Page 28 - Love-of-Music-Magazine-winter-2019

In Music History

Love of Music Magazine Explores The History and
®
Milestones of The Music Revolution.

Thomas Edison’s Phonograph circa 1877

Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, months
before starting experimenting with electric light. The first
phonograph employed a cylindrical record that was
powered by a hand crank and continued as the dominant
form of sound reproduction until it was surpassed by the
phonographic disc around 1912.

Up until the advent of recorded and reproduced music, the only
way most people could hear music was to either play it or go
see a band or group of people perform.
Amplification required applied acoustic physics and came
in the form of a 30-inch long horn made of eleven “petals”
of thin metal. The horn interior is painted in a brilliant blue
finish with morning glory flowers adorning the perimeter.
Certainly, the Type D was designed to grab the eye as much
as the ear.
The selection for tonight’s performance is Alcoholic Blues by
Vernon Dalhart, a four minute selection on a Blue Amberol
One of a few edison Phonographs to have survived. cylinder. Over one hundred years later, the look and the
This unit is in perfect working condition after over 100 years sound are surely one thing: captivating.
and is a perfect example of late 19th century technology.

This local specimen is an Edison Standard Phonograph
Type D and is capable of playing two types of recording
cylinders: Edison Gold Moulded and Edison Blue
Amberol. Each type of cylinder needed a specific
reproducer to mount the record to the phonograph,
Model C for the Gold Moulded cylinder which would play
up to two minute recordings and Model H for the Blue
Amberol cylinder that allowed for four minutes.

One of the most popular cylinders, was Alcoholic Blues
Photo Credits: LOMM staff
by Vernon Dalhart.

26 | The Love of Music Magazine - St. Louis
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