226 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



rt is interesting to note that steps are to-day being taken in many 

 countries to form collections of voice records of singers, artists, and 



other famous personages, and 



that an important part is 

 played by the talking-machine 

 record in science. 



In June of 1906 a number of 

 matrices were deposited at the 

 British Museum of records 

 made by well-known artists and 

 others. These have been sealed 

 up, and are not to be taken out 

 for fifty years. Thus records 

 of these artists' voices have 

 been secured for practically all 

 time. 



On the 24th of December, 1907, 

 there were deposited in a vault 

 of the Paris Opera House disks 

 bearing records of the voices of 

 Tamagno, Caruso, Scotti, Plan^on, de Lucia, Patti, Melba, Calve, and 

 other artists. The statute establishing this collection provides that 



Fig. 15." — A, motor ; B, blower ; C, oil sepa- 

 rator ; D, air reservoir ; E, dust extractor ; 

 F, electric switch ; G, fuse box ; R, turn- 

 table motor ; V, turntable. 



Fig. 16. — Pneumatic sound box and arm in operation. 



the records shall be taken out and played once every hundred years. 

 The collection is to be added to every year. 



