|
World
War II was the first war in which recording technology gave servicemen
and women a practical way to mail recorded messages home.
The
American Safety Razor Company - the makers of Gem razors and blades
- provided disc-cutting machines as part of a program named "Voices
of Victory." Each disc’s label indicated the program
was "one of Gem’s contributions to the morale of America’s
Armed Forces and the folks back home."
Cardboard
mailers were provided for each five-inch disc, and matching identification
numbers appeared on each label and mailer. Playing instructions
also accompanied each disc.
"Voices
of Victory" mailer
Thousands,
if not tens of thousands, of these discs may have been recorded.
Receiving a recorded message in the mail sixty years ago was as
great a surprise as receiving a personal greeting sound file via
e-mail is today.
The
disc, mailer, and instruction sheet stayed together, and all are
in excellent condition, relatively speaking.
"Voices
of Victory" disc
The
disc’s edges have curled with age, but it still plays. The
message begins with this scripted intro read by the person operating
the disc cutter: "Hello, Frances Bora, this is your Gem live reporter coming to you
from 99 Park Avenue. Through the courtesy of the makers of Gem razors
and blades, here is the voice of J.B."
The
sender explains that he’s with a friend, that they’re
visiting the Empire State Building later that day, and that he’ll
be heading home the next day. The opening voice returns to give
the recording date – April 24, 1945 – and the location
– The New York City Defense Recreation Center.
Closeup
of label
Instructions
for playing and preserving
Today,
99 Park Avenue is an office building near 40th Street. The receiver’s
house, at 1113 Parrish Place in Burbank, California, is still standing.
The mystery then deepens: How did the disc end up in a thrift shop
in Michigan, and who preserved it?
Tom
Sanders is a writer and record collector living in Lexington, Michigan.
An earlier version of this article appeared in the September 2,
2002 issue of Linn's Stamp News.
Text
and photos © 2004 by Tom Sanders. All rights reserved.
|
