2011.37.1

NLS A-74 Talking Book Machine

Waters Conley Company

Olive green plastic case with simulated leather texture, nickel plated hardware; spring green soft plastic carrying handle on front; hinged lid with two latches on front that turn to the left to open; RCA headphone jack on front right of case; green leatherette covered wooden deck with light gray enameled steel 9" turntable on left; turntable originally covered in gray foam; ivory slide switch to left of base of turntable adjusts three-speed motor from 33-16-8 rpm with a neutral station between 16 and 8; green-brown fabric colored rectangular speaker screwed into left side of lid; brushed aluminum plate on right of turntable under tone arm with screen printed safety information and instructions; black plastic on-off toggle switch on front right of deck; dark gray enameled phonograph arm on right, manually operated, aluminum rest; black plastic dials on right side of deck for volume and tone; brown plastic power cord stores in compartment at rear of base; jack beside power cord for remote control or variable speed control; aluminum tag on front of lid, "A-74 05606"; two-sided needle, detachable lid.

H-8 W-14.625 D-12 inches

1974

Waters Conley Company

Rochester, MN

Eva Morton enrolled at the Kentucky School for the Blind "Colored Department"at the age of six and remained through her sophomore year of high school. The "Colored Department" was closed in 1955, and all students were moved to the main building. KSB was one of the first residential schools to desegregate following the 1954 Brown Vs. Board of Education Case. As part of a new initiative under Superintendent Paul Langan, Morton transferred to the Todd County segregated high school for her junior and senior years and graduated from there in 1961.
The passage of the Pratt-Smoot Act in 1931 created the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The act was amended in 1933 to include talking book service. The WPA began manufacturing talking book machines for the NLS in 1935. The first commercially purchased machines were bought by NLS in 1947. The first transisterized machines appeared in 1968. Three speeds appeared in 1970.

Gift of Eva Morton, 2011.37