Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-12-17
THE "DOLLPHONES."
Mr.. eolSoN's WONDERFUL TOY FOR
NICE LITTLE GIRLS.

Dolls That Sing "Rock-a-By Raby"-They |
Can Talk in Any Language-Dogs That
Bark and Cats That Ask for Miik-Re-
peating simple Sentence"
Children all over the world will before
long have reason to bless the name Of Thomas
A Edison, for that wizard has just perfected
a 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 off 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 timi
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
native language can talk Ia them.
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 Mr..
Edison picked up one of the dolls, whos gold
en- curly hair and pink cheeks were iovely
in their perfection, and whose light blue eyes
stared n mid 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 a spring, and the
| doll, sill looking at the reporter, said in a
| plaintive tone: 81 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 ably baby on the tree top all the way
through with good expression, and without a
false note She sang it quite loudly, too, so
that any one could have heard her across a
moderate sized room. Still another sang a
| pretty ittle German song, but as the reporter
did not understand German, he is unable tc
tell what the song was about.
Il have only lately succeeded in bringing
this toy to a state of perfection,' said the in
ventor, as he lovingly stroked the curly pate
of one Of his little takers.
Mr. Edisoa permitted The Evening Sur
man to talk to one of the doll Photographs
To thoroughly test it the reporter repeatet
this simple sentence:
Eliminate space which is ascription Of {
perfect mathematical reason for co-existinl
plurality, and all thought is resolved into :
synthetic unit, which finds for its ultimat
habitat the bosom of the great L.ogos."
Contrary 10 his expectations the phonograpl
didn't break nor leave the room Of its owl
accord. but instead repeated the sentence ac
curately.
HOW TREY ARE CONSTRUCTED.
; THE monographs" said the inventor
(which are used in these dolls are PRACTICAL
as perfect in their articulation and loudnes
Of tone as the larger ones. They are on tn
{ same principle as my original phonograpf
i bnt whereas that weighed about seventy -fiv
pounds, and cost from s15 to $50, these weig
: | only about pound and a half apiece, an
:, viii he retaiied at from So to 81, including
handsome doll The great difficulty hr
;, been to train girls to talk with sufficient di
tiEctness to the monographs, but that we al
now overcoming"
The little monograph which, with its a
comnanving ciockwork, is placed in each
= = the toys is the perfection of delicate mechal
- ism, but at the same time is 50 strongly mac
and so durable that it will last as long if n,
longer than the doll itself. The cylind'
which receives Photographic impressions
made of tin. and is consequently very du
, able. With ordinarily careful handling
$ will repeat sentence thousands Of time
u and the last repetition VIA be as perfect
1t the first. The main difficulty has been in i
y venting machinery to make the doll phon
'e graph so exact in its working that the cy
y inders may be interchangeable, and new cy
: inders with new sentences be substituted f
u the old ones at any time So If child shou
- get tired of hearing its doll repeating ov
~ and over again the same sentence, for a {
g fling sum, probably less than 81, we can su
VI ply new cylinder with any sentence, and
. any voice that the purchaser may desire.
q The cylinders were in reality bands
metal about two and half inches in diamett
:" about one-eighth Of an inch in thickness, a
10 half an inch wide The surface before
received the impression of the phonograpi
. needle was perfectly smooth, but after bel
y talked to was full of minute depression
., some of them so light and delicate as to
na scarcely visible to the naked eve. I
as mechanism of the clockwork TO which th
u are attached for use in the speaking dolls
H. too delicate and intricate for examinati
oe here
Attached to it is governor like that ol
~ steam engine, which prevents the doll FRI
talking too fast, and so running the wol
n into each other. So loudly and distinctly
a these wonderful dolls talk that Mr. Eds
ne informed the reporter be had listened to {
az talking over long distance telephone fr,
m mli Boston to New York city. The doll tall
1t, into the telephone in Boston, and-was hes
"a quite plainly in this city. Indeed, the t.
q phone rather tended to soften and imprt
o. the tone
But Mr.. Edison has not confined himself
speaking dolls. The company will a
manufacture dogs that bark and ask pla
lively for meat; cats that new and call
We unmistakable tones for milk; horses Il
IN neigh and express a wish to be fed upon os
ey cows that moo and boast Of their N
eir giving qualities, and roosters that crow
ey naturally as the real live article-Even
To- Sun.
lat
A Queen Mother.