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Auction History Result 5d0538 LOT OF 2 RCA PHOTOPHONE ITEMS 1930s High Fidelity Sound, ultra rare! Date Sold 10/1/2023 Sold For: Login or Register to see sold price. a lot of 2 RCA Photophone items from the 1930s. One is a heavy solid metal circular sign that reads "PHOTOPHONE HIGH FIDELITY SOUND" in a circle around the RCA logo, which we imagine hung outside a photophone studio. The other is a similar plastic or Bakelite item with a metal knob and clear plastic in the center with the words "PHOTOPHONE - HIGH FIDELITY -", and we imagine that also was displayed. These are surely vintage to the late 1920s, and they are surely incredibly rare (and it seems a miracle they survived), but beyond that, we know nothing about them. A knowledgeable collector tells us that The earliest "talkies" relied on the Western Electric Vitaphone system which used disk records that were (hopefully) synchronized with the action on the screen. It was only with the inclusion of an optical sound track on the film itself that true sound movie were created. Western Electric was the pioneer in this field, both with the Vitaphone system, and their slightly later sound-on-film system. RCA entered the field in 1928 with their own sound-on-film system which they called "Photophone". These two companies were in fierce competition for the theater sound business throughout the 1930s. Whenever a sound system was installed in a theater (and especially when it replaced the competitor's system) a plaque such as the one offered in this auction was mounted on a wall in the lobby or on an outside wall where the patrons would be sure to see it. The plaque shown here is likely to be from the mid-1930s, and is a bronze casting about 8 inches in diameter. Measurements: 9" x 9"Condition: good to very good. Both items have wear (see our images). Learn More about condition grades Titles included:
  
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