The Case:
A man in Port Washington, Wisconsin who owns a pair of metal "masters" that were used to press shellac records in the 1920s and 30s has a hunch they could represent surviving fragments of a lost moment in American musical history.
The contributor’s great uncle was the master sound engineer for one of the more peculiar recording enterprises in the United States, Paramount Records. He worked for the Wisconsin Chair Company, which, among other things, manufactured phonograph cabinets.
The company’s salesmen were savvy to the broad spectrum of musical talent at the time and established a tandem recording label, ultimately bringing some of the best blues artists from the Mississippi Delta to Wisconsin to record in the factory.
History Detectives travels to Wisconsin and New York to determine the significance of these metal masters and to explore how one company captured the regionally and culturally diverse music played around the nation in the 20s and 30s.
Related Content
Feature:
Feature:
Technique:
Technique:
Related Links
Explore
-
Related Investigation
Lou Gehrig Autograph
Did Lou Gehrig autograph this ticket on the day he announced his retirement?
-
Related Investigation
Josh White Guitar
What role did this guitar play in the transformation of the music industry in the 1960's?
-
Also in Emerging Modern America: 1890-1930
Silent Film Reel
Could this film reel could be a silent movie once lost forever to history?
-
Also in Emerging Modern America: 1890-1930
Cromwell Dixon Plane Fragment
What could this faded scrap of fabric tell us about the first pilot to conquer the Continental Divide?
-
Also in Emerging Modern America: 1890-1930
Siberian Bullet
What can this bullet reveal about the hidden agenda of American forces in a fight against Soviet Communism?
-
Also with Tukufu Zuberi
Mail Order Brides
Are these images evidence of mail order brides in 1890s Chicago?
Comments
This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.