[78-L] RCA-AFB Talking Books

[Michael Biel]

The question came up a few weeks ago about RCA Victor recording Program 
Transcription talking books   I have dug up the discs I have which were 
produced for the American Foundation for the Blind and they have an AFB 
prefix on the matrix numbers as well as on the record number.  They are 
12-inch black vinyl.   The grooving is finer than the Program 
Transcription grooving, and the labels state "Licensed Under Dyer 
Patents".  Frank L. Dyer was one of the biographers of Edison (Dyer and 
Martin) and took out a patent on fine groove recording.  I have some 
notations in my dissertation where he threatened several transcription 
companies who were discussing coming out with fine groove recordings.  I 
do not have any info on the relationship between the AFB, LC, Dyer, and 
RCA, but the discs are here.  We've all heard how Sarnoff  HATED to have 
to license patents from someone else! 

The printed labels appear on only on the second side of the record.  The 
first side has Braille lettering.  Three of the four discs I have state 
on the upper half of the labels:

ISABEL ARCHER DYER MEMORIAL RECORD
                TALKING BOOK
     SOLELY FOR THE USE OF THE BLIND
       Provided by the U.S. Government through
           THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
                           recorded by
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
                Licensed under Dyer Patents

At the bottom two of them state:

Pressed by RCA Manufacturing Co., Inc. Camden N.J. U.S.A.

The most important of the records is AFB 1850.  (Apparently they use the 
AFB prefix for the record and matrix numbers.)

AFB-1859-1B  [the take number 2B is stamped, but there is a 1 heavily 
scratched over the 2]
TALKING BOOK INSTRUCTIONS  [I recognize the voice as Alwyn Bach]
AFB-2094-2C  MESSAGE TO THE BLIND OF AMERICA FROM HARRY L. HOPKINS
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATOR  [I somewhere found the recording date of 
3/14/36]

The other three records I have are all bible readings, King James 
Version, Recorded through the generosity of Mrs. William H. Moore.
AFB 1394
AFB-2382-2A, 2383-1A  THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS and TO THE 
COLOSSIANS. 

AFB 1398
AFB-2395-2A, 2396-2C THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER

AFB 1407
AFB-2378-1A. 2379-1A THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS

There are several differences in these three bible pressings. 
The second one, 1398, is like the instructions disc. 

The last one, 1407, is a little more flexible and has a replacement line 
at the bottom "PRESSED BY RCA VICTOR DIV. OF RADIO CORPORATION OF 
AMERICA, CAMDEN, N.J..  MADE IN U.S.A."  

The first one, 1394, has a plainer label without the memorial line at 
the top, and a replacement notice at the bottom "PRESSED BY AMERICAN 
FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, INC., NEW YORK".  Although the matrices are 
the same type, the pressing is a little stiffer and has a slight 
1/2-inch circle around the spindle hole.   So there are three different 
eras represented in these pressings. 

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com