[78-L] blue amberols

[martha]

 Aniline dyes made celluloid records harder & less prone to wear.  Lambert 
used pink, Edison blue, others black.
Edison tried a water-based dye at some point, and the records wore out 
quickly (but in a display of frugality, they were
pawned-off on the dealers and customers anyway!)




----- Original Message ----- 



> This month, I am teaching a group of adorable and very precocious
> immigrant kids (Chinese and Vietnamese mostly, ranging in age from 8
> to 12), tutoring them in English and helping them learn about
> American history/pop culture, etc. I brought in some artifacts of
> early media, like a newspaper from 1865, a children's magazine from
> 1889, and a couple of cylinders... they were especially curious about
> the blue amberol I showed them  -- why was it blue, how did it get to
> be blue, did the color affect the sound quality in any way, etc.