HERBERT STOTHART CONDUCTS THE MGM ORCHESTRA [ca. 1938] Photo

Los Angeles: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, [ca. 1938]. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Soiling, creases and pinholes at all four corners. Near fine.

Herbert Stothart conducts the MGM orchestra on what is known to this day to be the finest recording stage. Stothart, who wrote musical scores for dozens of MGM classics, won an Academy Award for The Wizard of Oz in 1939, and may be recording for that classic in this image. Of note are the multiple microphones seen; with the discovery of the individual recordings from each microphone, stereo versions can now be constructed from the vintage music recordings.