November 4, 2008

America’s Five Favorite Hobbies (May, 1941)

Filed under: DIY, Music, Photography — @ 12:47 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: May, 1941
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America’s Five Favorite Hobbies

By EDWIN TEALE

AMERICA is the hobby center of the world. More money is spent annually on hobbies in the United States than in any other country on earth. From old-fashioned whittling to polarized-light microscopy, a thousand and one spare-time interests provide Americans with relaxation and amusement. Seeking relief from the strain of an uncertain future, millions of persons, in recent months, have joined the ranks of the hobby-riders.

Supplying the needs of America’s vast army of hobbyists has become big business. Factories with incomes of millions of dollars annually cater to the wants of men and women who are following specialized hobbies. Each week sees an increasing number of hobby columns in newspapers and hobby volumes on the shelves of libraries and bookstores.

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October 14, 2008

Fifty-Cent Phonograph May Pierce Iron Curtain (Jan, 1956)

Filed under: Communications, Music — @ 12:08 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1956
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Fifty-Cent Phonograph May Pierce Iron Curtain

A new weapon for sending messages behind the Iron Curtain without danger of radio jamming has been offered to the U. S. by RCA. It’s a refinement of the basic hand phonograph and could be mass-produced for 50 cents each.

The little machine is in three unbreakable plastic parts—base, turntable and tone arm —and can be packed to drop by parachute.
Heart of the design is a clear-plastic semi-circular vibrator screwed inside the top end of a guard.

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October 5, 2008

Builds Organ of 550 Pipes in a Garage (Dec, 1938)

Filed under: DIY, Music — @ 11:34 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1938
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Builds Organ of 550 Pipes in a Garage

Using his garage as a workshop, and giving only his spare time to the task, H. T. Adams, of Ham, Surrey, England, built the 550-pipe organ shown in the photograph at the left. Although Adams, an automotive engineer, had had no previous training in the work, he constructed every part of the twelve-foot-high organ himself, except the metal pipes. The only plans which he employed were those to guide him in assembling the intricate mechanism of the console.

September 17, 2008

HARP UNDER WATER (Dec, 1948)

Filed under: Music — @ 10:18 pm
Source: Life ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1948
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HARP UNDER WATER

The attractive harpist who is shown above comfortably submerged in 5 feet of water is illustrating one of science’s newest gifts to music: the underwater harp. This invention is not as silly as it might seem. Ever since David first serenaded King Saul, harpists have been at the mercy of moisture. Damp days changed the tune of their strings, mostly made of gut, and sometimes even caused them to snap

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September 14, 2008

New “Light Piano” Using Photo Electric Cells Creates All Musical Sounds (Feb, 1931)

Filed under: Music — @ 9:46 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1931
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New “Light Piano” Using Photo Electric Cells Creates All Musical Sounds

ONE of the most amazing musical instruments ever known has been recently invented by Prof. Arthur C. Hardy of the department of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The device looks like a grand piano with a three octave keyboard, and it is not much larger than an ordinary card table. It is described by its inventor as: “an instrument in which beams of light and a photo electric cell have been utilized to produce entirely new musical sounds by optical means.”

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August 10, 2008

FREAK Musical STUNTS Make Fun and PROFITS (Dec, 1933)

Filed under: Music — @ 11:38 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1933
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FREAK Musical STUNTS Make Fun and PROFITS

FOR parties, picnics, and all such gatherings where entertainment is the outstanding feature, there’s nothing that furnishes quite so much amusement as a freak musical rendition. And if you’re the person who can keep the crowd amused you’ll be the hero of the day.

A number of simple tricks in music which you can master with a little practice have been devised by Dr. C. C. Wiedemann, a prof at the University of Nebraska. Not only can you liven up a party with these stunts, but, if you’re good enough, you can earn a few extra shekels to help balance the family budget.

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July 19, 2008

Leader Twirls Dials To Conduct Band (Sep, 1939)

Filed under: Music, Origins — @ 3:49 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1939
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Leader Twirls Dials To Conduct Band

INSTEAD of waving a baton, Buddy Wagner, New York dance-band leader, twirls dials and levers on a control panel to mix the tones and adjust the volume of each section of his novel electrified orchestra. Crystal pick-ups are attached to each instrument, and the music produced is amplified and then wired to three loudspeakers set in front of the electric swing band, as seen in the photograph above.

July 1, 2008

Boom in Bands PUTS AMERICA IN MARCH TIME (Mar, 1935)

Filed under: Music — @ 11:13 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1935
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Boom in Bands PUTS AMERICA IN MARCH TIME

TWENTY THOUSAND American communities support school bands which are trained by experts and stimulated by colorful national tournaments. This amazing new movement, transforming the old “town band” into a crack musical organization, is described by Mr. May, who recently told of the similar boom in drum and bugle corps

By Earl Chapin May

FOR three hot hours of a June Saturday, an excited multitude in Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa, watched bands from Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa contend for prizes in marching. The spectators cheered like football fans when the marchers joined 5,000 other boys and girls and closed the Eighth Annual National High-School Band Contest by a thrilling rendition of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.

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June 10, 2008

MINIATURE PHONOGRAPH (Mar, 1947)

Filed under: Music — @ 12:03 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1947
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MINIATURE PHONOGRAPH

From Switzerland comes the Thorens record player that folds away into a 2″ by 5″ by 11″ camera-model carrying case weighing a little over 5 lb. In tone and volume it is said to be comparable to full-sized acoustic phonographs. One winding of the motor is needed for each side of a 10″ or 12″ record. Rexon Inc., of New York, distributes the phonograph in the United States. Under $30.

Phonograph-Movie Machine Plays Tunes for Pictures (Mar, 1922)

Filed under: Music, Photography — @ 12:02 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1922
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Phonograph-Movie Machine Plays Tunes for Pictures

A COMBINATION phonograph, and motion-picture projector that plays appropriate music as the film is being shown has been invented by A. L. Edminson, of Los Angeles, Calif. After eight years of experiment he has combined the two machines into a cabinet slightly larger than that of the standard phonograph. The upper part contains the phonograph; the lower a motion-picture projector.

The films are exhibited on a silk screen, measuring 18 by 22 inches, which is placed behind the doors of the sounding-box. It is claimed that the pictures are projected clearly enough to be seen by an audience 40 feet away.

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May 29, 2008

Silent Violin Makes Its Debut (Jan, 1931)

Filed under: Music — @ 2:48 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1931
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Silent Violin Makes Its Debut
THE noiseless violin, which can be heard only by the person playing it, is the result of experiments by a German inventor. The instrument should be a boon to student musicians, who may now practice at any time without disturbing the neighbors.

May 18, 2008

Blazing NEW TRAILS for Music (Aug, 1939)

Filed under: Music — @ 9:05 pm
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1939
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Blazing NEW TRAILS for Music

MUSIC is an art, the making of instruments a science. That may explain, in some measure, how Laurens Hammond has been able to invent the electric organ and the Novachord, even though he cannot play a piano.

By inclination and training, the unmusical Mr. Hammond is an inventor. On his desk is a large binder full of patents that have been issued to him. The first one, dated 1912, is for a barometer he developed when he was but sixteen years old. His earlier efforts were in connection with Diesel engines, three dimensional pictures, and novel stage-lighting effects, but the turning point in his career was his synchronous motor. He used it as the heart of the first electric clocks he made in a small room over a store building in Evanston, Ill., and almost overnight there was a national clamor for them. The shop mushroomed into a large plant.

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