The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-10-17
EDISON STUMBLED OMIT.
How the Wizard of Menlo Park Happened
to Invent the Monograph.

II have never seen in print a true
account of how Thomas A. Edison first
conceived the idea of the monograph,
remarked an electrician who was at
one time in the Wizards" employ to
\. Y. World reporter. 1.-The phono-
graph is the wonder of the world, and
one of the few inventions which
envious rivals have not charged Edison
with having stolen. In fact, even his
bitterest rivals for fame, all of whom
appear to harbor the idea that it is
their duty to detract from his reputa-
ton for genius and honesty, as rule
concede that Edison did really invent
the photograph 1t is an interesting
story how he came to invent it. Many
years ago, when Edison was still at
Menlo Park and working night and
day for fame, he devoted months to
perfecting the telephone, and undoubt
edly did more than any other inventor
to make it practical by introducing the
carbon plate into the transmitter.
While experimenting on diaphragms
for the telephone, Edison had construct
ed number of small sheepskln drum
heads, to test their value as diaphragms
as compared with metal and other sub
stances.
ITO some of these sheepskin dia-
phragms he had attached small metal
needle. which was intended to project
toward the magnet and assist in con-
veying the vibrations caused by the
human voice. The sheepskin dia-
phragms did not fulfil Edison's expecta-
lions and he discarded them and, as
usual with appliances he decides to be
useless, they were thrown aside to be
removed with other rubbish.
His assistants soon discovered that
by holding the sheepskin diaphragms
in front of their mouths and emitting
a cultural sound between the lips a
peculiar noise approaching music could
be produced, 1t was something similar
to the alleged music produced by cover
ing comb with thin paper and hum
ming tune on it. In passing one Of
the men engaged in playing on dia-
phragm one day Edison playfully at
tempted to stop the noise by touching
the projecting metal pin with his
finger, and no sooner had he done so
than he gave one of his peculiar starts
'Eh! What's that?' said he, which so
astonished the performer that he
dropped the diaphragm. DO that
again, said the Wizard and it was
repeated, and again his finger touched
the pin to his evident delight. He
went about for some time asking one
after another of his assistants to hum
or sing against the diaphragm, and
finally he got them to talking against it,
he all the time touching the pin lightly
with his finger.
~ have it, said he, finally, and he
retired to his den and commenced
drawing diagrams for new machinery,
which his assistants speedily made, and
q few days later the first photograph
was put together. 1t was crude
affair, the pin making an impression on
wax and it talked imperfectly. but it
did well enough to show Edison that he
was on the right track, and he rapidly
improved it until now it is very nearly
perfection. A hundred men might
have felt the vibration of that pin at
tached to the piece of sheepskin, but it
| took an Edison to instantly realize that
the vibrations might be made to in
dent soft substance and be suscepti-
BILE of reproducing the exact sounds of
the human voice that caused the differ
ent vibrations. The photograph was
regarded as a toy at first, but it sold
for million dollars recently