Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-12-15
BEFORE EDISO7S THE.
OLD STORIES AND FIcTlONs ABOUT
THE PHoNoGRAPH.

Abbe Migne's Description Of scott's In
vention in 1904 Story from the
Moon-In the Airy Realms of Ancient
Fancy-Baron Munchausen and the Horn.
No invention, no discovery, has ever come
unheralded. The world wakes up some fine
morning and rubs its startled eyes to find that
America, the steam engine, the printing
press, have been added to its possessions. and
forgets that it dreamed Of these things over
night The new fact which civilized man
claims as q Sign of his advancement was
happily imagined by some primeval savage
America was discovered before Columbus;
the steam engine was anticipated by the pre-
Christian Heiro; the printing press was fore
Swallowed 900 years ago by the brick stamps
Of the Egyptians
THE PHONo0RAPH BEFORE EDISON
But the monograph That, at least, is
new; nothing like it has ever been known to
man-has ever been dreamed of by man.
Wrong again. Something just like it was
invented when Edison was barely out of his
cradle, and more or less dim premonitions Of
the modern marvel haunted the brains Of our
ancestors for centuries back. In the year
LOU tuO ldltlOUS hDDt mAGUS Io8u q paper
before the British association describing an
instrument called the phonautograph, which
had been recently invented by q young
Frenchman, NJ Z. L. Scott 1.-THE phonauto-
graph consists of tube enlarged at one end
In the same manner as a trumpet, in order to
concentrate the sounds, which are conveyed
through 1t to a thin membrane tightly
strained over the other end of the instrument
This membrane carries affixed to it an ex-
cessively light stylus or pencil, which is put
In motion by every vibration produced by
the action Of the air upon the membrane
behind this stylus band of paper, COW
cred with lampblack, is unrolled by clock
work, and as this band passes along the point
Of the stylus traces upon the lampblack all
the curvilinear and rectilinear movements
originating in the vibrations of the mem
brane and thus produces in its own peculiar
characters faithful reproduction of the
sound" The instrument was still in the
rough, however, and the able went On to ex-
plain that while it was fairly successful with
musical sounds the human voice presented
certain difficulties at present. Nevertheless
he had little doubt that eventually the pho
nautograph would supersede stenography,
and would register for future generations
not only the words but the very tones of
famous actors and orators. But NJ. Scott
seems to have been unable to conquer the
difficulties lying in his path, and he and his
invention disappeared from view.
So much for an actual anticipation OF Edi-
sons idea. In the realm of Imagination
very curious forecast may be found in Cyreno
de Bergerac's Voyage to the Moon" the
book from which Swift did not disdain to
borrow ideas. Cyrenos imaginary traveller
tells Of a wonderful book presented to him
by lunar inhabitant, book with neither
leaves nor letters, book made wholly for
the ears and not the eyes, 80 that when any
body has mind to read it he winds up that
machine with great many little springs,
then he turns the hand to the chapter which
he desires, and straight as from the mouth Of
man, or musical instrument, proceed all the
distinct and different sounds which all tho
lunar grandees make use Of for expressing
their thoughts instead Of language"
In No. 254 of The Tattler Sir Richard
Steele pretends to have come in possession of
an unpublished manuscript by Sir John Man
deville, which gives some account in his
usual veracious manner, ''of the freezing and
thawing of several short speeches in Nova
Zembla" 81 need not inform my readers"
adds Sir Richard, ''that the author of 'Hudi-
bras alludes to this strange quality in that
cold climate when, speaking Of distracted
notions clothed in visible shape, he adds
that simile: