Some (not that many) are a bit rough around the edges, so I've taken the liberty of removing as much of the surface noise, pops & clicks etc as I could and have also adjusted the bass/mid/treble balance.
LOL. That is how the platters sounded complete with scratches from the needle as it gouged the grooves - very authentic stuff. I bet many platter was scratched when the sea pitched the boat, sloppy sailors mishandled and especially when the ALARM! sounded and an out of control the needle arm swung wildly to the dismay of the record owner! The records were made of a material that cracked and warped. Yep, I grew up with them at home (no, not my rest home).
78 rpm materials:
Early disc records were made of various materials including hard
rubber. From 1897 onwards, earlier materials were largely replaced by a rather brittle formula of 25%
shellac, a filler of a cotton compound similar to
manila paper, powdered
slate, and a small amount of a
wax lubricant. The mass production of shellac records began in 1898 in
Hanover,
Germany, and continued until the end of the 78-rpm format in the late 1950s. "Unbreakable" records, usually of
celluloid on a
pasteboard base, were made from 1904 onwards, but they suffered from an exceptionally high level of surface noise. "Unbreakable" records could be bent, broken, or otherwise damaged; but not nearly as easily as shellac records. Vinyl was first tried out as a 78 rpm record material in 1940 due to material restrictions. Decca introduced vinyl "Deccalite" 78s after the Second World War, and Victor made some vinyl 78s, but other labels would restrict vinyl production to the newer 33 and 45 formats