The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-06-30
Edison's New Photograph.
NeR York NtAr.


 For some weeks tho inventor has considered the talking photograph a practical commercial success--that is to say, he believes that it will become as much of a necessity in the business office as the typewriter or the tele- phone Is now; that the business man will dictate all his correspondence to 1t for his clerk to write out on the typewriter, and that in the near future the phonogram, as the wax im- pression is called, can be sent by mail, thus doing away altogether with the writing out of business correspond ence.
 For some weeks all Mir. Edison's business correspondence has been done with the aid of the photograph. He dictates his letters to the instru- ment and the resulting phonograms are turned over to a clerk who in turn writes the message out with type writer as it comes from the phono- graph.
 The results being sufficiently satis- factory in this field, Mir. Edison turned his attention to the reproduce tion of music, and 1t was chiefly to show what had been done in this di- rection that recent exhibition waS given.
 For the purpose of the exhibition and tests, piano had been placed in s room of the laboratory and a violin. ist, cornet player and clarionet player had been invited from New York After brief tour through the vast laboratory, wherein a small army oi assistants are kept busy working out the famous inventors suggestions Mir. Edison led the way to the phono. graph room, and the experiments began, Edison giving a running lec- ture upon the nature of the phono- graph for the benefit of those who did not understand its principles.
 The photograph, such as 1t is now to be offered for sale, consists of ar apparatus for recording upon the sur face of a sensitive wax cylinder, four inches long and one and a half inche, in diameter, the vibrations of a dia. phragm set in motion by the voice ol other sounds, in such shape that simi. lar vibrations may be communicated to diaphragm by passing flexible hair-spring over the indented wax In appearance the complete phono- graph looks like a sewing machine il stands on 6 little table of its own with place beneath for the electric battery, which revolves the recording cylinder. In order to talk into ths instrument mouth piece is used and one talks as to the telephone.
 For music large funnel five feet long and two feet wide at the bell il used. A record of piano music wal first made. The bell of the funnel was placed at the edge of the piano while waltz was played, and then the company were invited to listen.
 A small sounding" funnel a foot long was adjusted and the piano music came out with such distinctness that persons two or three feet away from the funnel could hear the music, and even detect notes that were not quite true in the piano. The music was such as to give pleasure to any one and was as distinct as a piano heard in the other room would be. The violin was tried but failed to come out loud enough. A concerted piece employing piano, violin, clarionet and cornet was interesting, but the piano rather drowned out the other instru- ments.
 For the multiplication of phono- grams from one original Mir. Edison makes from the first, or original phonogram, an electrotype of nickel which is simply pressed against wax surface and gives another perfect phonogram. The use ofa phonogram does not seem to "wear" 1t in the least. The same bit of wax has given out the Carnival of Venice" in the laboratory at least 800 times, and shows no signs of fatigue.