Ethnographer Charles Todd with Mexican Men and Boys at an FSA Camp in El Rio, California, 1941

    Charles L. Todd prepares to record using the Presto disc recorder, California, 1941.
    Courtesy of Library of Congress, Hemmig, Robert, "Charles Todd at the recording machine surrounded by a group of Mexican boys and men," 1941

    Description

    In 1941, ethnographers Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin documented the lives of migrant workers in California; recording songs, stories, poetry and camp meetings in interviews. Todd and Sonkin did their work with a Presto disc recording machine, recording discs, needles and batteries. At first the team used acetate-on-aluminum discs, but as the war effort got underway and aluminum became scarce, they were forced to switch to heavier, more fragile acetate-on-glass recording discs. This photograph shows Todd with his interview equipment with a group of Mexican men and boys at a Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp in El Rio, California. 

    Source-Dependent Questions

    • Charles Todd, featured in this photo with the headphones around his neck, was an ethnographer. An ethnographer works closely with groups of people to record information about their lives. Why would ethnographers play an important role during the Dust Bowl?
    • Compare this photo to the recordings of Flora Robertson and Imogene Chapin. What source has more impact — the actual recordings or seeing an image of what happened during a recording? Explain your answer.

    Citation Information 

    Hemmig, Robert, "Charles Todd at the recording machine surrounded by a group of Mexican boys and men," 1941. Courtesy of Library of Congress

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