Is this the beginning of the L.A. record business?

John Levin, a wax cylinder collector, purchased a box of cylinders from someone in the Midwest. After months of research, he thinks he discovered some of the earliest musical recordings from Los Angeles.
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[@wbail3109]

Bless you, sir. 💕

[@BrentMorgan]

This is great. Maybe John can be a regular feature in the LA Times?

[@whatnow9159]

Very good. Thank you.

[@bergfish7328]

That was super interesting and fascinating. Thank you 🌺

[@babybloc]

Marvelous story! So many details on the development of the technology.

[@stratobee]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@musingsofrock]

That's the melody to Yankee Doodle.. lol He's playing that on banjo I suppose? Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni.

[@bertrandszoghy364]

Collectors are the ones who preserve culture.

[@HandyAndyTechTips]

As an Aussie, I'm very interested in that "Australia Moulded" cylinder. Does anyone have more information on that?

[@johnlevin2368]

The company operated very briefly between about 1904 and 1909. Its records (and boxes) rarely surface.

[@HandyAndyTechTips]

@@johnlevin2368 Thanks for the info! You're doing a great job preserving all of these historic recordings.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

Now scratch that cylinder to cut a sick beat, I dare you. wacka wacka waaah

[@PRECIADOR]

I LOVE THIS. THIS IS LIKE A SOUND (AUDIO) ARCHEOLOGIST 👍🏻

[@josiahcole3186]

It’s a real branch of archaeology called Archeophony!

[@ksteiger]

This is great but I hear a lot of 'flutter". Is that on the original recording?

[@organfairy]

Yes, there is often quite a lot of flutter on those early cylinder recordings. I believe the primary reason was that the wind-up motor on the recorder was regulated, but the movement was transferred to the cylinder holder with a leather belt that had a bump in it where it was joined together. As an engineer I have always wondered why they made them like this. If they had just attached a flywheel of some sort to the cylinder holder it would record and play much smoother.

[@terrorshark6836]

Wow