My friend, Maristella Feustle, recently shared this classic RCA “Radio Tours” map of North America. RCA printed this in 1934–during the Great Depression–when most people could not afford to travel. Their map encouraged families to use their radios to travel the world over the air and experience local culture & music.
As Maristella pointed out, the detail on this map is pretty darn amazing.
Click here to download a high resolution image of this RCA map.
Many thanks to UNT Archivist, Maristella Feustle, who writes with the following inquiry :
I’m in search of some historical literature cited in a 1970 dissertation.
Might anyone have access to a copy of the OWI’s “A Brief Statement of Shortwave Programs to Target Areas,” dated November 1, 1942? Thanks!
Post readers: If you happen to have a copy of this document or know its location, could you please comment with details? Many thanks!
Many thanks to UNT Archivist, Maristella Feustle, who shares the following set of recordings she recently published in the UNT Digital Library Willis Conover collection.
The description reads:
“A broadcast of Music USA transmitted by station WLWO in Cincinnati, Ohio, and recorded off of shortwave radio in Lagos, Nigeria. It was sent to the Voice of America to document the quality of radio reception in that area. As a live broadcast, the recording also includes news breaks and station identification.”
I should add that you might also hear ambient sounds from Lagos if you listen carefully! Click on the links below to listen to the recording sets via the UNT Digital Library:
http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824409/m1/
http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824410/
Thanks again, Maristella, for all of your work to preserve and share these valuable recordings!
(Photo source: Inside VOA)
Thanks to the endeavors of Maristella Feustle at the UNT Music Library, five hours of recently-restored Louis Armstrong interviews with Willis Conover are now online and free to download/listen.
Kudos to the UNT archives for making these amazing recordings so accessible! What a treasure trove.
Click here to view links to all five hours of recordings at the UNT Archives’ website.
Regular SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the late Willis Conover. I just learned, via the Arts Journal blog, about an amazing collection of Conover audio archives that are now being shared online:
“The music program at the University of North Texas has graduated hundreds of jazz artists who went on to successful careers as professionals.[…]
Under Maristella Feustle of the university’s library, there is an archive devoted to the late Willis Conover of the Voice of America[…]. Conover’s VOA programs sent jazz around the world. For a quarter of a century he was one of the nation’s most valuable cultural diplomats. As of today, parts of the Conover archive are online and open to the public, thanks to a grant from the Grammy Foundation.[…]”
Many thanks, Maristella, for championing and finding funds for the Willis Conover archive!
Click here to browse the list of recordings and listen to the tapes via the UNT Digital Library.