Editor's Note

It has been exactly forty years since I started collecting tapes of speech synthesis examples. At first the tapes were a source of technical information and inspiration from my professional predecessors as I learned the art and science of speech synthesis. Later, during the 1970s, the tapes became important historical records as I became aware some of our most prestigious laboratories could not find tape recordings of important work, particularly after workers retired or died. Sharing my concern of this historical loss with colleagues over the following years brought acknowledgment of the problem, but no volunteers to help find a solution. It's not pleasant when one's mind seizes upon a problem and will not let go.

Then, in 1985 I discovered an interest in speech synthesis history at the National Museum of American History, of the Smithsonian Institution. One of NMAH's responsibilities is to archive the history of the development of technology. With the Smithsonian's support of a joint project, I was able to enlist an outstanding advisory committee of prominent scientists and engineers to critique our plan for the project (see History of the Project.) In mid-1987 I started mailing requests, on Smithsonian stationery, for tapes and records from selected laboratories.

Now, after fifteen years of pestering people for tapes and records, I'm bringing my involvement to a close. My feelings about the project range from elation over the completeness of some laboratories' histories to concern that some contributions have been missed. There were some researchers who expressed interest in participating, but did not, even after fifteen years of my nagging. I hope they are keeping their historical tapes and records in a safe place.

This project has survived my periods of burnout, people's procrastination, hurricane Fran's putting a tree into my computer room, and the Y2K software fixes, so I'm relieved to have the material in the safe hands of the Smithsonian. To those who have contributed material, thank you on behalf of people yet to come.

H. David Maxey
2002