[Leica] Holiday Greetings from 1915

[jshul at comcast.net (Jim Shulman)]

And when the cylinders of his "indecent jokes" were released on CD a few
years ago http://www.archeophone.com/product_info.php?products_id=90 NPR
couldn't play them--for fear of running afoul of the FCC!

The oratorical style, with the rounded vowels, was necessary before
electronic amplification.  After microphones appeared with the introduction
of radio and electrical recording, this style disappeared virtually
overnight.

Here are two of the most famous Shakespearean actors of the WWI era
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxdIHU6V3k
In a style that would be risible a decade later.

Best,
Jim


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net at leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net at leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Jeff
Moore
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 9:30 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Holiday Greetings from 1915

2010-12-23-20:07:27 Jim Shulman:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsoGEMYcrqU
> 
> Played on my recently acquired Pathe phonograph.  The stylus is modulated
> vertically (not laterally, as with most mono records)-it was a way around
> patent restrictions.

That's fabulous.  A window into a different time.  I'm fascinated with
the accents then - that "public speaking" voice, sounding kind of
mid-atlantic the way '30s film stars were trained to elocute, the
rolled rs...

I wasn't even absolutely sure whether the speaker was American or
British, so I looked him up:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Hunting

    Russell Hunting was imprisoned in 1896 for making recordings of
    "indecent" jokes.  Although he used various pseudonyms, [...] his
    voice was very distinct, enough that police officers could track him
    down and arrest him.

Thanks, Jim!

 -Jeff

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