There is a photograph of William Jennings Bryan recording "The 23rd Psalm" and other sides with a string quartet at the Gennett Records studio in Richmond, Indiana in the 1920 - 23 period that shows what appears to be a "two horn" acoustic recording: Bryan speaking into a smaller horn and the quartet playing into a larger horn. https://tinyurl.com/yajad2ct

Was this an example of two acoustic horns being "mixed" together via some sort of manifold in front of the cutting diaphragm? Was this a common practice at Gennett or anywhere else in the acoustic era?

Most of the other acoustic studio recording photos I have seen show only one horn. I always assumed that in the Gennett Richmond studio photos, the large horn was the recording horn and the smaller horn was a playback horn for auditioning test cuts for balance, etc.

Does anyone know of other examples of "two horn" recording in the acoustic era? Or is this a misleading publicity photo of some sort?

Thanks in advance for your expertise,

Mark Hood
Associate Professor of Music
Department of Audio Engineering and Sound Production
IU Jacobs School of Music