Though invented in 1898, the heyday of the wire recorder was in the 1940's. Think of it as a tape recorder, from before the invention of magnetic tape. This ad (from a 1940s issue of a broadcast industry magazine) offers a rather expensive last gasp version of that technology, made by RCA. By the early 1950's the wire recorder would be ancient history, its wire replaced with brittle reels of magnetic recording medium backed by paper, at first, then acetate film. The fragility of acetate would cause it to soon be replaced by mylar reel-to-reel ribbons. And reel to reels were supplemented by the four track tape cartridge (later 8 track cartridge) and cassette. But it all started with the wire recorder. (file sepia wire recorder #15881372)
Be the first to hear about deals, exciting new products and much more!