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Sale 18
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Lot 1109
A Fine, Working Edison Phonograph. New Jersy, c. 1910. Perhaps a Model B or E, with last patent date of May 22, 1906. Massively built to last! In rugged oak case, with detachable, handled lid. The machine the height of simplicity, with hand-cranked spring-would motor, with speed regulator. The spindle frame for the geared drive heavy and rugged, with swing out arm for removing and centering the recorded cylinder, plus a latch for disengaging the belt drive. The "reproducer," the audio diaphragm also with a swivel latch for precise lowering of the needle on to the cylinder, along with black metal horn for sound amplification. In excellent condition, and in full working order, complete with black hard wax cylinder -- "M1174 - Kerry Mills, Barn Dance, Duet." Case width: 16". Horn length: 32".
The phonograph was the byproduct of Edison's work on two other inventions, the telegraph and the telephone. In 1877, Edison was working on a machine that would transcribe telegraphic messages by using indentations on paper tape, as a means for operating later repeat telegraph transmissions. This caused Edison to consider that a telephone message could also be recorded in a similar fashion. He experimented with a diaphragm which had an embossing point and was held against rapidly-moving paraffin paper, later changing the paper to a metal cylinder wrapped with tin foil. Edison eventually gave a sketch of his envisioned machine to his mechanic, John Kreusi, to build. Kreusi supposedly had a working model within 30 hours. Edison immediately tested the machine by speaking the nursery rhyme into the mouthpiece, "Mary had a little lamb." And the rest was history.
The invention was put into limited production. As a novelty, the machine was an instant success, but it was difficult to operate, and the foil wrapped cylinders proved more than fragile. The public's interest waned, and Edison became more engrossed in his work on the incandescent light bulb.
In the void left by Edison, others moved in to improve the phonograph. To remedy this the Edison Phonograph Company was formed on October 8, 1887, to market Edison's machine. He introduced the Improved Phonograph by May of 1888, shortly followed by the Perfected Phonograph, both utilizing recorded cylinders of hard wax. These early machines served more as dictaphones.
By 1892 improved cylinders of "brown wax" appeared and Edison increased the entertainment offerings on his cylinders. In 1894, Edison declared bankruptcy for the North American Phonograph Company, a move that enabled him to buy back the rights to his invention. With this settled, by 1896, he started the National Phonograph Company which would manufacture phonographs for home entertainment use. A year later, the Edison Standard Phonograph was manufactured. This was the first phonograph to carry the Edison logo. By this time the prices for the machines had significantly lessened from its early days, down to $20 for the Standard model.
Columbia, one of Edison's chief competitors, abandoned the cylinder market in 1912. In spite of Edison's preference for the recording cylinder, with its superior sound, its continued drawbacks nevertheless forced him to conceded to this reality. In 1913 when he announced the manufacture of the Edison Disc Phonograph. Afterwards Edison issued both discs and cylinders until the demise of the company in 1929.
Estimated Value $750 - 1,000.
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| Realized $575 |
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