ORWO Magnetband Type CR 50 — Boxed Quarter-Inch Reel-to-Reel Audio Recording Tape

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

ORWO Magnetband Type CR 50 — Boxed Quarter-Inch Reel-to-Reel Audio Recording Tape

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.316

Description

Boxed quarter-inch reel-to-reel magnetic recording tape. Square paperboard box (Image 1) printed in blue, white, black, and color; reel of tape on a clear plastic three-spoke hub with metal flanges (Image 2). Box front: maker line, ORWO logo, "MAGNETBAND," a multicolor reel device, and a printed type label "CR 50" with truncated codes. The box is a fan-opening design — the panels pivot at the lower-right corner so the upper portion swings open like a fan, and the diagonal edge at the upper right is the intended opening (a tape end shows there, not a tear). Reel wound with dark oxide tape; orange grease-pencil annotations on the tape pack; molded circular emblem and a molded serif "I" within a circle on the hub spokes. Tape appears used. Width consistent with ¼" (6.35 mm); CR 50 = 240 m nominal length. Reel diameter ~13 cm (tentative; no scale). The reel/box correspondence is unconfirmed (see Marks and Research Notes). Two identical items.

Context

ORWO ("Original Wolfen") was the trademark adopted in 1964 by the East German state enterprise VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen, which held the GDR monopoly on photochemical and magnetic recording media; from 1970 the plant headed the VEB Fotochemisches Kombinat Wolfen. Wolfen tape and film circulated widely across the socialist bloc, and the presence of an ORWO tape in a Cuban collection is consistent with GDR–Cuba trade and technical exchange (collection-level inference, not established by the object itself). The grease-pencil marks indicate the tape was recorded on or sequenced by a user.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Manufacturer

VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen

Place

City

Wolfen

Region

Saxony-Anhalt, Central Europe

* Untyped Place

G.D.R.

Continent

Europe

Edition

Cr 50 U6 240

Notes

Manufacturer: VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen, under the ORWO brand (Wolfen, GDR; from 1970 part of VEB Fotochemisches Kombinat Wolfen). No individual designer identified for the package graphics. Reel: maker unconfirmed — molded hub emblem illegible; possibly ORWO but not verified (tentative). Date: circa 1965–1980. Post-1964 anchor secure (the ORWO trademark was introduced in 1964); narrower dating within that span is tentative pending a datable catalog match.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Note

Location

reel

Transcription

#8

Material/Technique

Ink

Notes

Carton, printed: "VEB FILMFABRIK WOLFEN — DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCHE REPUBLIK"; "ORWO" with registered-trademark ®; "MAGNETBAND"; type label "CR 50," with a partly cut-off "U 6…" line and a "24…" line — the codes run to the box's diagonal opening edge ("240" = 240 m nominal length, tentative). Reel, molded: a circular emblem (indeterminate — not legibly resolved under enhancement) and a serif "I" within a circle on a hub spoke. Tape pack: orange grease-pencil annotation(s), partially legible (a numeral-like mark, tentatively "24," plus looped strokes); meaning unknown.

Dimensions

Height

15.5 cm

Width

15 cm

Depth

2 cm

Parts

(1) printed paperboard carton; (2) tape reel (transparent plastic three-spoke hub + metal flanges); (3) wound magnetic recording tape.

Materials

Material

Cardboard, Plastic

Material Notes

Printed paperboard (carton); magnetic tape — oxide-coated flexible base, PVC or polyester (tentative; ORWO used both across the period); colorless molded plastic reel hub; metal (aluminum, tentative) reel flanges; wax/grease pencil (annotation).

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Places

Place

City

Wolfen

Region

Saxony-Anhalt, Central Europe

* Untyped Place

G.D.R.

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Research Notes

Notes

ORWO = "Original Wolfen," trademark adopted in 1964, when the company's trademark was changed from "Agfa" to "ORWO" at VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen in East Germany, as a brand for film and magnetic tape; after the formation of the combine VEB Fotochemisches Kombinat Wolfen in 1970, VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen became its headquarters (Wikipedia/Wikiwand; DDR-Museum). Type confirmed: dealer listings catalog ORWO magnetic tape Type CR50 / CPR50 at 240 m, consistent with the truncated label (radiomuseum.org corroborates ORWO "Magnetband" type numbering and ¼"/6.35 mm widths).

Notes

Open questions / follow-up: (a) Reel attribution — the molded hub emblem did not resolve; confirm whether the reel is the original ORWO reel or a substitute, which would change whether this is a matched package. (b) Tape base material — PVC vs. polyester unverified. (c) Production date — narrow within 1964–1980 if a dated catalog/box variant can be matched.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 16, 2026