Hi. I'm Barry Sulber-Mann. No, I'm not a crime fighter! But, as an independent archivist of the lost art of radio theater, I am somewhat of an amateur detective. (Okay, you can call me a collector, but for goodness sake not a "buff"!)  I'm serious about my fun. And there are few things as exciting to me than sitting in front of a radio or reel-to-reel as a tale from the golden era of communication unfolds before my ears, just as I imagine my grandfather did.

I have spent many years gathering some of the rarest recordings and memorabilia from that remarkable time. Occasionally I stumble upon the rarest of gems, an item long thought to have been lost forever, faded from our collective memory, existing only in the vast stream of radio waves speeding deeper into space. Hey! Maybe some lucky Vegans are listening to the Abbott & Costello or Blackstone The Magic Detective right now!

Not long ago, while exploring an estate auction, I discovered several boxes of magic in the form of old reel tapes, press clipping, radio station archives and marketing materials. I was certain that the writing on the labels had to be wrong, but my curiosity was piqued and I snatched them up in an exciting round of bidding. It was quite a gamble, but as soon as I got them home and spooled them onto the old RS-766 I knew I had something special.

What I heard were voices that no one thought would be heard ever again, or that anyone ever really thought about at all. What I heard were scenes from the great, though short-lived, radio adventure drama "The Pocketeer!". "The Pocketeer!"  was an ingenious everyman with a strong sense of justice, a mind for invention and a skill for sleuthing. Tired of crime and corruption infecting his beloved Silver City the mysterious  Pocketeer! took to the streets to fight the forces of evil. A classic archetype! And a thrilling ride!

Unfortunately, the series lasted only one and one third seasons. Upon it's debut in 1949 there was a rush of excitement, and a small flood of accompanying merchandise, including Pocketeer! comic books and Pocketeer! overcoats for junior sleuths. Though rare, some of these items still exist, but, like the master tapes of the radio series, inventories were mysteriously destroyed by the parent company Exciting Broadcasting Company shortly into the show's second season.

It was always rumored that some of the tapes still existed, and even more remarkable, that a full three seasons were recorded! Wow! If only someone had them lying around!

Well, they did, and now I, Barry Sulber-Mann, am proud to share the adventure with you with the first of hopefully many lovingly restored episodes of the original Pocketeer! radio series. Unheard by audiences for sixty years.

Who would have dreamed of ever hearing them again? No one were it not for the daring of one man: Barry Sulber-Mann.

Enjoy!

- Barry