Lost sounds
Document an old recording so a listener can distinguish the original, a transfer, an edit and a reconstruction.
GUIDED LESSONStart here
Use this cataloguing lesson before presenting an unfamiliar audio file as historical evidence. The page teaches a record format; it does not supply a historic sound collection.
By the end: Separate known facts from a supplied label and identify what must be requested before making a historical claim.
What you need: An audio file you are permitted to keep, its supplied description and somewhere to record sources and unknowns.
Before you begin: No historic device required. Begin with an audio file you already have permission to keep.
How to work through this lesson
- Preserve the supplied file unchanged and record where it came from. Separate the claimed recording date from any known transfer or file-creation date.
- Record medium, device, transfer chain and processing when known. Label missing details as unknown, and distinguish actual capture from reconstruction.
- Create a separate listening excerpt if needed. Attach the source/permission record and unresolved questions before sharing it.
Keep the sound and its provenance together
An archive needs both the signal and the explanation of its origin. Distinguish an original recording, a transfer from an older medium, and a modern reconstruction. They can all be useful, but they support different historical claims.
Keep an unchanged source copy and a separate listening copy. Record the transfer chain, processing and unknowns. A plausible reconstructed dial tone is evidence of a reconstruction method, not proof of what one particular phone sounded like decades ago.
Worked example
Synthetic catalogue entry: ‘Cassette transfer, family interview; exact recording date unknown; transferred through a named deck and interface; no noise reduction on preservation copy; edited excerpt stored separately.’ This is a documentation example, not an AUWEN family recording. If the original is lossy, wrapping it in WAV does not restore discarded detail.
Try it yourself
Write your answer before opening the explanation. Use the worked example if you get stuck.
Question 1
Someone supplies an MP3 labelled ‘1970 station identification’, with no further information. What can you safely claim, and what should you request?
Show answer and reasoning
You can describe the supplied file and its label, but the label alone does not establish the recording date or source. Request provenance, transfer history and any rights information. Keep unknown fields explicit rather than converting the filename into a confirmed historical fact.
Watch for: A digital copy can be exact while its storage later fails. Preserve multiple verified copies. Do not publish third-party recordings solely because their device is obsolete.
Summary + next step
Separate known facts from a supplied label and identify what must be requested before making a historical claim.
Keep the result: Keep original bytes, descriptive record, source/rights information and a separate access copy. WAV conversion cannot restore information already lost in an MP3.
Sources and further reading
Read these references for the concepts used in the lesson.
Lesson updated 2026-09-14 · Guidance updated 2026-10-22
Coverage and further development
Separate known facts from a supplied label and identify what must be requested before making a historical claim.
Further development: Sourced historic recordings and explicitly labelled reconstructions; none are invented for this starter.