Percival Marshall gramophone message?

Hi.

I read in the SMEE's excellent history that Percival Marshal recorded a gramophone message for the readers of ME in the 1930s. Has any one come across this record and does it exist on line at all?

best

Jamie

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/8/81/Im19351114MEE-PercivalM1.jpg

Send your two shillings and sixpence and you will receive your 10 inch record by return.

It certainly still exists - the SMEE archive has a copy, but as far as I know it's not online anywhere. It's occasionally played at SMEE on special occasions.

Given when it was made one hopes they have a backup in case someone drops it, and for when they run out of needles!

I remember hearing that thorns could be used in lieu of needles; can anyone confirm?

As originally planned this would not be an issue as it was intended that they be produced as 'Permarec' recordings which were supposed to be unbreakable and 'give perfect reproduction using an ordinary steel needle' (ME Vol 73, No1791, 5/9/35)

However a few weeks later it was announced that due to the high costs of 'Permarec' recordings it was necessary to produce them as standard disks - so keep a tight hold on it after all I'm afraid! Also Percival Marshall noted 'they must be run at a fairly low speed to give a characteristic representation of my voice' (ME Vol 73, No1793, 19/9/35)

Having only recently purchased some volumes of ME from the 1930's I have not long read these for the first time!

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 07/04/2020 17:01:25

As kids we had a wind up portable gramophone of Dad's to play with - together with a bundle of 78s. I suspect a thorn could be used, but a child's thumbnail would also play records in a squeeky high pitched fashion.

Although needles were normally steel; fibre needles were also available as they made the music quieter (volume control was otherwise a flap covering up the horn a bit, at best)

As a kid I would try to get my toy soldiers to stay on the 78 player but it was too whizzy

My dad had a big collection of jazz 78s from the plantations in the 20s and 30s, some guys had used a recording van to produce the originals in the deep south. He sold his entire collection for 50 quid around 1980 when he got bored of them

I recall that you had to be pretty nifty on the needle and a record only lasted for a few minutes a pop

I'll put a recording on Spotify, on condition that EVERYONE downloads it at 2/- a pop (index linked to the 30s, of course...)

Neil

.

Will this do ? ... **LINK**

http://www.graham-ophones.co.uk/needles/4591285693

MichaelG.

I used to play my uncles old wind up Garrard when I was a kid, the needles came in three grades, loud, medium and soft. You were supposed to use a new needle every time, The needles came in tins of 500.

You tight wad. So that will be hhmm about £200.

Steve.

I shall send my shillings to the usual address at Fisher Street in that case

Thank you for all your answers. I'll get in touch with SMEE and see if they can help.

best

Jamie

I've still got a pile of old shillings. A use for them at last?

Peter

Before 1921, sterling silver, 1921 to 1947, some silver but I don't remember the proportion.

I just mention it for information, I don't advise defacing the coinage!!!

Best Regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

This is a stereo pair [Stereoscopic, not Stereophonic]

The tip of a commercially manufactured wooden ‘gramophone needle’

... i.e. not a natural thorn

Arranged for ‘Parallel Viewing’ .... Click the image for a larger version 

Sorry about the image quality, it was just an experiment with a pair of low-res cameras.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 08/04/2020 10:17:32

Hi, well I have a couple of Bob, but I'm keeping them for my grandchildren, they'll probably find them more interesting than listening to Percival Marshall, no disrespects to him though.

Regards Nick.

Admirably - thank you.

I wonder what is the "point" of the asymmetrical tip?

Did the needle have to be installed in a particular axial orientation?

Three remembered 78s from childhood:

Arthur Askey's bee song

Teddy Bears' Picnic

An onomatopoeic recording about steam locomotives - diddly dee, diddly dee, etc - I don't recall the name.

We still had some in about 1960, and a device for sharpening them. Dad said that they were made of hawthorn, though whether it was the actual thorn or turned from the wood of the stem I have no idea.

George B.