The phonograph was developed as a result of Thomas Edison's work on two other inventions, the telegraph and the telephone. In 1877, Edison was working on a machine that would transcribe telegraphic messages through indentations on paper tape, which could later be sent over the telegraph repeatedly. This development led Edison to speculate that a telephone message could also be recorded in a similar fashion. He experimented with a diaphragm which had an embossing point and was held against rapidly-moving paraffin paper. The speaking vibrations made indentations in the paper. Edison later changed the paper to a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it. The machine had two diaphragm-and-needle units, one for recording, and one for playback. When one would speak into a mouthpiece, the sound vibrations would be indented onto the cylinder by the recording needle in a vertical (or hill and dale) groove pattern.
A variety of the potential materials for the registration of sound
The Edison Speaking Phonograph Company
was established on January 24, 1878, to exploit the new machine by exhibiting
it. Edison received $10,000 for the manufacturing and sales rights and
20% of the profits. As a novelty, the machine was an instant success,
but was difficult to operate except by experts, and the tin foil would
last for only a few playbacks.
Ever practical and visionary, Edison offered, among others, the following
possible future use for the phonograph in North American Review in June
1878:
- Connection with the telephone, so as to make that instrument an auxiliary
in the transmission of permanent and invaluable records, instead of being
the recipient of momentary and fleeting communication.
two minute cylinders from the turn of the century, released by and featuring: the Thomas Edison band
Eventually, the novelty of the invention wore off for the public, and Edison did no further work on the phonograph for a while, concentrating instead on inventing the incandescent light bulb. In the void left by Edison, others moved forward to improve the phonograph. Alexander Graham Bell made some improvements on Edison's invention, chiefly by using wax in the place of tin foil and a floating stylus instead of a rigid needle which would incise, rather than indent, the cylinder.
(Extract from the ‘History of Recorded Sound, Inventing
Entertainment’
-The Library of Congress)
Blank Cylinder
A blank cylinder of hardened wax designed for recording. This material
had evolved from methods using thick paper (carbon?) as well the more
successful tin foil. In around 1903 chocolate phonographs had become popular,
which could be played several times then eaten. The
inscription seen at the top of the cylinder is the phrase, ‘blah
blah blah blah, all your fucking children, blaaaaaaaaah. Details of an
inscription can be as accurate as a thousandth of an Inch, which makes
it quite impossible to inscribe interesting sound by hand. Since the 20’s
ideas where entertained of the phonograph being a machine for drawing
sound although this never became plausible. Lazlo Moloy Nagy had entertained
many ideas in the direction of a ‘written” sound, inspired
by the process of inscription, although never managed or released and
interesting piece.
One standard wax cylinder can hold around two minutes of inscription.
Thomas Edison band
In a wholesome entrepreneurial spirit, Edison had returned to phonograph
production after several years of the machine being little more than a
curious invention for sideshows. The extent of his marketing can be seen
in these early edition cylinders, which feature recordings of the Thomas
Edison band. It had been his slogan that he wanted to see a phonograph
in every American home. The obvious next step
in longer playing time would be the record, which was originally pressed
with inscription on just one side of the disc. (Some one) had tried to
file a patent for the use of both sides of the disc when the potential
usage had occurred to him. The attempt was dismissed as absurd as double
sided records were inevitable and hence impossible to claim any right
thereof.
Insatallation view