This 6.5 inch Recordisc brand acetate is in beautiful condition. There isn't a blemish on it, and the signal to noise ratio is excellent. It's one of the most listenable acetates I've ever digitized. It's too bad the engineers handwriting is completely illegible. It starts out DAWSEY ARS... then the next letter might be an "E" with the top two lines intersecting or an anemic "R." That's followed by a clear-ish "NA" then maybe an "E" on it's side or a stumpy "W", possibly followed by an upside down "Y" or a squiggle, and ending with an "X" or sideways "Y" or cockeyed "T". My best guess is DAWSEY ARSENAET. But it's just a guess.It spins at 78 rpm with an outer edge start.
"Strolling Down Memory Lane"
The audio and the performance are far beyond what could have been done with a home recorder by an amateur engineer. Phonozoic lists an identical label as Recordisc Type 2B, It's not certain, but since their later discs had fiber cores, the dates are probably similar, putting mine at a comparable 1946 date. The song is a version of "Strolling Down Memory Lane." The tune was written by Abe Burrows sometime before 1948. Burrows starts selling radio sketches in 1938 and spent four years as a writer for the program Duffy's Tavern. Decca released it as a B-side in 1947... so somehow this acetate postdates that... unless it's his own demo, which I doubt very much.
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It has been suggested to me that this may be a one-of-a-kind recording of Dawsey Arsenault who appears by name in the Lewiston Evening Journal or Maine. He was active around 1930.
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