Portable Museum Bringing the Culture & History of Sound Beyond Music to the World – One Listener at a Time.
Collections
Our object-based study of the culture & history of sound spans four primary collections.
Beginning in 2015 with a modest number of audio field recordings made by our Director & Chief Curator Dr John Kannenberg, the Museum of Portable Sound (MOPS) currently maintains four primary collections.
Two of these collections – the sounds and videos – live only on the MOPS iPhone 4S, from which they are accessible exclusively to our visitors.
Our collections of sound and video are ONLY accessible during visits to our museum and are NOT available for listening or watching on our website.
The physical objects and library materials are held at Museum of Portable Sound Laboratories, currently located in Southsea, UK.
Highlights from across our Collections
View images of highlights from our collections of sounds, physical objects, library materials, and videos.
Catacombs of Kom El Shaqoufa: Alexandria, Egypt, 11 May 2010 (Sound)The First Commercially Manufactured Compact Disc, 1981 (Physical Object)The First Commercially Available Recording of Birdsong, 1910, donated by the British Library Sound Archive (Sound)Spool of Silvertone Recording Wire, 1940s, donated by Ryan Sarnowski (Physical Object)South Bank Undercroft, London, birthplace of British skateboarding, 5 Aug 2018 (Sound)The Film Finds its Tongue, one of the earliest books on film sound, 1st ed, 1929 (Library)Now Hear This, experimental cartoon by Chuck Jones & Treg Brown, 1963 (Video)Pictures of Sound, book & CD, educed audio from 980–1980, 1st ed, 2012 (Library)Replica Cap’n Crunch Bosun Whistle used for Phone Phreaking (Physical Object – Cast Court)Water Travel: Hovercraft: The Isle of Wight, 25 September 2018 (Sound)Museum Without Walls by André Malraux, 1st English ed, 1967 (Library)The First iPod TV Commercial, 2001 (Video)
Recent Acquisitions
View images of objects we’ve recently added to our collections.
Bevy of Swans Takes to Flight, 14 Oct 2021 (Sound)Sounds of Western North Atlantic Fishes, book + 2xCD set, the first publication of aquatic animal sounds, 1970 (Library)Council on the Preservation of Plains Indian Sign Language, US Congress, 1930 (Video)Congress Radio: Usha Mehta and the Underground Radio Station of 1942, Penguin Books India, 2021, donated by Jigisha PatilHorizons Software Starter Pack audio cassette for the ZX Spectrum home computer, 1982 (Physical Object)The First Pirated MP3 File, 1996 (Sound)From Rattle to Radio, a history of portable audio communication used by London Met Police, 1988 (Library)Music Vest TV Commercial, 1985 (Video)Emtec 8GB USB Tweety Bird MP3 Player, 2012 (Physical Object)
…we need your help. For four years, we have managed to keep admission to the Museum of Portable Sound free for all. But this model hasn’t proven to be sustainable. If you value what we do, and would like to help us continue to fulfil our mission of bringing the culture of sound to the world one visitor at a time, please consider making a donation or supporting us long-term on Patreon.
The Museum of Portable Sound 