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Archive: October 2014 (3 Posts)

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

Mark Twain Sort of Speaks to Us

Posted by: Bryan Cornell

This week’s recorded sound update is a guest post by Jan McKee, Reference Librarian, Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress. Mark Twain was known to have made recordings on three occasions; unfortunately none of them are known to have survived. The earliest recording was made by Thomas Edison in 1888.  In 1891, the author himself …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

A Look Inside the National Jukebox

Posted by: Bryan Cornell

What follows is a guest post by Carla Arton and Harrison Behl, processing technicians in the Recorded Sound Section, Library of Congress   In May 2013, the staff-led Packard Campus Institute (PCI) hosted a presentation on the National Jukebox by Gene DeAnna, Head of the Recorded Sound Section at the Library of Congress. In his presentation, Gene showcases …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

A Fake Audio Butterfly

Posted by: Bryan Cornell

This is a guest post by Janet McKee, Recorded Sound Reference Librarian in the Library’s Recorded Sound Section.    Repeatedly over the years a recording purporting to be the voice of Walt Whitman has surfaced.  Sadly, it has long been the opinion of the reference staff at the Library of Congress that the recording, like …