorder and can quickly begin using the machine. The steel casing is durable and the wires are only exposed at the front of the cartridge.
This Message On Hold telephone answering machine was designed for business use. The user would connect the device to their phone line so that an incoming caller could listen to music and messages while their call was on hold. This allowed the business to entertain their callers as well as providing a sales opportunity. This particular unit is a production model made by Bogen Incorporated for DMS Corporation.
The origin of magnetic recording can be traced to design work by Oberlin Smith of the United States in 1878. After seeing a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, Smith thought about how to record sound using a magnetic medium. After ten years of failing to make a working model, Smith published his idea in the hope that someone else might benefit. Valdemar Poulsen of Denmark read Smith’s idea and in 1898 demonstrated the first practical magnetic recorder, a telephone answering machine he called a “telegraphone.” Various companies sold telegraphones for about ten years but microphone and amplification technology were not sufficiently developed to support the device. Poulsen turned to radio experiments in 1902.
The telegraphone spurred others to continue development of magnetic recording devices. Much early work took place in Germany where the telephone manufacturing firm of Ferdinand Schuchard hired engineer Semi Begun to work on circuit design. Begun became interested in magnetic recording and while working for Lorenz Company helped to design a new answering machine, the “Textophone.” Introduced in 1933, the textophone sold well since it could also be used as a dictating machine.
The Textophone consisted of two units: a telephone desk set, and this recording and playback console. The recording mechanism passed a steel wire from one reel to another in front of an electromagnet that impressed a magnetic field on the wire. When the wire was passed back in front of the electromagnet, a signal was induced in the speaker circuit. The desk set operated as a regular telephone but also includes control buttons for the recorder.
In 1940 Marvin Camras received an engineering degree from the Armour Institute of Technology and began work at the Amour Research Foundation. The prior year he had constructed a prototype wire recorder with a new type of recording head and adapted the technique of “AC bias” for improved sound quality. AC bias involves adding a high-frequency alternating current signal to the recording that significantly lowers noise and distortion.
During World War II, Armour manufactured U.S. military wire recorders using Camras’s design. General Electric licensed the design and produced a version of the Armour recorder. After the war other companies took licenses from Armour to produce recorders. One such company was Webster-Chicago, this model 181 “Webcor” unit is one of that company’s products. Webster-Chicago’s products did well in the market and the company produced wire recorders into the early 1960s.
Not all inventions are momentous affairs that change human society. In 1952 audio engineer Joel Tall designed a device to securely hold plastic recording tape so that accurate splices could be made. Unlike modern digital recording techniques, editing tape involved making physical changes to the recording media. If one wanted to move a segment of a recording from one part of the tape to another, the editor cut the tape at the desired point and then placed it in the new location using adhesive strips. An experienced engineer could make such a splice so that only a well-trained ear could detect the transition.
Tall’s splicing block features a concave groove running lengthwise along the block. The top edges of the groove canted inward slightly and locked the tape in place. Cross-cut grooves at 90 and 45 degrees to the slot enhanced the accuracy of the cut. Tall received U.S. Patent number 2,599,667 for this invention which was manufactured by Precision Tech, Inc. of New York. This splicing block was used at CBS Studios in New York from 1952 until 1962.
The Japanese emphasized electronic technology when rebuilding their manufacturing capability after World War II. The need to replace factories and equipment destroyed during the war gave them the opportunity to take advantage of the latest innovations and enter new markets. The invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in 1947 proved to be a significant opportunity for Japanese electronics companies like Minatronics.
This model TE-155 answering machine does not electrically connect to the telephone, A desk telephone was placed on the deck of the unit and the lever is slipped under the handset. When the phone rang, the lever lifted the hand-set and the recording began. This indirect method of recording was required due to AT&T’s disapproval of telephone answering machines. Since the device did not connect to the company’s lines, the user avoided sanction.
This front-loading Betamax video recorder was manufactured by Sony at the height of the company’s competition with producers of the rival VHS format. Beta recorders initially featured a one hour recording cassette, later lengthened to match VHS. Early Beta machines were slightly larger than early VHS units and designers struggled to put a quality audio signal on the tape without compromising video signal quality. Both formats were available for about ten years but ultimately Sony could not solve the audio-video problem without a major redesign that made newer tapes incompatible with older machines. Sony dropped the Beta format in 1988.
This audio tape cartridge was designed in 1963 by Cousino Electronics Corporation. Today’s music listeners familiar with audio tape players typically think of the compact cassette format or perhaps the 8-track cartridge. However, other inventors designed many different tape formats while searching for an optimum combination of reliability, economy and ease of use. One such inventor was Bernard Cousino of Toledo, Ohio, who designed a single-loop magnetic tape cartridge for advertising use in 1952. His company continued producing tapes for a variety of uses into the 1960s.
This Crown model CTA-4000 answering machine from the late 1960s used a non-standard cassette for recording messages. The telephone sat on top of the unit and was connected via a pickup and telephone cradle plug. A small microphone is mounted in a slot on the right side. The duration of message was 60 seconds. An advertisement from 1968 lists the retail price as $98.50 while one year it sold for $49.95.