The discs I own recorded in 1895 are very well recorded. Played on modern
equipment, the voices are loud and clear. But when were they pressed, and
on what material? Some tend to be a bit thicker than later discs. Are
they "hard rubber" or "imitation hard rubber"? I have no idea.
Paul Charosh
In a message dated 4/21/2012 8:26:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad
Hello,
Emile Berliner in testimony for a court case in England between the
Gramophone Co. and Nicole Record Co. wrote the following in a letter of
information to the British attorneys on 18 June 1903 (p. 2):
............................ In 1894 hard rubber records pressed
under heat and cooling were sold by the United States
Gramophone Company of Washington D.C. and in 1895 the
Berliner Gramophone Company of Philadelphia, likewise sold
hard rubber gramophone records in large quantities.
It was found that the pressing of perfect records in hard
rubber was attended with considerable difficulty, and upon
enquiry I was referred to the Duranoid Manufacturing Co.
of Newark, N.J. who were making articles of commerce in
immitation [sic] of hard rubber, the composition of which nor
the procedure of making it, or pressing it, were unknown
to me. I started negotiations with them for the Berliner
Gramophone Company of Philadelphia, and the Duranoid Co.
agreed to furnish us copies in their hard rubber substitute
if we would give them the matrices, but they did not
divulge to the Berliner Gramophone Company nor to me, nor
to anyone connected with us, how they made such imitation
hard rubber sound records. Since the Duranoid Company
had no difficulty in furhishing us with any number of
perfect copies, we decided to give up the hard rubber and use
only records similar in every respect in general appearance
to hard rubber, except that the Duranoid Company told us
that could furnish records in any color desired.
.......................
So, Gelatt was right, as he generally was. The only problem with his book
is
that it does not give any sources for his correct information.
Kind regards,
George
> The rubber disc story comes from Gelatt. I have never seen one, and have
> never known anyone to encounter one, but that doesn't mean they might not
> have existed. I think that if you found one, it may not be playable by
> conventional methods no matter how hard it might have been originally
> because very old rubber tends to dry out and split.
>
> And I have no confidence in rubber as a viable playing surface.
>
> Dave Lewis
> Lebanon, OH
>
> On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 6:41 PM, [log in to unmask] <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Berliner did use hard rubber for a little while, in the early days, did
> I
> > read that or did I make that up?
> >
> > Perhaps a rubber disc would have sounded this quiet?
> >
> > Has anyone ever heard a straight transfer of a hard rubber disc?
> >
> > joe salerno
> >
> >
> >
> > On 4/21/2012 4:56 PM, George Brock-Nannestad wrote:
> >
> >> From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Alas, we shall probably never know, for in the noise lies the
> >> authentication.
> >>
> >> And that is the true reason why we must conserve the originals: all
> other
> >> authenticity relies on a certificate appended to any digital copy
made.
> >> But
> >> that is a mere witness statement. The scientific approach to revisit
> >> samples
> >> will have been made impossible without the originals.
> >>
> >> Best wishes,
> >>
> >>
> >> George
> >>
> >> ------------------------------**--------
> >>
> >>
> >> Very quiet surface. IS it safe to assume that this was filtered, or
> did
> >>> these early records sound this good?
> >>>
> >>> joe salerno
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 4/21/2012 8:24 AM, Milan P Milovanovic wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> How about 1890s Berliner 5 inch record #532, La rondinella.
> >>>>
> >>>>
>
http://www.archeophone.org/**Berliner5inch/berliner-532.php<http://www.arche
> ophone.org/Berliner5inch/berliner-532.php>
> >>>>
> >>>> Almost as recorded through mic...
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "[log in to unmask]"
> >>>> <[log in to unmask]>
> >>>> To:<[log in to unmask]>
> >>>> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 6:26 AM
> >>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Hi Fi Brownwax
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Rather astounding. It must have really sounded great thru
eartubes.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> joe salerno
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On 4/19/2012 10:56 PM, David Lewis wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> This was posted via Jerry Fabris on YouTube. The audio quality of
> >>>>>> this 1899
> >>>>>> cylinder is stunning:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?**v=g0yWY_RXW6A&feature=related<http://www.yout
> ube.com/watch?v=g0yWY_RXW6A&feature=related>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Dave Lewis
> >>>>>> Lebanon, OH
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>> --
> >>>>> Joe Salerno
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>> --
> >>> Joe Salerno
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> > --
> > Joe Salerno
> >
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