The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-12-16
Early History Of Talking Ma.
chine with No Promise of
Results Achieved.

the shelf for while.
The average man, confronted with
the wonderful improvements that
have been made In the talking ma
chine, does not today realize that only
little more than half dozen years
ago the machine was squeaky, SOB
bling contraption; that the voice tina,
came from 1t did not sound natural.
that all sorts Of noises seemed 20 &C
company its emission from the horn.
Industry Large, But Young.
Passing along the street and not.
Ing the handsome cabinets OF all sizes
and prices standing in the show win.
dows. the young man Of twenty does
not recall that he was about fifteen
when these cabinets first made their
appearance; that he was five years
old when the talking machine was
becoming little more than q toy. We
are so accustomed to the slow devel
opment of inventions that when we see
q great and sudden development be.
fore us and then become familiar with
1t, 1t seems as IL many years had
passed, and 1t requires a mental Of
fort to recall tho fact that We are
actually its contemporaries, indeed,
that many Of US were grown men and
women when the invention itself was
in its infancy.
Would anybody on the spur Of tho
moment, consider the photograph as
very nearly co-equal with the tele-
phone? Would anybody think Of
them both as almost co-existent?
Think how many millions Of tele-
phones were in use through the world
before the monograph became known
to the average person. Think how
perfect the telephone was when,
twenty-five years ago. you stopped at
the street corner and paid a man
nickel to let you put two tubes to
your ear and hear a wheezy voice
sing drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill"
Early Days Of tho Machine.
The talking machine was at first
a toy. The nit was used by peripatetic
street vendors. either to draw Gus.
tom for their other wares by show.
the wonders OF the photograph or
praphophone. as 1t was called in those
early days, or to draw people in a
hall to hear the device talk, for q
price. Then manufacturers began to
put 1t on the market for home use,
the records consisting Of funny stor-
les or comic or sentimental songs,
many records being faxed, as the one
which falsely purported to register
the rawlings Of a famous actor who
was in the insane asylum.
For while there was quite boom
in the sale Of talking machines for
the home recording" of the voice.
Much amusement was extracted from
the little machine which received the
voice and then reproduced. For a
while the gruesome fad OF recording
the pipings Of sickly children for the
purpose Of reproducing It's voice after
the little one should have passed
away threatened to become quite pre-
valent, and that possibility Of the
machine was pretty we'll advertised.
Even today there are a few people
who embalm the voices OF the mem
bers Of the family and put them
away for safe keeping. but only for
the delectation OF posterity, not for
the morbid purpose Of treating them
selves to the voice of one that is gone.
Many Uses Developed.
Tho sentimental picture. Ellis Mas
tcrs Voice." originated ut that time.
Although the picture is still used as
q trade mark 1t is not expected to
realize on its original purpose. But
1t is said that in former days the
sight Of the dog listening sadly to
his dead masters voice issuing from
the graphophone helped to sell many
a recording machine. In France and
perhaps other countries records are
kept Of the voices of public men, Of
actors and actresses. Such records
will be entertaining and instructive
in future ages. to compare the spoken
speech Of that day with the accent
and pronunciation OF former age.
AS with the years the talking ma
chine became perfected, 1t was found
10 be useful in business, and the die
taphone and the business photograph
as the rival devices manufactured by
two different companies are called,
are in use in thousands OF offices. The
boss" talks into the machine and his
words are recorded. then comes tho
stenographcr or typist, who puts the
cylinder upon machine and writes
down the words issuing forth. STEM
ographic firms find valuable use for
the debating machine. The nse Of
the talking machine in recording and
reproducing instrumental and vocal
music is worth a special chapter.
Really, the musical capabilities and
possibilities Of the new Aeolian vo-
Gallon. Edison diamond disk phono-
graph, the Columbia Grafonola, the
victrola and the Sonora Photograph
Company are what have given the
talking machine It's greatest vogue.
It is wonderful to think Of the bum
dreds of thousands Of dollars paid
to artists for singing and playing In
to the machine. the huge sums aid
out for records. the millions spon. in
manufacturing the machines and the
many millions spent by purchasers.
Music on the Farm.
In the cities people might not want
to pay to spend an entire evening
listening to a, musical machine for
they can go to real concerts and see
as well as hear the singers, but In the
rural districts many persons got
their first knowledge Of the great
singers and instrumentalists, their
first taste Of operate and classical
49, 81 ~ IL I, 4, 4 Z.