Collection consists of approximately 6,500 78 rpm records, and the personal papers of one of its collectors, John Stratton. Stratton's personal papers provide contextual information about one of the collectors of the "Stratton-Clarke Collection," and primary source material relating to his research of historical vocal recordings and recording practices.
The 78 rpm record collection spans nearly the entire history of 78 rpm record production, from acoustic recordings to early electronic recordings and beyond, covering the first half of the twentieth century. The recordings are primarily pressed on shellac discs, ranging from 7 to 14 inches on diameter, and capture performances of approximately 1,000 vocalists, performing the works of more than 900 different composers on at least 100 different labels. The collection was loosely built on four of Stratton's main interests regarding historical vocal recordings: the "Golden age of singing" (pre World War One); the Mapleson recordings (live Metropolitan Opera performances captured on wax cylinders by Lionel Mapleson between 1900 and 1904); Canadian performers; and pre-revolutionary Russian recordings (pre-1917). The collection includes unpublished and test pressings, as well as published materials.