[Phono-L] Tinfoil To Stereo

TAEdisonJR at aol.com TAEdisonJR at aol.com
Sun Nov 18 08:28:52 PST 2007


Ah, "From Tinfoil to Stereo"! What memories that brings back. My parents  
gave me a copy for Christmas 1962. I still have that book, well-worn, as well as  
a photo my mother took as I unwrapped it. I guess I was a pretty strange 13  
year-old because that was a very exciting gift, though a tad less than the  
Edison Standard and morning glory horn I also got that year.
 
I can't even count how many times I read the book. As George Paul pointed  
out, it was full of errors (though it took me a while to realize it) and had an  
almost painfully pro-Edison slant. That in itself wasn't so bad, what was 
hard  to take was the portrayal of anything and anyone related to Columbia as 
being  the very personification of evil. Even to a young teenager that bias was a 
bit  too blatant to be believable, and it became tiresome.
 
But the pictures were the heart of the book for all collectors in the  1960s. 
Whenever a machine was bought or sold, a reference to "Tinfoil to Stereo"  
would be made to help identify it. 
 
I still look back at my first edition from time to time, but when I do it's  
always with a mix of nostalgia and relief. I'm so glad we have such a vast  
wealth of accurate and well-illustrated books to refer to now. Especially, of  
course, the inimitable series by Tim and George. 

Best regards,
Rene Rondeau



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