The History Center’s “Talking Machine”

A Living History to the Sounds of the Past

Many millions of 78 rpm recordings were pressed on shellac (beetle resin) records between 1898 and 1950. These particular recordings were made by the OKEH Phonograph Corp. of NY in the 1920s with one 3-minute recording on each side of the 10-inch diameter record. The songs “Are You Lonesome To-night?” and “Carolina Mine” are both sung in 1927 by artists Jerry Macy & John Ryan. The record is played on the museum’s 1909 Columbia Disc Graphophone that is wound up like a clock to play – no batteries needed or electricity attached. The cost of a record in the 1920s was about 50 to 75 cents ($7.50 – $11.25 today).