Recording devices in Smithsonian National Museum of American History - Electrical

Recording devices in NMAH Department of Electricity

Division of Information Technology and Society

After the thumbnail images on this page have loaded, click to jump to any of these photo groups:

1. Transistor tape recorder in brown case - ca. 1960

   Smithsonian storage room for electrical items on the 5th floor of NMAH, with curator specialist Elliott Sivowitch, June 21, 1999.

2. Steelman portable transistor tape recorder - ca. 1960
3. Wireway wire recorder ca. 1950
4. Eico tuner AM-FM ca. 1950
5. Fortin electrical pick-up 1912
6. Fi-Cord tape recorder 1959
7. Mikiphone pocket phonograph 1917
8. Decca phonograph ca. 1930
9. Pilotuner component tuner ca. 1947
10. VOA and NBC microphones ca. 1950
11. Sony compact disc player 1982
12. Fisher turntable ca. 1938
13. Fisher receiver 1938
14. WE 540 speaker; Grebe radio 1925; AR-3 speaker

---

Transistor tape recorder in brown case - ca. 1960

#1987-0520.02 - transistor tape recorder in brown case - ca. 1960
photos from left: PDRM1501 top view - PDRM1502 side view

---

Transistor tape recorder in blue case - ca. 1960

#1987-0520.0 - Steelman portable transistor tape recorder in blue case - ca. 1960
photos from left: PDRM1503 side view no flash - PDRM1504 top view no flash - PDRM1505 front view no flash - PDRM1506 front view with flash

---

Wireway wire recorder ca. 1950

#336324 - Wireway portable combination magnetic wire recorder and phonograph - ca. 1950
photos from left: PDRM1507 top view with flash - PDRM1508 CU control panel with flash

---

Eico tuner AM-FM ca. 1950

(no #) - Eico tuner AM-FM model HFT92 - ca. 1950
photos from left: PDRM1514 front view

---

Fortin electrical pick-up 1912

(no #) - early electrical pickup by Paul Fortin with tag that reads "First electrical pick-up of sound from phonograph record - 1912. Used by WGY station - 1922." - 1912
photos from left: PDRM1515 top view no flash - PDRM1516 side view no flash - PDRM1517 back view no flash

---

Fi-Cord tape recorder 1959

ad from Audio, 1959/10

ad from Audio, 1959/10

(no #) - Fi-Cord mini tape recorder in black soft felt zippered case - 1959
photos from left: PDRM1518 side view no flash - PDRM1519 front view no flash

---

Mikiphone pocket phonograph 1917

#334200 - Mikiphone pocket phonograph made in Hungary in shiny round metal case "pre-Walkman" - 1917
photos from left: PDRM1520 top view with case open no flash - PDRM1521 top view with case closed - no flash

---

Decca phonograph ca. 1930

#334496 - Decca phonograph model WRP-2 Deluxe Wireless 50 watts 115 volts 60 cycles serial no. 2196 in thick maple brown wood case - ca. 1930
photos from left: PDRM1522 front view no flash - PDRM1523 front view with flash - PDRM1524 corner view no flash

---

Pilotuner component tuner ca. 1947

(no #) - Pilotuner early HiFi component tuner by the Pilot Radio Co. in wood case with one knob missing - ca. 1947
photos from left: PDRM1527 front view with flash - - PDRM1528 back view showing connection instructions no flash - PDRM1529 CU of tuning dial no flash

---

VOA and NBC microphones ca. 1950

(no #) - NBC condenser microphone ca. 1930; identification plate "Condenser Microphone Amplifier model AA"

---

(no #) - Voice of America microphone ca. 1950; Western Electric introduced the 639A unidirectional ribbon velocity microphone in 1939, and was sold by Altec in 1940s and 1950s
photos from left: PDRM1533 with flash - PDRM1535 no flash - PDRM1536 with "Altec" label, no flash

---

Sony compact disc player ca. 1982

(no #) - Sony compact disc player model CDP-101introduced Oct. 1, 1982
photos from left: PDRM1539 left front view no flash - PDRM1540 right front view showing controls no flash - PDRM1541 corner view with remote control on top with flash - PDRM1542 corner view with remote control in front with flash

---

Fisher turntable ca. 1938

#317124 - Fisher turntable used for early HiFi experiments by Avery Fisher - ca. 1938
photos from left: PDRM1509 bottom view of motor and mechanism with flash - PDRM1510 front view with flash - PDRM1511 corner view with tone arm raised with flash - PDRM1512 CU of needle in pickup with tone arm raised no flash - PDRM1513 CU of Garrard label on top of pickup with tone arm lowered no flash

---

Fisher receiver 1938

(no #) - Fisher receiver located in Information Age exhibit - caption reads: "As an amateur musician, Avery Fisher wanted his radios to accurately reproduce classical music. This is one of a few custom designed sets made before World War II to take advantage of stations that broadcast high-fidelity signals." - 1938
photos from left: PDRM1566 right view - PDRM1567 left view - PDRM1570 front panel view

---

Loudspeakers

(no #) - from left to right: 1924 Western Electric 540 loudspeaker on top of 1925 Grebe radio receiver; AR-3 bookshelf loudspeaker made by Acoustic Research ca. 1958; located in Information Age exhibit - see Loudspeaker History

---

- 1999-2004 by Steven E. Schoenherr. All rights reserved. The photos on these pages are used with permission of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. They may not be reproduced or distributed without written permission of the NMAH.

---

digital photos taken June 21, 1999 by Schoenherr | Return to NMAH or Recording Technology History Notes | this page revised 6/1/04