Re: 16" diameter phonograph disc

[dcampo@xxxxxxx]

The mystery is solved, thanks to your help. 

To continue the saga of the 16" disc, I contacted Stanford
University's audio archive department, they couldn't transfer it until late
July (after summer school, I guess) and then only to tape.  They suggested a
place in Menlo Park, CA that does all kinds of audio work, including
transfers to CD. They have had no negative feedback on this common referral,
so I did it - no shipping of my fragile disc.

It is a soundtrack to a 16mm film shot in the spring of 1942,
documenting a Chico State College invertebrate zoological class field trip
to study, photograph, and collect specimens for the Zoological Dept.
Led by Professor Engels, head of the Zoology Dept, who then wrote a book
"Mammals of California", which included information and photos from this
trip. The film was titled "Nicolas W. Peterson's Zoological Expedition into
Eastern California". A Professor Heatherington is also mentioned.

The second tract is for a short film about the emergence of a butterfly. The
audio was cut off in mid-sentence for that one, technical difficulties I
suppose. The disc was recorded sometime after the trip, after the book was
published.

Chico University has a Natural History Museum, and they are working on
building a new home for it. They may be interested in having the disc for
their collection, they probably still have the "study skins" from this trip.

My uncle was a senior student on this trip, and went on to teach
biology at Drexel University in PA. I am leaving it up to his kids to decide
on what to do with this disc. My aunt tells me her music class recorded a
similiar disc in 1941 at the Chico State Music Department. I guess the
college had the 16" recording setup in the forties. It will be fun to find
out if they still have it.

Thank you so much to all on this list who contributed to my solving this
mystery, and preserving a bit of my uncle's history.
Margaret


> Thank you to all who replied to my question.  It is gratifying to know so
> many people are interested in preserving our past. I am digitally saving my
> family's photos and documents, and now with all your help, I feel I can save
> this bit of our audio history. The disc is becoming less mysterious, thanks
> to you sharing your knowledge. When the decision is made and the deed done,
> I will post the results to the list - apparently it is an odd disc.
>
> Thanks so much
> Margaret
>
>
>
>> Greetings
>>
>> I am new to this list. I usually browse a while on a new list, but so far
>> haven't had anything to browse, so I am just jumping in.
>>
>> I have a 16" diameter phonograph disc 1/32" thick, recorded by my
>> grandparents sometime before 1937. Don't know what kind of disc it is or
>> what is on it. It has 4  5/16" holes, 1 centered, 3 others set 1" back from
>> center. There are some scratches and some blotches of a white substance,
>> some patches slightly corrosive, most not. It has a paper label meant to be
>> handwritten on, says "For reference recording only, Audio Devices Inc, New
>> York".  Recorded with 2 tracks on one side, 1 short and 1 long track, about
>> 2/3 full. Other side also has a label, but nothing recorded.
>>
>> I would like to have it transfered to CD, both a straight transfer unaltered
>> version and a noise filtered version.
>>
>> Does anyone know where I can get this done? I am in the San Francisco Bay
>> area in California and would prefer a local transfer and not to ship it. But
>> if I must ship, I must.
>>
>> Thank you for your help
>> Margaret
>>
>>



> Thank you to all who replied to my question.  It is gratifying to know so
> many people are interested in preserving our past. I am digitally saving my
> family's photos and documents, and now with all your help, I feel I can save
> this bit of our audio history. The disc is becoming less mysterious, thanks
> to you sharing your knowledge. When the decision is made and the deed done,
> I will post the results to the list - apparently it is an odd disc.
>
> Thanks so much
> Margaret
>
>
>
>> Greetings
>>
>> I am new to this list. I usually browse a while on a new list, but so far
>> haven't had anything to browse, so I am just jumping in.
>>
>> I have a 16" diameter phonograph disc 1/32" thick, recorded by my
>> grandparents sometime before 1937. Don't know what kind of disc it is or
>> what is on it. It has 4  5/16" holes, 1 centered, 3 others set 1" back from
>> center. There are some scratches and some blotches of a white substance,
>> some patches slightly corrosive, most not. It has a paper label meant to be
>> handwritten on, says "For reference recording only, Audio Devices Inc, New
>> York".  Recorded with 2 tracks on one side, 1 short and 1 long track, about
>> 2/3 full. Other side also has a label, but nothing recorded.
>>
>> I would like to have it transfered to CD, both a straight transfer unaltered
>> version and a noise filtered version.
>>
>> Does anyone know where I can get this done? I am in the San Francisco Bay
>> area in California and would prefer a local transfer and not to ship it. But
>> if I must ship, I must.
>>
>> Thank you for your help
>> Margaret
>>
>>