Here's a question that almost nobody seems to wonder about it except me. What came first, the first voice recording or the first telephone call?
The first call - at least as far as most history books go - was by Thomas Edison in 1876 who summoned his assistant with the famous line: "Watson, come here, I need you.".
The first recording seems to have been in the decades before in France but it might not count since the recording was not intended to be played back. It was intended by the inventor to be traced and looked at, a little like a photograph of the voice.
If we only focus on Edison, he made his first phone call a year before he first recorded and played back his first sounds.
A decade later, Edison launched his business selling his recording and playback devices.
In 1902, the Edison Gold Moulded system went on a sale and in 2015, I bought myself one along with some of the wax cylinders. It is sadly not in working condition.
Introducing my Edison Gold Moulded Record Machine. It basically has a cyclinder with the recording on it which spins, a needle that follows a groove. The needle connects to a metal tube which progressively expands like the end of a trumpet which amplifies the sound like a cheerleader’s megaphone. Incredibly simple!Edison Gold Moulded Records |
Edison Phonograph Cylinders |
I started reading about it on the University of California website. Here's a little info: