Saturday Morning, May 30, 2026
Surround Sound
Class? Chattered reduced by the sound of their teacher's voice. I have a question for you. One boy leaned across the aisle and whispered to another. Here it comes. The second youth glanced back. I know what you mean, he answered. You always know when she has a weird lesson by the way she sounds. Silence filled the room. She continued.
Inventor Thomas Edison, father of recorded sound, was the first to market a cylinder phonograph in 1878. The reaction was explosive like a bolt of lightening.
Illustrated is an example with horn.
Can anyone answer this? If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Groans. Grimace. What kind of question is this? They all thought. Well, she continued. Any thoughts? There were, but to speak out always landed one in the principal's office.
1862 Indian head penny. The closest Native Americans were to sound was the smoke signal.
Saturday's auction will include a large coin category, with Morgan silver dollars, currency, et al. A two-tier affair.
John, you always have something to say, how about you? The lad fumbled, stumbled, not an utterance. A thought, a flash, then another boy spoke out. If the woods are anything like this classroom, then no, not a peep. Laughter filled the classroom breaking the tension. The teacher smiled. She enjoyed a good wit and the sound of laughter. It meant the class was listening. But, for the one who spoke out, an hour in the hallway was the just reward. There, it was forever silent. Even the passing principal simply nodded a hello. Familiarity, the kindness gift of continuity.
Sound Design
The Edmund Scientific Catalog. A staple of every curious boomer boy, almost beating out Mad magazine. Treasures within promised endless adventure in the right hands. Industrial magnets, so powerful, they could mysteriously move pens along a table top. Weather balloons so gigantic, with just the right amount of helium, one could be airborne fending off commercial jets. Atomic gardening kits promising astonishing mutations. Handy in any family. Solar cigarette lighters. High-soaring rockets. Analog computers.
Kapow! Bonk! Splatt! Krunch! Zwapp! Glurpp! Boff!
Hardly the sounds of silence.
Large selection of comic books once again.
Gentlemen, Start your Engines, a very gratifying sound.
1960's Hot Wheels.
The most intriguing, a prone position TV viewer. Why sit up when this mirror contraption can reflect the image down to you. A twofer. Also handy for gazing where you shouldn't. Edmonds Catalog. A must read when banned to the hallway. But the best, hands down, was The Big Ear. A device so clever, you could eavesdrop the world. A breakthrough technology forged for little boys. Forget satellites and phone taps, this baby had it all. Applications were infinite. A large cone with an amplifier receiver pointed in a specific direction could capture the faintest sound, from crick to cricket. Very, very handy when your older sister arrived home from a date and lingered in the car. Forget health class. Commercially, the Big Ear was and is still used by sound engineers along NFL sidelines. Here you can amplify audibles. God bless Edmonds.
Sounds in the Key of Life
We are so accustomed to sound patterns, we unconsciously absorb them. A symphony among birds in the dawn glow. The morning patter of a family waking up. The clanking of spoons against cereal bowls. The radio turned on. Showers and shouts. Patterns in life.
Both Disney comic books copyright 1947
All bring us comfort. The sound of a door opening, specifically a screen door. Between the click of the latch and the door closing indicates mood. Especially identifiable in the slam. All day, sounds follow us. Talk among workers, too much or too little. When you walk a city sidewalk you expect a certain amount of noise. A bustling barometer, with everyone in a hurry, life is good. People occupied is a preferable condition. But the days the streets are quiet, it can make one a bit anxious. Sound encompasses us. What a beautiful noise coming off from the street, Gotta a beautiful sound, Gotta a beautiful beat...sings Neil Diamond. Gershwin's American in Paris. Grieg's Peer Gynt. Music from all realms. Songs in the Key of Life writes Stevie Wonder. Sound indeed. Best in a live auction gallery. Our cocoon of comfort.
Of sound mind. A sound decision. Sound of music. Safe and sound. Sound asleep. Sounding out. Sounding off. Sound as a bell. One fine olfactory sense among the five. Our English teacher's classroom answer to her question? Better defined through another story.
You light up my life, another olfactory sense.
Pair of ornamental gas light brackets.
Our ninth grader teacher, Miss Wert, forever memorable in our hearts, decided to teach a lesson on par with the old tree in the woods. We were just downwind of the agony in our last period English class, and in no mood to rumble. She picked up a tennis ball and threw it at the wall. It bounced back to her waiting palm. Now, how many of you think this ball really touched the wall? The lesson was there would always be a molecular structure between. This argument ensued throughout the period. So, being a realist, the question was advanced. If I come up to the front of the classroom and punch you in the face, I didn't really punch you at all, did I. Silence. No response. Lesson plan scrubbed. Think of the years of suffering our class averted for yet to be students. We loved the sound of that.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]