The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1914)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. 7 PROCESS FOR ENLARGING AND REDUCING DISC RECORDS The Invention of M. Georges LeRoy, Director of the Chemical Laboratories of the City of Rouen, France, Interestingly Described — Of Exceeding Importance to All Engaged in the Manufacture of Records — Technique of the Process Set Forth in Detail. A new, original and ingenious process for enlarging or reducing the size of disc talking machine records, the invention of M. Georges LeRoy, director of the chemical laboratories of the city of Rouen, France, is described as follows by R. Arapu in a recent issue of the Scientific American: Phonograph records, i. e., the traces made on wax discs or cylinders by the needle of a recording phonograph, can be enlarged or reduced by the following physico-chemical process, without the aid of the pantograph, by which such reproductions have hitherto been made exclusively. In the first place it should be observed that the new process is superior to the pantographic method because it excludes the employment of levers and other mechan How a Talking Machine Record May be Magnified or Reduced in Size diameter. 2. The original record of 120 millimeters. :ters. 4. A second enlargement to 340 millimeters, Shows a reducf . 3. An enlar: it t( millime 190 TV ical organs, which inevitably affect the record by means of their own vibrations and reactions. On the other hand, the record may be improved by employing the new process. In current practice, the primary wax record is made by means of sounds of exaggerated loudness in order to produce a strong impression, and injurious secondary vibrations are thus evoked and recorded. By the new process a record made with tones of moderate intensity, free from disturbing secondary vibrations, can be enlarged until it produces tones as loud as may be desired. Conversely, a record made with loud tones can be reduced, and thereby softened, in addition to being compressed into smaller compass. Principle of the Process. — The enlargement is effected by the dilatation of molds of the primary record, made of material which is greatly dilated by prolonged immersion in appropriate solutions; for example, gelatine immersed in aqueous solutions, or vulcanized rubber immersed in carbon disulphide. Conversely, the reduction is effected by the contraction produced in similar molds by appropriate treatment, as by the desiccation of a mold composed of highly hydrated gelatine. Technique of the Process. — From the primary wax record a copy is made in copper by galvanoplasty. For enlargement a mold of this copper record is made in a concentrated solution of gelatine, containing 30 to 50 per cent, of dry gelatine. The gelatine mold is immersed in cold or tepid water, pure or containing substances that promote the expansion of the gelatine. When the mold has attained the desired size it is made insoluble by immersion in a solution of formol, and is then molded in wax or plaster. From the wax or plaster mold is made a galvanoplastic copper matrix, or master record, with which the working records are stamped. The diameter of the soft gelatine disc can be tripled by immersion, and the enlargement can be increased indefinitely by repeating the process on gelatine copies of the enlarged plaster or copper matrices. For reduction the copper plate made from the primary wax record is used to produce a copy in weak gelatine, containing 10 to 25 per cent, of dry gelatine, which is dehydrated by immersion in dilute alcohol, a solution of sodium sulphate or of Rochelle salt, by exposure to a current of dry air, or by the action of a vacuum desiccator. The gelatine record, thus contracted and reduced, is copied successively in wax or plaster and in copper, in the manner described above. The diameter of the gelatine disc can be contracted to 60 per cent, of its original value, and the reduction can be continued i n d e finitely by contracting gelatine discs made from the reduced copper plates. In the accompanying photograph No. 2 represents an original record of 120 millimeters diameter, No. 1 a reduction to 80 millimeters, No. 3 an enlargement to 190 millimeters, and No. 4 a second enlargement to 3-10 millimeters. WHY THE SALESMAN WORRIES. Often Forced to Use Quick Wit in Understanding Customers' Translation of Names. Quick wit in selling a customer is exemplified by a salesman in California who was approached by an intelligent customer asking for a record called ''Pork and Beans." After thinking a moment, without saying a word or expressing any surprise, the salesman asked his patron to be seated. Then as he went to rear of the store to get the record he bethought himself of which record it might be. In a flash it dawned upon his memory. "Ciribiribin — that's it," he said to himself. (Pronounced Cheeree-beer-ee-bee-an.) The name suggested the nickname, "Pork and Beans." Then he looked up the catalog number (1,825), put the record on the cylinder machine and played it. It filled the customer's expectations, and was sold. Then another record was asked for and sold, says the Edison Phonograph Monthly. Now that customer always asks for Mr. Schwartz because she gets intelligent service. The clerk is to be commended for his quick wit and for his acquaintance with the list. SPECIAL LECTURE-CONCERT Given by Mrs. Erwin Craighead in the Grafonola Parlors of the Smith Piano Co., Mobile, Ala., Attracts a Large and Fashionable Audience of Local Music Lovers. (Special to The talking Machine World.) Mobile, Ala., April 3. — During the past month the Smith Piano Co., one of this city's leading piano houses, has" been conducting an energetic campaign on behalf of its talking machine department that has produced excellent results. This company handles the products of the Columbia Graphophone Co. in this department, and has been cultivating a clientele that would appreciate the musical worth of Columbia operatic and semiclassic records. To properly introduced this class of music the company issued invitations to a select list of this city's music lover's inviting them to attend a special lecture-concert given by Mrs. Erwin Craighead in the company's Grafonola parlors. Mrs. Craighead's concert was a marked success, and the lecture she delivered on the musical beauties of Columbia records proved a treat. To further increase the sales possibilities of its operatic record department, the company also sent out a four-page folder giving a few pocketbook arguments on the excellence of Columbia opera records. A feature of this circular was the listing of a number of the famous artists whose recordings for the Columbia Co. have met with emphatic success. These operatic and concert stars included Emmy Destinn, Olive Fremstad, Alessandro Bonci, Leo Slezak, Mary Garden and many others. INTERESTING PRIZE CONTEST Inaugurated by the Voice of the Victor for the Best Talk on the Victor. An interesting prize contest in the nature of three original talks on Victor records was announced recently in the "Voice of the Victor," the house organ of the Victor Talking Machine Co. The first prize in this contest will be $20, the second prize, $15, and the third prize, $10. The contest is open to all Victor dealers and salesmen or saleswomen and was conceived so that the members of the selling staffs of the Victor dealers could exercise their knowledge of the Victor library in describing any chosen Victor record. There is no limit to the number of words that the competitor may use in this contest, but is suggested by those in charge of the contest that from two to three hundred words should prove sufficient for an excellent descriptive story. It is also suggested that the competitor assume that he is talking with a prospect and wished to present a particular record interestingly and informatively. The results of this contest will be announced in the May issue of the "Voice of the Victor." SINGER HEARD 125 MILES. Successful Test from Brussels to Paris of New Wireless Telephone. An interesting experiment in wireless telephony was made between Brussels and the Eiffel Tower in Paris one night last week, when by a new microphone invented by Signor Marzi, an Italian engineer, a tenor singing at Laeken, a Brussels suburb, could be heard in the French capital. The shrill notes were clear, but the words were indistinguishable. The distance is about 125 miles. The Columbia automatic stop. The most accurate automatic stop made and the easiest to operate. Gun Metal, $2.00 list. Nickel Plated, $2.50 list. Gold Plated, $3.00 list. May be adjusted to both Columbia and Victor disc machines. Order from any Columbia Distributor.