Item Information
Title: Unidentified man reciting speech from Macbeth
Date: between 1960s and 1970s
Physical Details: 2 sound discs (lacquer) : analog, 78 rpm ; 6 in. ; 1 min., 54 sec.
Description: Two discs, each with a recording of the same man reciting the same speech from Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28, ending with the line "It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing"), with other people singing and laughing in the background.
Although the same speech is repeated on each disc, minor differences indicate that it was recorded two separate times and that the discs are not copies of one another.
Date is based on the type of disc, labeled "Voice-o-graph", which was a format used in Voice-o-graph booths where a person could record themselves after inserting a fee, in use between the 1940s and the 1970s (earliest item in this collection dates to 1960).
Poor recording quality on disc. Over modulated throughout recording.
Creator: Unidentified
Forms part of: Tom Blackwell papers, 1960-2009
Rights Statement: Current copyright status is undetermined
Citation Information: Unidentified man reciting speech from Macbeth, between 1960s and 1970s. Tom Blackwell papers, 1960-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Availability: This item has been digitally reformatted. It is available by requesting an appointment in the Archives of American Art's reading rooms, or in certain situations as a Reproduction Request.
Digital ID: 16012