Wichita eagle., 1888-12-23
THE "DOLLPHONES.'
Mr.. EDISON's WONDERFUL TOY FOR
NICE LITTLE GIRLS.

Bark and Cats That Ask for Milk-Re-
peating Simple Sentence"
Children all over the world viii before
long have reason to bless the name of Thomas
A. Edison, for that wizard has just perfected
q toy the like of whichwas never dreamed OF
by them even on Christmas eve. In Mr. Edi-
sons laboratory at Orange, n. j., there are
numbers of dolls which speak as naturally as
any human being. They are not like the old
mechanical toys which by ones pressing
their diaphragm squeak forth mamma" and
papa" but they talk naturally and well,
and repeat long sentences
They are called the Edison talking dolls,
although Mr.. Edison coined new name for
them yesterday, in speaking OF them to The
Evening Sun representative. He called them
"Dollphones." The talking dolls have en-
gagged the inventors attention of and on for
the last two years, but it is only within a
few weeks that they have been perfected
Now nothing remains but to manufacture
them in large quantities and ship them to all
civilized countries, SO that at the proper time
children, not only in America, but also in
Europe, and even in far off Russia, will be
able to possess dollies that in their owners
| n2tlVe language can talk 10 tneu
EXHIBITION OF THEIR POWERS.
In little room in the second story Of the
great laboratory at Orange were dozen or
so of the dolls yesterday in various stages Of
manufacture. Some Of them were dressed
and ready to entertain company, while
others, while they could speak, did SO, strange
to say without the use of their heads MIR.
Edison picked up one of the dolls, whose gold
en- curly hair and pink cheeks were lovely
in their perfection, and whose light blue eyes
stared in mild surprise at the reporter, and,
winding her up by inserting clock key in
the small of her back, handed her to the re-
porter He then pressed spring, and the
doll, still looking at the reporter, said in a
plaintive tone: ~ love you, mamma; love
you dearly, mamma, but / am tired and
sleepy now. Please put me in my little bed"
Another doll baby who was musically in
clined, sang in sweet childish treble,
"Rock-a-by baby on the tree top all the way
through with good expression, and without a
false note. She sang 1t quite loudly, too, SO
that any one could have heard her across
moderate sized room. Still another sang a
pretty little German song, but as the reporter
did not understand German, he is unable to
tell what the song was about.
81 have only lately succeeded in bringing
this toy to state Of perfection said the in
ventor, as he lovingly stroked the curly pate
of one of his little takers.
Mr. Edison permitted The Evening Sun
man 10 talk to one of the doll monographs
To thoroughly test it the reporter repeated
this simple sentence:
eliminate space which is ascription of a
perfect mathematical reason for co-existing
plurality, and all thought is resolved into a
synthetic unit, which finds for its ultimate
habitat the bosom of the great Logos."
Contrary to his expectations the photograph
didn't break nor leave the room Of its own
accord, but instead repeated the sentence ac-
curately.
HOW THEY ARE CONSTRUCTED.
"The Photographs" said the inventor,
(Which are used in these dolls are practically
as perfect in their articulation and loudness
of tone as the larger ones. They are on the
same principle as my original photograph.
but whereas that weighed about seventy-five
pounds, and cost from SIS to $50, these weigh
only about pound and half apiece, and
win be retailed at from IS to ST. including
handsome doll. The great difficulty has
been to train girls to talk with sufficient dis
iinctnesS to the monographs, but that we are
now overcoming"
The little photograph which, with its &C
companying clockwork, is placed in each Of
the toys is the perfection of delicate mechan-
ism, but at the same time is so strongly made
and SO durable that it will last as long if not
longer than the doll itself. The cylinder
which receives Photographic impressions is
made of tin, and is consequently very dur
able. With ordinarily careful handling it
win repeat a sentence thousands of times,
and the last repetition will be as perfect as
the first. The main difficulty has been in in
venting machinery to make the doll phono-
graph so exact in its working that the CYL
inders may be interchangeable, and new cyl
inders with new sentences be substituted for
the old ones at any time So If child should
get tired of hearing its doll repeating over
and over again the same sentence, for tri-
fling sum, probably less than 81. we can sup
ply new cylinder with any sentence, and in
any voice that the purchaser may desire.
The cylinders were in reality bands of
metal about two and half inches in diameter,
about one-eighth Of an inch in thickness, and
half en- inch wide. The surface before it
received the impression of the photographic
needle was perfectly smooth, but after being
le%AnC0 w was luli VI dcpi ccSlJIls
some Of them so light and delicate as TO be
scarcely visible TO the naked eye. The
mechanism of the clockwork to which they
ere attached for use in the speaking dolls is
too delicate and intricate for examination
here
Attached to it is a governor like that on
steam engine, which prevents the doll from
talking too fast, and SO running the words
into each other. So loudly and distinctly do
these wonderful dolls talk that Mr.. Edison
the reporter be had listened to one
talking over long distance telephone from
Boston to New York city. The doll talked
into the telephone in Boston, and was heard |
quite plainly in this city. Indeed, the tele- !
phone rather tended to soften and improve
the tone.
But Mr.. Edison has not confined himself TO
speaking dolls. The company will also |
dogs that bark and ask plain !
lively for meat; cats that new and call in |
unnlistakable tones for milk; horses that /
neigh and express wish TO be fed upon oats;
COWS that moo and boast Of their milk |
giving qualities. and ROSTERS that crow as
as the real, live article.-Evening |
Sun.
Queen Mother.
TIE queen Of Greece may often be seen
seated in a little wicker chair on balcony |