Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-04-09
The Latest Prodigy of Inventive
Genius.

This is a marvellous age in more re-
spects than one but it is pre-eminent-
ly the age OF great inventions and
| discoveries. One triumph of brain
and skill treads closely on the heels
of another, and while we yet marvel
over the latest prodigy Of human i'm
genuity the advent of another wonder
is announced. The printing press,
the steam engine, the mower and
reaper. the sewing machine, the tele-
graph, the cable, the telephone and
the electric light are but a few Of
thousands Of marvellous inventions
that bless our day and generation.
Now comes still another victory from
the hand and brain of the worlds
greatest living inventor,-Mr. Edi-
son. His latest prodigy is the per-
fected phonograph. Our readers will
doubtless remember about hearing Of
Edison's phonograph, a wonderful In
vention but not sufficiently perfect
to be of great practical valne-the
hint of triumph yet to be achieved.
Speaking of it Mr.. Edison says: ~
always regarded it as more or less a
toy. The germ of something wonder
ful was perfectly distinct, but | tried
the impo. sible with il, and when the
electric light business assumed com
mercial Importance / threw every
thing else overheard for that. New
ertheless, the phonograph has been
more or less constantly in mind ever
since. When resting from prolonged
work upon light, my brain was found
20 revert almost automatically 20 the
old idea. Since the light has been
finished, | have taken up the phono-
graph, and after eight months Of
steady work have made il a CONNER
cial invention. My phonograph eX-
pect TO see in every business office.
Its operation is simplicity itself, and
cannot fail. The merchant or clerk
who wishes to send letter has only
e. set the machine i'm motion and 10
talk in his natural voice, and at the
usual rate of speed into a receiver.
When he has finished the sheet, or
"phonOgram," as ! call IL, IL is ready |
for putting into little box made on
purpose for mails. We are making /
sheets in three slzes--one for letters |
of from 500 TO 900 words, and an
other size for 4 200 words.
81 expect that an arrangement |
may be made with the post-oilice au-
thorities enabling phonogram boxes
to be sent at the same rate as a let
ter. The receiver OF a phonogram /
will put it into his apparatus and the /
message will be given out more
clearly and distinctly than the best
telephone message ever sent. The
tones Of the voice OF the two phono-
graphs which / have finished are so
perfectly rendered that one can dis
tinguish between twenty different
persons, each of whom has said
few words. One tremendous adyan-
tage is the letter may be repeated a
thousand times.
"The phonograph does not wear
out by use. Moreover, il may be til-
ed away for hundred years and be
ready for the instant il is needed. If
a man dictates his will 10 a phono-
graph there will be no disputing the
authenticity of the document with
those who knew the tones OF his
voice in life. The cost Of making
the phonograph will be scarcely more
than the cost Of ordinary letter paper.
The machine will read out a letter or
a message at the same speed with
which it was dictated"