[78-L] RCA-AFB Talking Books

[David Lennick]

I had a set of 4 Victrolac Talking Book discs which I ultimately unloaded on 
someone in a trade..7 sides were a play or a reading, very badly done (amateur 
night) and the 8th side was a reading from A. A. Milne. 12-inch,  small black 
labels (same as mid 30s 78s) on one side and braille on the other.

And there were AFB recordings for the blind around 1933 made by Columbia's 
Sound-On-Disc Division. I've had a number of test pressings (13 inch) but no 
finished product. Some were voice tests, some were wholesale readings from 
magazines, and one was a complete Sherlock Holmes program.

dl

Michael Biel wrote:
> 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