headphones with ear pads and adjustable headset
Date: circa 1940
Inventory Number: WJ1141
Classification: Headphones
Subject:
Maker: Permoflux Corporation (fl. 1942 - 1955)
Maker: Electro-Acoustic Laboratory, Harvard University (1940 - 1947)
Maker: Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory, Harvard University (1940 - 1962)
Owner: Stanley Smith Stevens (1906 - 1973)
Cultural Region:
Dimensions:
headphones without cord: 17 × 14.5 × 9 cm (6 11/16 × 5 11/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
Material:
Description:
The spring-loaded headset has a metallic structure covered in leather. The earphones are made of rubber-padded material. A short wire with plug was used in connecting this device to noise-generating and measuring instruments, such as items WJ0285 and WJ0554. Very similar to WJ 1139 and WJ1142.
Signedunsigned
Inscribedone earphone marked: MX-41/AR;
other earphone marked: PATENT/ PENDING; TYPE / 49456 / P/0 / H-3/ARR-3 / CQF, PDR-8, P/O;
etched into right earphone: R;
marked on top of headset: PSYCHO-ACOUSTIC LAB #43
other earphone marked: PATENT/ PENDING; TYPE / 49456 / P/0 / H-3/ARR-3 / CQF, PDR-8, P/O;
etched into right earphone: R;
marked on top of headset: PSYCHO-ACOUSTIC LAB #43
FunctionUsed by S.S. Stevens to study sound transmission in noisy environments.
Between 1940 and 1945, Harvard physicists and psychologists worked side-by-side to bring man and machine into a harmonious union. Communication equipment studied and engineered by the Electro-Acoustic Laboratory was sent to the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory for speech articulation tests with human subjects in high-noise or low-pressure environments. Leo Beranek's and Stanley Stevens's teams developed improved microphones and earphones, and the armed forces rushed these into production.
As one can see from this example, the "patent pending" found on the headset establishes it as something new and innovative. The doughnut-style earphone socket came to be known as Harvard Socket. Stevens used this improved headset to study sound transmission in a noisy environment.
Between 1940 and 1945, Harvard physicists and psychologists worked side-by-side to bring man and machine into a harmonious union. Communication equipment studied and engineered by the Electro-Acoustic Laboratory was sent to the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory for speech articulation tests with human subjects in high-noise or low-pressure environments. Leo Beranek's and Stanley Stevens's teams developed improved microphones and earphones, and the armed forces rushed these into production.
As one can see from this example, the "patent pending" found on the headset establishes it as something new and innovative. The doughnut-style earphone socket came to be known as Harvard Socket. Stevens used this improved headset to study sound transmission in a noisy environment.
Historical AttributesDesigned and built at Harvard for S.S. Stevens. Used in the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory at Harvard University.
See "When Noise Signals Change: The Electro-Acoustic and Psycho-Acoustic Laboratories from 1940 to 1945" by Brandon Shackleford. CHSI Lib. 4875.
See "When Noise Signals Change: The Electro-Acoustic and Psycho-Acoustic Laboratories from 1940 to 1945" by Brandon Shackleford. CHSI Lib. 4875.
Curatorial RemarksAssembled in the Harvard Shop.
ProvenancePsychology Department, Harvard University.
Published ReferencesBrandon Shackleford, When Noise Signals Change: The Electro-Acoustic and Psycho-Acoustic Laboratories from 1940 to 1945 (Senior thesis, Harvard University, 1997). CHSI Lib.4875.
