 |
 |
I corroborate Steve Smolian's assertion about Rob Darrell's claim to have written most of the PMR "including most of the correspondence columns" which he wrote in a letter to me in 1959. That was one year after I discovered the magazine at the Philadelphia Free Library. I'm delighted to learn it is now available electronically, but I can only say it was more fun to turn the pages oneself. DDR On Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 4:15 PM, John Haley <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Interesting background, Steve. Thanks for that. I recall reading columns > by R.D. Darrell in either High Fidelity or Hi-Fi Stereo Review when I was > growing up. Those magazines were competitive and actually ran good, > serious record reviews, or at least I thought so then. I think I learned a > lot reading them. > > Regards, > John Haley > > > > On Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 2:53 PM, Steven Smolian <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I was told by R.D. Darrell that he wrote almost all of every issue under > > various names since Axel Johnson was a wealthy alcoholic and had also > been > > hurt in an auto accident. > > > > Darrell gave a presentation at an ARSC conference many years ago. I > don't > > know if there is a tape of it. > > > > Darrell was one of the fathers of discography. As an employee of "The > > Gramophone Shop" in New York, he nor only put together the Gramophone > Shop > > catalogs of 1930 and 1931 (I think those are the right years) but also > the > > 1936 Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia, the work I consider the most > > foundational publication in the history of discography, Delaunay > > notwithstanding. > > > > The" Phonograph Monthly Review" was the first American record review > > magazine. It morphed into "The Music Lover's Guide" and "The American > > Music Lover." In In turn, it became "The American Record Guide" which > > continues to this day. I think I've got this right- access to my fil of > > these is presently blocked. These are primarily classical but > selectively > > covered most other musics as well. > > > > Steve Smolian > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto: > > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Clark Johnsen > > Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2016 9:53 PM > > To: [log in to unmask] > > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Phonograph Monthly Review > > > > An excellent backgrounder on PMR, thank you. I began reading it a decade > > ago at the Boston Public Library, which has an impressive historical > > collection of such magazines (PMR, Etude, Diapason etc.). Besides having > > covered the topics described, the staff also from time to time undertook > to > > evaluate reproduction gear. A couple years ago I wrote a column on that > > topic, with an emphasis on how like today's high-end audio writers the > PMR > > people sound. In other words, measurements were not performed (were > indeed > > well-nigh impossible) so they relied on the ear alone. Here it is: > > http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue78/cj_gramophone.htm As it happens > > the magazine was published in my neighborhood so I included photography > of > > the houses. > > > > On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 8:37 AM, Mason Vander Lugt <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > > The National Recording Preservation Board has posted Phonograph > > > Monthly Review to Archive.org. Phonograph Monthly Review was a > > > magazine about records of classical music, published 1927-1932, and > > > was important in the formation of record collecting culture. I've > > > written a post about the magazine for the ARSC blog, which you can see > > > by clicking the link below, or go directly to the magazines using the > > > link below that. Enjoy! > > > > > > http://arsc-audio.org/blog/2016/10/27/phonograph_monthly_review/ > > > > > > https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject3A% > > > 22Phonograph+Monthly+Review%22&sort=date > > > > > > Mason Vander Lugt > > > Recorded Sound Processing Technician > > > National Recording Preservation Board Assistant National AV > > > Conservation Center Library of Congress > > > (202) 707-0358 > > > > > > -- 1006 Langer Way Delray Beach, FL 33483 212.874.9626