Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 8 (1931-05)

234 recited by Riley, is one of the unforgetable mo- ments in recorded speech. Although much of Tolstoi’s English is difficult to understand, I have played his record countless times merely for the wonderful tone of his voice. (It is almost needless to call attention to the fact that these old records are marvelously improved when played on our superb electrical instruments.) The practice of recording United States presi- dents is scarcely less noteworthy than that of re- cording actors and poets. It is thrilling that we can re-create the actual voices of Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge; but think of the added value to Americans a hundred years hence! I can imagine many a record “fan” (including my- self) stirred to the depths of his being by the mere thought of such a priceless possession as a record of Lincoln’s own recitation of his Gettysburg ad- dress. If we only had a disc of the voice of Patrick Henry, or Walt Whitman, or Mark Twain! If . . . . . .if . . . and again if. . . . Let’s pretend no longer, but voice our satisfac- tion and appreciation of the discs we have. Besides the records of our United States presidents and a few foreign rulers, we have speeches and lectures by Herbert Asquith, Dr. Grenfell, Ramsay Mac- Donald, Winston Churchill, the explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert E. Peary, the scientists Julian Huxley and Sir Oliver Lodge. Even “Gene” Debs, the saint of the Socialists, made a record in the old days. The Columbia Company offers us nearly a hundred complete lectures (International Educational Society), each consisting of from two to ten record sides. One can readily realize the importance to us and those who follow us, of such lectures as Man and Civilization by Professor G. Elliott-Smith, The Introduction to Physics and Time and Space by Sir Oliver Lodge, Ants and Their Habits by Prof. Julian Huxley, and the lec- tures on music by Sir Henry Hadow and Dr. George Dyson. The catalogues of the larger record manufac- turers are not the only source of spoken records of high historical and personal interest. There have been many independent and private recordings, usually impossible to obtain by the ordinary buyer, but often available for reference and preservation. The collection of early recordings in the possession of Thomas Edison is probably one of the most re- markable in existence, and includes the voices of many statesmen and celebrities otherwise unre- corded. Such private recordings as those by James Joyce for the Black Sun Press, Paris, or our own Vachel Lindsay for Columbia University (described on page 207 of the April P. M. R.), and the many dialect recordings in the archives of Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institute, and many Phonogram Institutes abroad, are a historical legacy of the utmost significance. The rapid development of private and home recording The Phonograph Monthly Review devices will lead naturally to a great increase in this privately recorded repertory. The ability to preserve unusually important radio broadcasts by means of records is of great significance. Recent examples are the Victor discs of a Lindbergh reception and speech and a disc, issued by a New York firm, of the recent broadcast of Pope Pius XI. One side of this last named record is spoken by the Pope in Latin, while the reverse contains an English translation. The duration of interest in these spoken records is really surprising. Every few months I devote an evening to a hearing of this type disc and I find that I enjoy repetitions as much as I enjoy repeti- tions of favorite songs and symphonies. I hear the same expression of permanent interest from other phonophiles. Adelina Patti and many other ar- tists of the 1890’s despised the phonograph and refused to record their voices. The phonograph was then considered a mere toy. When we listen to some of these marvelous records we do not mar- vel that the phonograph, once considered a toy, has proved one of the greatest contributions to the historical outline of mankind! Note : Since correcting the proofs of this article I note in the current Gramophone that Christopher Stone conducted a highly interesting and successful British radio broadcast for which he utilized many of the records I have named. Why cannot some of the American stations follow Stone’s splendid example?