Letter on a Record

Letter on a Record.' Made at a USO club operated by the National Catholic Community Service. From a soldier of the 261st AAF Base Unit in Abilene, Texas, to Mr. and Mrs. A Baldi of Newark, NJ. Soldiers could walk into a small recording booth and create a record of their voice to send to loved ones instead of a written letter.

Voice O'Graph record

The Voice-O-Graph was a do-it-yourself recording studio the size of a small closet. Walk inside, close the door, deposit 35 cents and make a record of your own. The machines cranked out a lacquer-coated disc that held about a minute of crackling sound. It was first created in the late 1930s and used until the late 1950s. Soldiers and loved ones could send their own voices in place of a written letter during World War II.