There were also discs that ran at 8-1/3 rpm. The American Printing
House for the Blind in Louisville KY (?) distributed these, along with
the turntable.
I had a chance to look at one some years ago. My friend Wendy suffered
from multiple sclerosis, which causes occasional vision problems.
She'd borrowed one of the players and, having recovered her sight well
enough to read, asked me to re-assemble the collection of records and
the player and return the lot to Louisville or wherever. I tried
playing one of the records -- they spun so slowly that I, a veteran
turntable repairman, had to laugh. The sound was remarkably clear;
fidelity wasn't a problem at all.
The player and recordings came in a self-mailing carton, so I packed
them up and lugged them down to the post office. The final surprise
came when I asked what the postage fee would be. Well, there isn't
one: the US Postal Service ships material for the blind for free.
Mark Kinsler
http://www.frognet.net/~kinsler
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