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Re: [ARSCLIST] KDKA broadcast recordings?
Mr. Calabretta:
You may have already looked into this at The Explorers Club in New York City, so forgive me if this suggestion is redundant. At their website, www.explorers.org, Captain Comer is listed among "deceased members," so it might be worth your while to contact them about this matter.
The "research collections" page, www.explorers.org/res_col/res_holdings.php, mentions that they have some film holdings, but says nothing about audio. Interestingly, the New York Times of June 15, 1929 and June 16, 1929 reports that a message from Captain Comer was read as part of a WGY radio broadcast to Admiral Byrd in the Antarctic. The text of his message is in the June 16 article. This broadcast originated at the Explorers Club. Captain Comer does not appear to have been physically present, although other notable people were. He may have participated in other broadcasts of this type originating at the Explorers Club.
Very few radio broadcasts from 1928 have survived, but don't give up hope. Even if no recording exists, there may be scripts or text transcripts. Such a transcript exists for an NBC broadcast made by Dr. William Beebe and Otis Barton from half a mile down in the ocean in 1932, though no recording of the broadcast survives.
You might also check with the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland.
Matthew Barton
MBRS
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-4696
202-707-5508
email: mbarton@xxxxxxx
>>> Fred Calabretta <fred.calabretta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 2/2/2008 2:57:16 PM >>>
Hello:
I have a question regarding radio broadcasts made about 1928, and I am
hoping list members may be able to help. My request relates to an
Arctic whaling captain from Connecticut by the name of Captain George
Comer (1858-1837). Mystic Seaport is preparing a major exhibit on
Comer, scheduled to open this coming May, and we are developing a
soundscape and other audio elements for the exhibit.
For background:
Although Comer was a successful whaler, and one of the last of the old
Yankee whalers, his most extraordinary accomplishment was his
comprehensive fieldwork among the Inuit [Eskimos] of Hudson Bay. He
collected hundreds of objects for the American Museum of Natural History
and other museums, made over 300 plaster life masks, took over 300
photographs, prepared extensive written notes, and made sound
recordings. In fact, he made the earliest field recordings among these
people, beginning about 1903, using a graphophone onboard his ship,
which was frozen into the winter ice. Many of these recordings have
survived and are now housed at the Archives of Traditional Music at
Indiana University. The recordings are fascinating, and we will be
incorporating some of them into the exhibit.
However, it is not the wax cylinder recordings I am inquiring about. I
have found a reference to the fact that about 1928, Comer was "sending
messages to the Arctic" on Pittsburgh's KDKA, "usually going out about
11 on Saturday nights." I would be thrilled to learn more about these
broadcasts, or, better yet, to listen to them. Is there any chance
recordings of such broadcasts may have been preserved? If so, can
anyone suggest where they might be?
Any help or leads would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Fred
Fred Calabretta
Curator of Collections
& Oral Historian
MYSTIC SEAPORT
The Museum of America and the Sea
75 Greenmanville Avenue
PO Box 6000
Mystic CT 06355-0990 USA
tel: 860.572.0711 ext. 5168
fax: 860.572.5371
fred.calabretta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.mysticseaport.org