The talking machine world (Jan-June 1919)

152 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD June 15, 1919 GRAMOPHONES Complete — Fittings — Sundries — Repair Parts — Needles Special Lines and Quotations for Export Trade THE BRITISH POLYPHON CO. Glasgow, Scotland 27 Jamaica St. 1, 2 and 3 NEWMAN STREET LONDON, W. 1, ENGLAND inspected. It is all-British, 'embodies most of the virtues and few of the faults of the wartime productions, gives a fine mellow reproduction of, in my opinion, just the right volume, and for those reasons should make a strong appeal to the masses. This new box will tit the majority of gramophones. Special attention has been paid to the mounting of the st^ius bar, and bj' a new method of fitting with side screws which allows a carefully regulated all-round play of the stylus a favorable degree of tension is secured. Another consideration is the weight of the box. The mica diaphragm is 2% inches diameter, and as this size box made in metal would be of such a weight as to offer undue resistance in playing a record on a singles['ring-motor machine it is equipped with a fibre back-plate. Altogether, the new Sterno production bespeaks a scientific appreciation of artistry on the part of the maker. The Silver Steel Palladium Needles From Messrs. A. \\'aite & Co., Ltd., I have received samples of the above-named needles for review. Quality of steel is the chief determining factor of a good needle. Under test, the Silver Steel Palladium Needle gave excellent results — good volume, without blast. It brought every detail out of the instrumental and vocal records played, and showed little or no sign of wear even over a full 12-inch record test. One needle, one record is a safe principle, though it would not be an unmerited claim to say the Palladium Xeedle is good for more. Celebrities and Celebrity Worship An article of more than usual interest appeared in "The Voice" recently from the pen of M. E. Ricketts, entitled "Celebrities and Celebritj Worship," which will doubtless interest a great many talking machine men in America. It reads as follows: Is there a famous personage in the world who has never faced a camera? I have no knowledge that there is. To achieve fame and remain unphoto^raphed certainly seems impossible, and in the universal interest it is only right that such an impossibility should continue. A photograph for universal exhibition should be considered as the inevitable accompaniment to fame, the obvious "penalty" of notoriety and the natural accessory of recognized genius. The privilege of seeing in the flesh the "great ones FROM OUR LONDON HEADQUARTERS— (Continued from page 151) J. Stead & Co., Ltd. Manor Needle Works SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND MANUFACTURERS OF ' Talking Machine Main Springs Best Prices — Best Quality Inquiries Solicited of the earth" is not vouchsafed to the majority of the public, who, therefore, have an undeniable right to a permanent photograph so that their imagination can be satisfied and their appreciation be unrestricted by conventional limitations. Obviously it is hard to give full support and appreciation to somebody one has never seen, and simple faith is not an outstanding feature ii' the "make-up" of the people of to-day. The cry is for actualities, honest ugliness, natural beauty, unvarnished truths, plain facts. The eyes of the coming generation are growing wide open, the} will see, and what are we preparing to satisfy their intelligent demands? In every English-speaking nation Nelson is the schoolboy's hero, and any boy could identify his photograph out of a thousand. Knowing what their hero looks like, the boys can more easily understand how it was he endeared himself to all who were privileged to meet him. Who among us at one time or another has not experienced the thrill of enthusiasm, the gloV of inspiration that is created by even a glance at the portrait of a noble character? One reads the biography — one sees the portrait, immediatelj' the written words live and an indelible impression is created in one's mind. And as we to-day recognize the value of pictures or photographs of our celebrities, so are we learning to understand the subtle power of the human voice, and the realization of the immensitj' of this influence is almost overwhelming. In the 3'ear 1905 the governors of the British Museum decided to form a collection of gramophone records of every famous person who had made a record, so that coming generations could go and hear records of those famous tenors, Caruso and Tamagno: those famous sopranos, Melba and Tetrazzini; speeches by Shackleton on his journey to the South Pole and Pearj' on his journey to the North Pole; Beck's famous eulogj of Britain's eftort in the great war; the voices of Lloj^d George, Asquith, Bonar Law, Churchill, Walter Long, Lord Roberts, J. R. Clynes, minister of food, G. Roberts, minister of labor, General Sir W. Robertson, Lord French, or those great actors, Beerbohm Tree and Lewis Waller. Just let us think what it would mean could we listen now to the voices of the great Apostles delivering their orations; to Mark Antony making his famous speech over the body of Julius Caesar; to the speech of Boadicea when' she gathered together the scattered forces of ancient Britain; to Joan of Arc when she rallied the French peasants, to the famous tenor Sims Reeves; or the speeches of the great Gladstone and Beaconsfield. Let us try to imagine the loss of the world to-day. How great it isl Relatively speaking, we know nothing of all the greatness that has gone before us — we cannot grasp the essence of personality, the mystical spiritual influence, the intellectual reasoning, the physical appeal — all of these tremendous forces are lost to us, and this being so, how povertj'-stricken the world is. We depend entirelj' on history, and, alas, upon all points of real importance historians themselves quarrel, and the real import of a speech or event suffers or flourishes in accordance with the mental attitude of the writer. Coming generations will be materiallj better off than we are. Take, as one example, the future generation of singers. They will be able to study the renderings of famous works by the world's greatest artists who achieved fame generations before them. And consider also the help that will be given to future students of historj' — they will be able to hear the actual messages in the actual voices of the leaders of the civilized nations during the great war. Can one truly realize the far-reaching importance to the Greek nation, not onlj' of to-day, but of the future, of the actual speech made by the Greek premier, Venizelos, on the reasons wh}' Britain should always be the friend of Greece, and why Greece should support the Allies? The influence of such a speech is bound" to be colossal, and it was recorded in the English and Greek languages and circulated in thousands. The Gramophone Co., Ltd.. "His Master's Voice," have battled for 3'ears to lift the gramophone to its real sphere, and their success in securing the large list they have of records of the voices of famous musicians, orators, explorers, statesmen and military leaders augurs well for the future. I firmlj believe that the day is not far distant when the public will just as easih' be able to hear on the gramophone the \ oices of the nation's leaders as they can to-dajsee their photographs in the daily newspapers. The day when the gramophone was looked upon as one of the seven plagues is gone for ever. The public are now beginning to understand and, therefore, to appreciate its tremendous power. With such instruments in hundreds of thousands of homes, the musical, educational and propaganda possibilities present a sphere so wide that one is temporarilj staggered and forced to realize the truth of the statement of the "His Master's Voice" manufacturers that the business is yet only in its infancy. TO MANUFACTURERS .\GENCY WANTED for GRAMOPHONE MOTORS, CABINETS AND ACCESSORIES Forward full particulars, with illustrationi?, Agencyterm;, and deliveries to Box 11845, c/o A.J.Wilson & Co., Ltd., 154 Clerkenwell Road, London, E.C.I, England.