Кассета № 15 Type-1 Reel-to-Reel Tape Spool in Box

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

"Кассета № 15" Type-1 Reel-to-Reel Tape Spool in Box

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.317

Description

Boxed open-reel ("кассета"/spool) for magnetic tape, with tape wound on the reel. The square paperboard carton is printed front and back. The front (Image 1) carries the product name, specifications, and two overlapping stylized three-spoke reel silhouettes in orange and pink. The back (Image 2) is a salmon-orange paper field printed with two columns of blank ruled lines (a contents/index log, unfilled), a thumb-notch cut at the top edge for removing the reel, and a pencil inscription at upper left reading "Dr. Asencio." Inside is a reel of dark oxide tape on a smoky-clear plastic three-spoke hub with a translucent pink center disc (Image 3), matching the pink reel printed on the box. The hub is molded with a producer legend, a length/time estimation scale, and a circular "1" emblem. Reel diameter approximately 13 cm (tentative; no scale in frame), consistent with the stated 250 m capacity. The tape is recorded/used (titled by hand on the box). The reel and box are a matched Music-Fund product; the magnetic tape wound on it is of unidentified make (see Made/Created and Research Notes).

Context

The Music Fund of the USSR (Музыкальный фонд СССР, "Музфонд"), founded in 1939 under the Union of Composers, ran production combines in Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, and Kiev that manufactured, among other goods, standardized tape reels and boxes. This carton is a product of its Leningrad combine.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Gálvez collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Production Combine of the Leningrad Branch of the Music Fund of the USSR

Place

City

Leningrad

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

Date: circa 1968–1980; firmly post-1967 (the box cites ГОСТ 13275-67, the standard adopted in 1967). Narrower dating tentative. Place: Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR (address given as prospekt Gaza 44, postal index 198020).

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

box, front

Language

Russian

Translation

TAPE N15 FOR REEL-TO-REEL 1-(GOST) 13275-67 Variety Price 0-65k. Capacity 250 m Checkpoint DO MUZFOND USSR Leningrad 198020, pr. Gaza, 44

Material/Technique

Ink

Notes

Brands is Russian for "TAPE".

Type

Note

Location

box, back

Transcription

Dr. Asencio

Language

Spanish

Translation

Dr. Asencio

Material/Technique

Pencil

Notes

Box front, printed (Russian; English in brackets): "КАССЕТА № 15" [Reel/Spool No. 15]; "ДЛЯ МАГНИТОФОННОЙ ЛЕНТЫ" [for magnetic-recorder tape]; "Тип I · ГОСТ 13275-67 · Сорт I · Цена 0-65 к. · Емкость 250 м" [Type 1 · GOST 13275-67 · Grade 1 · Price 65 kopecks · Capacity 250 m]; "КПП ЛО МУЗФОНДА СССР · Ленинград, 198020, пр. Газа, 44." Box back: graphite pencil inscription "Dr. Asencio" (terminal letters slightly ambiguous; alternate reading "Asensio" — tentative); printed ruled index lines (blank). Reel, molded into the clear hub: a producer legend reading approximately "ЛО / МУЗФ[ОНДА]" (tentative); a length/time estimation scale of paired numeric columns (e.g., 22/44 … 12/24 … 6/12); a circular emblem enclosing the numeral "1" (corresponding to the Type-1 / Grade-1 designation).

Dimensions

Height

15.5 cm

Width

15.5 cm

Depth

1 cm

Parts

(1) printed paperboard carton (front label + salmon back log-label); (2) tape reel (smoky-clear plastic three-spoke hub with translucent pink center disc); (3) wound magnetic recording tape. Together these constitute the single object.

Materials

Material

Cardboard, Plastic

Material Notes

Paperboard and printed paper (carton and labels); transparent molded plastic reel — polystyrene (tentative) — with translucent pink hub disc; magnetic tape (oxide-coated flexible base, PVC or polyester/"lavsan," tentative); graphite (pencil inscription).

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Place

City

Leningrad

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Research Notes

Notes

The Music Fund of the USSR was created in Moscow under the Union of Composers in 1939 and operated production combines in Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, and Kiev; it maintained production enterprises and sheet-music shops (ru.Wikipedia; Belcanto). The cited standard is confirmed: a 1978 Soviet patent references the standard reel for magnetic tape, type 1, GOST 13275-67, fixing a post-1967 production date for the box. ("Кассета" here denotes the reel/spool unit, not a Compact Cassette.)

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 16, 2026