[Edison, Thomas. (1847–1931)]: Talking Machine Broadside

Description

[Talking Machine] [Edison, Thomas. (1847–1931)]
"It Preaches, Tells Funny Stories, Sings, Plays All Kinds of Music"- Talking Machine Broadside
Printed letterpress broadside extolling the virtues of the newly invented "talking machine," Thomas Edison's phonograph, and advertising a live demonstration of the machine on November 28th of an unspecified year, ca. 1880s–1890s.  "The talking machine is one of the most wonderful inventions of the age, and is a source of wonder and delight to young and old," the copy reads.  "It preaches, tells funny stories, sings, plays all kinds of music and talks talk.  A strictly high-class entertainment."  While the majority of the broadside is printed, the specifics of the demonstration are handwritten in a combination of pen and crayon.  Occasional tearing, including a significant 9-inch diagonal tear from the left edge that has been reinforced on the verso with scotch tape, but otherwise in good condition.  12 x 16 inches (30.5 x 40.6 cm.).
"
In 1877 Thomas Edison invented the first device to ever record and play back sound.  Soundwaves captured by a mouthpiece caused a stylus attached to a diaphragm to move up and down, making indentations on a sheet of tinfoil wrapped around a rotating drum.  In playback, the stylus traced those indentations, causing the diaphragm to recreate a recognizable version of the original sound.  [His] 'talking machine' was a public sensation.  It—not the light bulb—earned him the moniker 'Wizard of Menlo Park.'
Americans first read about the device in the papers, but soon witnessed it for themselves at public demonstrations around the country. They were in awe. This machine could capture a sound and transport it to the future.
Sales of Thomas Edison’s tinfoil phonograph were poor—its recordings were fragile and short-lived—and he abandoned it.  Nearly a decade later, spurred by competition from Alexander Graham Bell, Edison made multiple improvements and introduced new machines that found popular appeal.  The Edison Home Phonograph, first manufactured in 1896, played individually prerecorded wax cylinders." ("Edison's Talking Machine," National Museum of American History)
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