LEM Ribbon (Unidentified)

We have two of these microphones in the museum, one painted brown with brass sides, and another that is fully chrome plated.

From the Xaudia blog:

This beautiful and very old French LEM ribbon mic is probably from the late 1930s. Inside, it is very similar to the smaller Amperite ribbon mics, with a large fibreboard frame supporting the ribbon, and a pair of (rather weak) magnets behind.

It has a classic design, with brass sides, a folded steel grill and a cast steel yoke. These solid-sided microphones look strange now, but I guess the thinking at the time was that figure-8 microphones didn't pick up sound (or reflections) from the sides, which allowed for a very simple construction. The ribbon itself is positioned right at the front next to the grill, with a metal plate across the magnets at the rear, so there is some attempt at making the mic more directional.

David Broad performs with his LEM ribbon microphone.