Radio, radio

>> The Musée des ondes Émile Berliner is a memorial to sound

By MARK SLUTSKY

Housed, appropriately, in the ramshackle old RCA Victor factory in St-Henri, the Musée des ondes Émile Berliner is a curious and endearing place. It's a bit of a stretch to even call it a museum, considering it consists of just one medium-sized room. But that, and the fact that to get to the museum one has to pass through a foyer with a '70s-era Oasis machine and another, older vending machine with its plate glass smashed in, only adds to the charm.

The Musée des ondes is dedicated to old media, with an emphasis on sound equipment: vintage radios, dictaphones, record players and the various incarnations of the television set. It's run entirely by enthusiastic, somewhat eccentric volunteers who are more than willing to discuss the museum's collection. Their latest exhibit, Year After Year, showcases the many donations the museum has received since it opened in 1996, with 150 objects from the museum's collection of over 7,000 artefacts on display.

Medical earphones

Just to your left upon entering the museum is a large, impressive old record player. At least that's what it seems to be; closer scrutiny reveals the device is actually multifunctional. Not only was it once capable of playing 78s (it's been out of commission for a few decades), but of creating them as well, via a heavy secondary arm with a thick needle. A few old of the old RCA home-recordable discs, upon which the original pianist owner recorded his playing, are on display. It's quite impressive for a home device from the '30s.

Those interested in vinyl may also take note of the display case full of old records. The oldest, a 78 of Arthur Pryor's Orchestra playing "Sing Me a Song of the South," dates back to 1899 and was donated by one of gramophone inventor Émile Berliner's descendants.

There's also a case dedicated to dictaphones, another example of early, accessible recording devices. They've all got that sturdy, boxy and altogether charming look of mid-century technology. One, a playback device intended for use by stenographers, has a pair of earphones that resemble a stethoscope, giving it a strangely medical appearance. It's the irregularity of these devices that makes them so interesting: in the early days of sound-recording technology, before standards were fixed, small companies proliferated, creating scores of now-obsolete recording media.

The Musée des ondes is an amusing curiosity. Old technology, like railway lore, has a small but ardent following. One can see how easy it is to become fascinated by these now-alien, once commonplace artefacts.

Year After Year runs at the Musée des ondes Émile Berliner (1050 Lacasse) Friday-Sunday, 2-5pm, until Sept. 2