(Diggin in the) Acetate Crates of 78s! (Patreon)

Hey Everyone!

I was gifted some old 78 rpm records recently and in the pile I found a private press acetate from the 1940s! Pretty rare to see! So I brought out the old gramophone that I had picked up at a flea market many years ago to hear it.

On the recording you can hear some industrial sounds and what I think is some sort of typewriter? You can also hear a collection of various machinery sounds and factory ambiances. The man speaking dates the recording to July 29, 1942. Seems like he was collecting sounds for a documentary or some sort of sound effects record he was working on. Or maybe he was just a tourist visiting the Halifax Shipyard and was really into field recording! At 2:22 I think he says "I'm trying to center the mic and talking my head off. July 26, 1942...On board one of his majesty's..."

Perhaps this was recorded to tape and then transferred to a record cutter later. Or maybe he actually brought a "portable" vinyl cutter to the location for this audio tour. I guess we'll never know!

Either way it's a pretty dusty recording.... and a fun reminder of how far recording technology has come in the last 80 years!

e