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Keith Wright
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Have you ever seen or heard a real Victrola? Do you know what shape Edison's original recordings were? Have you ever heard a version of O Canada recorded when the country was only 47 years old? (It wasn't the national anthem at the time--what was?) Have you heard Elvis played on one of the very first 45 rpm players? If not, or if your class hasn't, you're in for a
treat.
I am a member of the Canadian Antique Phonograph
Society, editor of Antique
Phonograph
News and I have created a multi-media presentation covering the
history of recorded sound.
My collection of phonographs, gramophones and talking machines
was
started in 1983 and since 1997 I have been demonstrating it to
various audiences. Using a laptop computer, for each year ending in a
seven from
1877 to 2007 I show for that year: photographs of automobiles and
fashion; a photograph of my family ("Look, that's me at
10." "That man in military uniform is my grandfather."); and some
interesting facts ("In 1957, the first satellite was
launched.").
From my collection, I also play an original recording from that year on
a machine from that era. (For example, a cylinder player from
1915
and an 8 track player from the late 70s.) Imagine hearing the
hits of
yesterday exactly how they were heard when they were new! The machines used are
originals from 1898, 1907, 1915, 1926,
1936, 1947, 1955, 1967, 1972, 1985, 2000 and 2007. In addition to
this, I have made a model of a tin-foil machine from plans originally
published in Scientific American
in
1878. The
following images are from a presentation I made (about my presentation)
to the Canadian Antique Phonograph Society.
 
The following
images are from my Wilkinson Public
School presentation, 1998.
  The following images are from my presentation in 2008 to a first year class at the University of Toronto.    Primary classes have been delighted by seeing an LP and they have heard songs they are familiar with such as, The Calendar Song, Old MacDonald, and O Canada all played on strange new/old machines. Secondary school classes have learned about important 20th century inventions and had fun seeing the fashions and hearing the music of the past. University students have been able to have the history of technology jump off the textbook page. Using the history of recorded sound, you can punctuate modules on the science of sound, on technology, on history, or you can just enjoy.
 Keith
with
a
Victor I outside-horn talking machine from 1907, an RCA
45 player
from 1949 and a
Weltron 2001 "Space Helmet" 8
Track tape player from the 70s.
-Set up takes approximately an hour. Ideally, the demo would be set up in one room (libraries work well) and a number of classes are rotated through. -About 3 typical 'institutional' tables. -A projector and screen to show computer output. Cost: This is not a money making business and donations are appreciated to cover travel and help with the wear-and-tear on the machines. As a repeat client suggests, "A number of classes can be rotated through, so they can have this experience for the cost of a pizza lunch!" Keith Wright "Serving Toronto since 1997!" email: My
articles in Antique
Phonograph News: Links:
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All material copyright, Keith Wright
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