Psychological Test, Seashore Measures of Musical Talent (1939 Revision): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This test consists of nine phonograph records in paper jackets in a black, cloth-covered album. There also are six score sheets, six duplicate score sheets, and a manual of instructions. The first seven records are all marked: Columbia. The first six are black with black paper labels and measure 30.5 cm. (12 “) in diameter. The first record is labeled in part: Measures of Musical Talent – (/) Sense of Pitch, No. 1A (/) Educational Series (/) CARL E. SEASHORE (/) 53004-D (/) (51651) (/) MADE AND PAT’D IN U.S.A. JAN. 21 ’13 AND RE. 16588 (/) COLUMBIA PHONOGRAPH COMPANY, INC., NEW YORK, U.S.A. The second record is labeled in part: Sense of Intensity, No. 2A. It also is labeled in part: MADE AND PAT’D IN U.S.A. AUG. 11. ’08. JAN. 21. ’13 AND MAY 22. ’23.

The fourth record is labeled in part: Sense of consonance, No. 4A.

The patent dates on the third, fourth and fifth records are the same as on the first record.

The sixth record is labeled in part: Sense of Rhythm, No. 6A. It also is labeled in part: MADE AND PAT’D IN U.S.A. JAN. 21. ’13 AND MAY22. ’23.

The seventh record is blue with a blue label. It is labeled in part: Sense of Rhythm, No. 6A. It also reads in part: MADE AND PAT’D IN U.S.S. RE. 16588 AND 1702564 [. . .] C.P.CO. A sticker attached to the label reads in part: Distributed by [. . . H.STOELTING CO.

The eighth record has grooves on only one side. It is 25.5 cm. (10”) in diameter and is black with a green center. The label reads: PRESTO (/) Q (/) N.Y. U.S.A. The jacket containing the record is marked in pencil: Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. (/) Cincinnati, Ohio (/) Wurlitzer-Muddy (/) Music Talent Test.

The ninth record is black with a gold label and is 25.5 cm. (10”) in diameter. The label reads: BORING, LANGFELD AND WELD (/) FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY (/) CHOPPED SPEECH (/) [. . .] 1948 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In addition to the records, there are two sets of score sheets for the Seashore Measures of Musical Talent, with six sheets of paper in each set. The manual with blue cove is: Carl E. Seashore, Don Lewis and Joseph G. Saetveit, Manual of Instructions and Interpretations for the Seashore Measures of Musical Talents (1939 Revision), Camden, N.J.: Educational Department, RCA Victor Division, Radio Corporation of America.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1939-1948
• Object Name: psychological test
• Physical Description: paper, plastic (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 4.7 cm x 38 cm x 32 cm; 1 27/32 in x 14 31/32 in x 12 19/32 in
• ID Number: 1990.0570.07
• catalog number: 1990.0570.07
• accession number: 1990.0570
• Credit Line: Gift of Emporia Kansas State College, Department of Psychology
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.