The British Library The British Library Crescent wire recorder and record deck 13XNSAX1990X-0001 13 nsa 1990 Made by Crescent Industries, Chicago, USA, in the late 1940s, this is a record player combined with a magnetic recorder using wire. The record turntable doubles as a takeup spool for the wire. It was possible to record from an external microphone or from a record. Playback was via the generously sized speaker at the front of the case. This particular machine in the collection was originally purchased from a department store in Dublin, Ireland. Wire was a very unsatisfactory recording medium as it could not be edited and tangled easily. By the early 1950s, magnetic recording had moved to plastic tape, hence this type of domestic-market wire recorder is a rarity. Dimensions: Width: 360 mm Height: 460 mm Depth: 650 mm image Magnetic recorders Crescent Industries, Chicago 1948