A D V E N T U R E S   in   C Y B E R S O U N D

Much of the revolution our generation is currently witnessing in the realm of communication started with Edison. Indeed perhaps the most significant invention this prolific inventor created was the modern research laboratory, in which searches for answers to problems are organized and segmented according to task. It was not uncommon for "the old man " to have several unrelated projects going on simultaneously.

Many of todays advances have been built upon the shoulders of this giant of American ingenuity; the lightbulb, the free electron, (which in his day was known as the Edison Effect) has led to, among other things, radio, television and motion pictures. Indeed, his search for a durable compound for recording surfaces during the earlier years of this century spawned what we now know as the plastics industry.

The Phonograph

Throughout the 1870's, Edison demonstrated an incessant interest in telegraphy, being granted numerous patents in this new field., improving the new telephone with his carbon button transmitter. Along the way he began experimenting with diaphragms with an "embossing point" registering vibrations on various media. He directed his chief mechanic, John Kruesi to build a working model along the same lines as a lathe.

Edison and one of his first "tin foil" phonographs

It is important to note that many influential people of this time had made recordings on tin foil phonographs. Some are still squirreled away at the Edison national site and others at Greenfield Village in Michigan.

North American Period 1889 - 1894

The tinfoil phonograph was a simple, crude affair, and the reproduction quality was generally poor. Yet unlike the telephone, the phonograph was a commercial success from the start, paying its way handsomely for the first couple of years. However it was inevitable that people would tire of the novelty of straining to hear their faint, scratchy voices emanating from crude tin or cardboard horns.

The Edison interests during this period (1878-1888) had become involved in other matters, (the electric light for one) and the phonograph was all but abandoned until Edison was approached by the Bell interests to join forces in exploiting their example of the phonograph with a removable recording surface. (One of among five patents granted to the Bell & Tainter interests in 1886.)

This new "Graphophone" (which Edison rejected as being an act of piracy on his idea) was able to get its legal legs from the use of "incising" wax media ,instead of "embossing" foil. It took an outside source in the body of Jesse Llippincott to merge the two interests into the North American Phonograph Co, (June 1888 - May 1894.)

Edison and a battery powered 'Graphophone' dictating machine

While the Bell & Tainter machines utilized a thin cardboard cylinder coated with a rather slim surface of ozocerite wax, and the somewhat more difficult to regulate speed of the treadle actuated device. Examples of Edison North American Machines from this early era usually have nickel plated tags which have geographical disclaimers. New serial number research being undertaken seems to imply a number of units totaling in the 6000 range.

It should be pointed out that The Edison Phonograph Works made examples which used electric mains phonoís, (Type E), a Water Powered phono, and a Treadle Phonograph (Type T). However the less popular Graphophone Treadle model were produced for a run of approx. 2800 units, with the top castings later recycled by Thomas Macdonald in 1894 in electric & spring wound Models (E,F,K,R,S and U).

All these examples of early Graphophones bring among the highest prices in the market for these antique talking machines.

The Advent Of the Spring

In the vacuum that existed in the years following the dissolution of North American, barriers to enter the talking machine business were at their lowest and entrepreneurs rushed in to fill the need. There had been a general business recession in 1893-1894, which contributed to the decline of the use of the phonograph as a business machine, but increased its use as a cheap means of entertainment and escapism.

Machines were being converted for coin-operated trade, but the biggest hurdle in promoting the widespread use of the phonograph was its high price. The Class M cost well over $200 in 1894. Edison however was slow to catch on to the need of supplying a cheaper spring wound phono, believing that for business purposes the operator would always be interrupted by having to crank the phono as the speed and pitch wound down.

Market forces prevailed as motors by Edward Amet in Illinois for the Chicago Talking Machine Co. were mated with recycled Edison class M, water treadle tops and Bell & Tainter Graphophone Treadle tops. The American Graphophone Co. also got into the act by powering these recycled tops (Edison's included !) with the same motors to soon be used on the Graphophone F and K spring wound models.

Edison finally countered with his own version of a spring wound Phonograph in 1896, rather unceremoniously called the Spring Motor Phonograph. The Graphophone interests had already been marketing spring powered machines for over two years (models F,G,K and the Type N.)

The Quest for Greater Volume (golden age 1894 - 1920's)

With the development of cheaper, lighter spring motor machines, a quantum leap was made towards making this technology more widely available, which would broaden the phonographs appeal in the entertainment arena.

Indeed since 1899 phonographs were being converted for the coin - operated / amusement / exhibition trade by outside sources (PAT.#428750), and quite a vigorous trade existed to exploit this new technology by traveling exhibitors who cris-crossed the country demonstrating the phonographs capability to reproduce the human voices of those in the audience on wax clylinders.

Unfortunately the volume of these wax cylinders were not loud enough to be heard in large rooms, so listening galleries with hearing tubes were utilized. The sound quality as reproduced through a tin or brass horn was quite poor, in fact, examples of horn outfits dating from pre - 1896 are virtually non-existent in world collections today.

Edison, while supplying entertainment cylinders to the trade fairly early on, continued to emphasise its dictation strong-points. But for the entertainment trade the need for more volume christened in the "golden age" of the acoustic era . This was a time when the main producers were content to elevate their existing production runs to enjoy filling the increasing demand, while leaving the "tweaking" of performance levels to others.

This led to the development of "attachments" such as Bettini micro-reproducers (PAT # 409003) filed amazingly early in 1889!, Polyphone attachments PAT.# 613670, early moving horn systems, and larger fomat 5" Concert machines which relied on a faster surface speed, generating greater volume leading to the Higham friction reproducer of early 1901.

All of these developments were originated in the U.S while perhaps the most significant European contribution being made by Henri Lioret in 1896 for the first "moulded unbreakable cylinders which would allow for more weight/pressure to be exerted on the recording surface.

By 1902 The major manufacturers had made strides in finding more durable recording surfaces, which allowed For a wider adaption of horn systems that did away with the need for many of the previous advances such as Polyphone attachments & Bettini Micro reproducers and 5" Concert phonographs, With one notable exception, the Higham friction reproducer which enjoyed a long production run with Columbia through its 20th Century (B.C.) and the Home Premier (B.M.).

These devices were often the phonograph exhibitors favorite choice of machine when confronted with the problem of reaching a large audience with adequate volume. Indeed, Edison also paid for the licensing & eventually hired Daniel Higham to develop and refine the device for use in his version of talking motion pictures "The Kinetophone" of 1913.

Source: http://netrunner.net/~gismo/history.html

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