Original replica of the first phonograph.
Photo credit 1.
Phonograph recording on tinfoil.
Photo credit 5.
Click here to see a close-up showing the sound impressions.
From the earliest phonographs in 1877, courtesy of Mr. Thomas A. Edison, the cylinder was the preferred geometric form for a sound recording. The first records were made on strips of tinfoil, the predecessor of household aluminum foil, wrapped around a 4-inch diameter drum. The drum was hand-cranked at about 60 revolutions per minute (RPM) and the phonographic apparatus made sound impressions upon the foil. The expected lifetime of a foil recording was short because after a few playbacks the sound impressions were either worn down or the foil had ripped!
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Original replica of the first phonograph. Photo credit 1. |
Phonograph recording on tinfoil. Photo credit 5. Click here to see a close-up showing the sound impressions. |
