Case Research Laboratory Notebooks

Spanning the years 1915 to 1930, the notebooks document the activities of the Case Research Laboratory, where the first commercially successful sound-on-film system was invented. The development of the sound film system can be traced back to the Lab’s earlier work on a daylight measuring device and an infrared signaling system used during WWI. Entries on correspondence between, and visits from, fellow scientists and inventors show how Ted Case’s experiments were part of a web of advancements in sound and film.

The notebooks not only provide a detailed look into the lab's activities but also into the human story of the lab. Lab employees have been identified through the notebooks, including several women. It was unusual enough for women to be working in the scientific field, but the notebooks further reveal that several of these women were involved in the scientific processes; May Gleason invented a special screen for the signaling system, and Margaret Tryon and Gertrude Eldred were employed as glass blowers.