Edison Tin Foil Phonograph
date: label: date made
content: 1878
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the first device to ever record and play back sound. Speaking into a mouthpiece caused a metal stylus attached to a diaphragm to move up and down. The stylus made indentations on a sheet of tinfoil wrapped around a rotating drum. During playback, the stylus traced those indentations. That caused the diaphragm to vibrate, making sound waves that recreated the original sound. Other experimenters had recorded sound visually before this, but Edison’s machine could also reproduce the recorded sound.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Thomas Edison’s so-called talking machine, soon named the phonograph, surprised even him when it worked. The invention became a public sensation, earned him the moniker “Wizard of Menlo Park,” and enabled him to raise capital for his next major project—the light bulb. Americans first read about phonographs in the newspapers, but soon heard it for themselves in public demonstrations around the country. Although the sound quality was poor by today’s standards and the tinfoil only held about a minute’s worth of recorded sound, listeners were impressed with this truly original invention.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This unmarked machine is 33" wide and has 12" diameter wheels at each end. The unit is not operated with an electric motor, the user spins the wheels by hand. The tinfoil folds into a horizontal slot in a steel drum set in the machine’s center. A brass assembly holds the diaphragm and needle against the tinfoil. Tension can be adjusted by brass gears. This unit does not have a speaking horn. Two glass oilers lubricate the machine as the wheels spin.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanisms
label: Exhibition
content: America's Listening
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the International Business Machines Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: ME.320551
label: catalog number
content: 320551
label: accession number
content: 241402
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Phonograph
label: Other Terms
content: Phonograph; Mechanical
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 33 in x 11 in x 12 in x 12 in; 83.82 cm x 27.94 cm x 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm