The Talking Machine

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From Book One of an encyclopedia, vintage 1933, that belonged to my father, and was one of my favorite amusements as a child. I spent countless hours with one volume or another of these books flopped open on the floor next to my bed. So, being a child of the 1960's I had a rather odd collection of knowledge about outdated machinery and old victorian poetry. Some of the information is still useful, some of the information on art and language is timeless. But, whew, the science. And the social studies. And even the arts and crafts. When was the last time a child had access to a discarded soap box to make a doll bed. Or a boy needed a list of tools that every lad should have, and instructions on how to make a toolbox from an orange crate?

I've had enough trouble trying to explain to my kids about those things called records that used to be played with a needle on a turntable. On a Gramophone. A thing that you cranked - not plugged in. In a house that might not even have had electricity back in 1930...