My father died about 25 years ago, and with his death, he left me lots and lots of things. Among them, was the original War of The Worlds reel to reel, that was recorded in the studio while Orson Welles broadcasted. I was wondering, does anybody have any idea how much this would go for? I would imagine that it would be a very pricey item, but im not sure where to sell it or where to get it appraised. I live in Manhattan so I may go to Christie's auction house and try to sell it there...but before I do, does anybody have an idea how much an item like this would go for on the market?? Thankz!!
an absolute buttload of money, if it is the real thing. I'm guessing as low as $25k, to as high as $150k--- to the right person. Who knows. memorabilia is going for insane prices in this modern wastrel world of ours.
I'd take it to christie's..without a second's hesitation. If it can be authenticated, it will sell for good cash. When bad Monet's fetch $20-30 mil... $150k for that seems practically free. I could be low by a long shot. Chiristie's will also drum up the interest to large extent. Especially when the war of the worlds film is coming out.
If it is authenticated, wait until the feeding frenzy created by the release of the (spielberg?) film, FIRST! Then, reap 10x the cash from the frenzy.
Heck..spielberg might buy it. Where else could he get the best sounding track for ..hhhmmm..possibly at the beginning credits of the film, for example?
If this is for real.. your timing of getting this into the marketplace is impeccable. You could not have asked for a better moment in time to try and get the maximum cash.
Play it smart.
I'd take it to christie's..without a second's hesitation. If it can be authenticated, it will sell for good cash. When bad Monet's fetch $20-30 mil... $150k for that seems practically free. I could be low by a long shot. Chiristie's will also drum up the interest to large extent. Especially when the war of the worlds film is coming out.
If it is authenticated, wait until the feeding frenzy created by the release of the (spielberg?) film, FIRST! Then, reap 10x the cash from the frenzy.
Heck..spielberg might buy it. Where else could he get the best sounding track for ..hhhmmm..possibly at the beginning credits of the film, for example?
If this is for real.. your timing of getting this into the marketplace is impeccable. You could not have asked for a better moment in time to try and get the maximum cash.
Play it smart.
wow
Well thats definitely a good thing to read. I will hop on it right away, if anybody else has anything to add, maybe some advice or another opinion please speak up, I would love to get as many opinions as possible. Wow wouldnt that be something, spielberg buying my reel to reel...heh yea my father got it from a friend that worked at the station that it was broadcasted from...wouldnt that be somethin..
Well thats definitely a good thing to read. I will hop on it right away, if anybody else has anything to add, maybe some advice or another opinion please speak up, I would love to get as many opinions as possible. Wow wouldnt that be something, spielberg buying my reel to reel...heh yea my father got it from a friend that worked at the station that it was broadcasted from...wouldnt that be somethin..
Agh Hummm... Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but...... Reel to reel tape didn't exist in the U.S. when Orsen broadcast that famous play on Oct. 30th 1938. In fact the Magnetophone which was the worlds first reel to reel tape machine was still being perfected in Germany at that time by Telefunken, it was not used for broadcasts until during WW-2 and only by Nazi Germany! "War Of The Worlds" would have definately been recorded on 16"- 78 rpm transcription disks which was the standard at that time in broadcasting. More than likely later on down the timeline it was transfered over to tape for easier re-broadcast. This would not have been until after the end of WW-2, in fact until after 1948 when the Ampex Model 200 recorder, the first available in the U.S., was just going into production. Some sections of the Ampex Model 200 was based on Magnetophones that were captured during WW-2!
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From the site "The Art Of Recording"..... link below........
-Disk cutting lathes, either 78 rpm or transcription format. Commercial 78 format was about a 2.7 mil. groove cut laterally, disk size up to 12 inches. Professional transcription disks, as developed by Bell Labs in the mid-1930's, were vertical cut ("hill and dale") with diameter up to 16 inches and could be recorded at slower speeds for more playing time. The largest transcription disks could hold almost 30 minutes of material and were commonly used for delayed broadcast of radio shows.
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There is also a vague possibility that it may have been recorded on a wire recorder but the wire recorders back then were mainly for dictation and not of very high quality reproduction, definately not as good as the 16" transcription disks in use in 1958.
Again, sorry to blow the theory but this one is very easy to research.
See these links.....
http://recordist.com/ampex/docs/histapx/ampchrn.txt
http://www.war-of-the-worlds.org/Radio/
http://www.auldworks.com/bbrec1.htm#THE1930S
Mark
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From the site "The Art Of Recording"..... link below........
-Disk cutting lathes, either 78 rpm or transcription format. Commercial 78 format was about a 2.7 mil. groove cut laterally, disk size up to 12 inches. Professional transcription disks, as developed by Bell Labs in the mid-1930's, were vertical cut ("hill and dale") with diameter up to 16 inches and could be recorded at slower speeds for more playing time. The largest transcription disks could hold almost 30 minutes of material and were commonly used for delayed broadcast of radio shows.
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There is also a vague possibility that it may have been recorded on a wire recorder but the wire recorders back then were mainly for dictation and not of very high quality reproduction, definately not as good as the 16" transcription disks in use in 1958.
Again, sorry to blow the theory but this one is very easy to research.
See these links.....
http://recordist.com/ampex/docs/histapx/ampchrn.txt
http://www.war-of-the-worlds.org/Radio/
http://www.auldworks.com/bbrec1.htm#THE1930S
Mark
I see...well what I have is the original War of The Worlds err....something. Its in one of those reel to reel metal cases, i believe thats what it looks like. Its a circular tin with the stickers on the center of it. Inside is a metal reel thing with the tape wound around it. What is it if it isnt reel to reel?
I think what Mark is saying is that you may well have a reel to reel of War of the Worlds but it isn't an original. Apparently that format of recording did not exist at the time of the broadcast. Please read his post more thoroughly.
Here is a link to the history of the magnetic tape
http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_tape.htm
Cal
Here is a link to the history of the magnetic tape
http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_tape.htm
Cal
Did you try to listen this tapes? There is a good chance that if this tapes weren't stored properly that there is not much left on them, or that mechanically they stick and that you might have a problem unwinding them. Magnetically recorded signal has tendency to change over time and to degrade. If you would try to listen them, I would be very careful in handling them.
Keep us posted - this is interesting.
Keep us posted - this is interesting.
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