Witch's Tale, 1931

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From the series: Radio Programs, 1930s-1980s

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Physical description:

Five 17-inch celluloid on phonodiscs

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Randy Riddle note: The Witch's Tale was radio's first horror-fantasy series, heard on WOR, Chicago, Mutual and in syndication from 1931 to 1938. The series was created, written, and directed by Alonzo Dean Cole. It was hosted by "Old Nancy", the Witch of Salem, who introduced the stories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch%27s_Tale This collection represents programs from around mid 1931. Originally, the show was syndicated by recording the WOR broadcasts and sending the discs to individual stations. Cole, who still owned the discs in his personal collections, destroyed them in the 1960s, and only some survive. Recordings of other programs in the series are available at the Internet archive, but do not include these episodes: https://archive.org/details/TheWitchsTale Note - These discs should be handled carefully. They consist of a shellac base with a celluloid playing surface attached. This was an experimental type of pressing done by Marsh Laboratories during a period when companies were figuring out how to distribute low noise discs for radio syndication. These discs are in generally good condition. However, a previous collector tried to clean two of the discs, causing the celluloid surface to separate at the edges from the base. Note: I have digital dubs of these provided by the seller. I cannot play these because they are 17" discs. It also includes a dub of Pgm 3A, the first part of the story on the 3B disc. Pgm 3B - Bronze Venus, Part 2 - August 22, 1935 Pgm 12B - Happy Ending, Part 2 - Sept 28, 1934 Pgm 13B - Honeymoon Cottage, Part 2 - July 24, 1935 Note: I do not have digital dubs of these two discs. These are 17" discs, which my turntable couldn't handle. Pgm 18A - Snake House, Part 1 - Nov 26, 1934 Pgm 18B - Snake House, Part 2 - Nov 26, 1934 The Internet Archive has a small collection of "Witch's Tale" programs uploaded by a user. These, I believe, originated with some tape dubs made in the 1960s that have gone through several generations of copying, so the sound is pretty dreadful. https://archive.org/details/TheWitchsTale

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