The San Francisco call., 1899-05-07
Slgnor Vargas Singing Into Ten Pnono-
graphs at Once.

IT NOREADORi Toreadori" rings out
through the curiously arranged
workroom as the powerful voice
of Don Antonio Vargas renders the
familiar but ever-welcome song
from Carmen 1t is given loudly.
much more loudly than you ever hear it
at theater or concert. Don Antonio ex-
pands his lungs to their utmost extent;
he has even taken off his tie and unbut-
toned his collar so as to give his throat
full play. The reason is that it is not an
ordinary performance for the benefit Of
the public; it is a private seance specially
arranged for the edificatiOn of the Edison
phonograph.
Don Antono's audience is not composed
Of human beings; he is singing to eight
little wax cylinders, portions of that in
animate wonder, the speaking machine
created by Edison's genius. In front Of
the artist, grouped closely together. are
eight tin receivers, each of which is at
tached to a phonograph. The machines
are all running simultaneously, so that
every time the song is sung eight separate
but Identical records are made
This is how we make our master rec
ords, said Peter Bacigalupi, who pre-
sides over the establishment at is q
new and most profitable profession for
the singer Vargas will go over that song
sixteen times to-day, and for each render
ing he gets dollar. Pays well, doesn't
1t! have known one man who would
sing hfty times day, but that is a little
too much for any voice to stand"
Ihe public, which careessly walks into
monograph parlor and pays it's nickel
20 near faVor1te selection. little suspects
the amount of skill and expert handling
required TO produce these lfelke records
Bacigalupf salesroom and workshop hiph
up III the big building at 933 Market street.
a
trlVances. In the front room \you will
ind every kind of nickel-in-the-slot ma
chlne which has ever been invented. from
the poker game, to be seen at every ciear
stand, TO the now Illegal racing machfne
WIN WIN It's large multicolored dial, which
used to spin round at such fearful rata
OIL speed and cough up nickels with more
or less frequency according to your luck
a long row of these machines, melan
inementos OF the SpaSmodic outblrst of
civic virtue, is ranged against the wall
tenderloin. - 'iie
, never attempt to run anything ille-
gal, M remarks Bacigalupi; IF the police
say machine Is against the law whv
1 Immediately stop selling It, You know
they hned me the other day because Of
some pictures which were being shown
from Paris and have been shown ali over
the States, SO | never dreamt there was
anything wrong with them. But the
court salo they We're improper. l have
taken every one out and substituted
views of the strictest moral Character
You can see for yourself, if you c6me
over to the parlor.'
But the marvel of Bacigalupi's estab-
lishment and the pride of his heart is the
giant Edison concert phonograph the
only one which has been brought to this
coast. The machine is a whole orches-
ira and operate company rolled into one.
and when it starts performing Won in
voluntarily retreat to the other end of the
long room, marveling at the volume of
sound which pours from the huge brass
trumpet. The instrument is about the
size of megaphone, the brass horn is
"a inches in diameter and Sc inches long
The wax cylinder on which the records
are made is five inches in diameter-more
than twice the size of that used on the
old standard phonograph.
1t is the finest thing ever turned out
by the Edison workshop" says Baciga-
lupi, as he proudly handles his pet in