via this auction
Here's something you do not see everyday. It was sent my way via Pea Hicks of optigan.com. If you are not familiar with the Voder, it was a 1939 speech synthesizer from Bell Lab's. Yes, that is correct, the year 1939. You can find some previous posts including demos here. This brochure is as rare as it gets. It's hard to believe it exists in this condition. The auction description follows: "A Vintage / Original 1940 New York WORLD'S FAIR Bell System Exhibit BROCHURE / BOOKLET of The VODER - The Worlds First Voice Electronic Synthesizer. The Bell Telephone Laboratory's Voder (from Voice Operating Demonstrator) was the first attempt to electronically synthesize human speech by breaking it down into its acoustic components. It was invented by Homer Dudley in 1937–1938 and developed on his earlier work on the vocoder. The quality of the speech was limited; however, it demonstrated the synthesis of the human voice, which became one component of the vocoder used in voice communications for security and to save bandwidth.
As found recently, it measures aprx 6" x 9".
Visually it appears to be in nice original condition showing light overall wear w/ some light creasing & a soft vertical fold/crease down the center (see pics)."
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