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Soundscriber

Psychology

The instrument is a dark brown box made of wood covered in synthetic leather-like covering. The front of the box includes a large knob and a circle cut from the wood, covered in a woven fabric material. A brass buckle on the front of the box opens the front panel. The following are found inside the panel: a gramophone with both playback and recording needles, a black plastic dictation mouthpiece, and two knobs for recording volume, and dictation operation respectively. The following are found on the back panel of the instrument: three plugs, one electrical cord plugged into the back, and one lightbulb at the top of the panel. There is a leather handle at the top of the instrument.

Accession Number: 2011.psy.64

Alternative Name: Dictation instrument

Primary Materials: Wood, plastic, brass, leather

Markings:

Manufacturer’s label, back panel: “SoundScriber, Trade Mark, PH-RKUKI, MFD BY THE SOUNDSCRIBER CORP, NEW HAVEN, CONN. SEE PATENT NOTICES ON UNDER SIDE OF INSTRUMENT”, Front panel: “LISTEN/TALK”, Inside panel, needles: “PLAYBACK”, “RECORDING”, Inside panel, knobs: “RECORDING VOLUME: DICT. / CONF.”, “SELECTOR: OFF/DICTATE/COPY”

Dimensions (cm): Height = 22, Width = 23.5, Length = 31

Function:

The SoundScriber was used for audio recording.

Condition: Good.

Associated Instruments:

Manufacturer: Soundscriber

Date of Manufacture: c. 1940s

Provenance:

University of Toronto Department of Psychology

Additional Information and References:

http://www.videointerchange.com/audio_history.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundScriber; http://www.aph.org/museum/virtual_exhibit/exhibit4/e40008b-2.htm; http://www.recording-history.org/HTML/dicta_biz4.php

Historical Notes:

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