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The basic distinction between the Edison's first phonograph patent and the Bell and Tainter patent of 1886 was the method of recording. Edison's method was to indent the sound waves on a piece of tin foil, while Bell and Tainter's invention called for cutting, or "engraving", the sound waves into a wax record with a sharp recording stylus.
This was the first phonograph to carry the Edison trademark design. Prices for the phonographs had significantly diminished from its early days of $150 (in 1891) down to $20 for the Standard model and $7.50 for a model known as the Gem, introduced in 1899.
Phonograph, also called a record player, instrument for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus, or needle, following a groove on a rotating disc. The invention of the phonograph is generally credited to Thomas Edison (1877). Learn more about phonographs in this article.
Thomas Edison is best remembered as the inventor of the electric light bulb, but he first attracted great fame by creating an astounding machine that could record sound and play it back.
The invention of the phonograph in the 1870s was a turning point in the history of music and audio technology. With its ability to record and playback sound, the device revolutionized how we experience music.
A PROTOTYPE PHONOGRAPH— In this first-person account, Charles Batchelor recalled how a device like the one shown proved that sound could be stored and retrieved at will. Arguably the first working phonograph, it remained just a prototype in the lab. No example survives.
Edison’s phonograph was the first machine to both record sounds and play them back. Edison arrived at the invention through his work on the telephone, independent of the work of Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and Charles Cros.
Thomas Edison received the first prototype of the phonograph just 30 hours after sketching out the plans. The inventor placed the needle against a sheet of tinfoil, turned the crank, and spoke a few lines into a mouthpiece.
During 1878, the first 600 or so tinfoil phonographs were made by several small machine shops at Edison’s request. These were distributed to demonstrate the principle of phonography. A German company licensed the patent rights and attempted to build a talking doll.
On February 19, 1878, Thomas Edison is awarded U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for his invention—the phonograph. The technology that made the modern music business possible came into existence in the...