“Mr Thomas Edison,” says the ‘Scientific American,’ describing this contrivance, “recently came into our office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph, informed us that it was well, and bid us a cordial good night. These remarks were not only perfectly audible to ourselves, but to a dozen or more persons gathered round.”
At a meeting of the Physical Society of London, held on the 2nd of March, 1878, when the phonograph was exhibited, the sounds it gave out are said to have been remarkably distinct; and when “God Save the Queen” was sung as a duet through a double mouth-piece, the two voices could be clearly distinguished on the air being reproduced.
The writer was at the Royal institution in Albemarle Street a short time previous to the above date, and although sitting in the top gallery, heard it emit very distinctly the line “Come into the garden, Maud,” spoken by Professor Tyndall in compliment to the Laureate, who was present as well as various other vocal reproductions. The secondary sound, however, was less powerful than the original one. The difference between the two is aptly described by a writer in ‘Nature,’ as causing a feeling like that of looking upon a worn print and an early wood engraving.
“The main utility of the phonograph,” says Mr Edison, “being for the purpose of letter-writing, and other forms of dictation, the design is made, with a view to its utility for that purpose.
“The general principles of construction are a flat plate or disc, with spiral groove on the face, operated by clockwork underneath the
plate; the grooves are cut very closely together, so as to give a great total length to each inch of surface—a close calculation gives as the capacity of each sheet of foil, upon which the record is had, in the neighbourhood of 40,000 words. The sheets being but 10 inches square, the cost is so trifling that but 100 words might be put upon a single sheet economically.
“The practical application of this form of phonograph for communications is very simple. A sheet of foil is placed in the phonograph, the clockwork set in motion, and the matter dictated in the mouth-piece, without other effort than when dictating to a stenographer. It is then removed, placed in a suitable form of envelope, and sent through the ordinary channels to the correspondent for whom designed. He, placing it upon his phonograph, starts his clockwork, and listens to what his correspondent has to say. Inasmuch as it gives the tone of voice of his correspondent it is identified. As it may be filed away as other letters and at any subsequent time reproduced, it is a perfect record. As two sheets of foil have been indented with the same facility as a single sheet, ‘the writer’ may thus keep a duplicate of his communication.
“The phonograph letters maybe dictated at home or in the office of a friend, the presence of a stenographer not being required. The dictation may be as rapid as the thoughts can be formed, or the lips utter them. The recipient may listen to his letters being read at the rate of 150 to 200 words per minute, and at the same time busy himself about other matters. Interjections, explanations, emphasis, exclamations, &c., may be thrown into such letters ad libitum.
“The advantages of such an innovation upon the present slow, tedious, and costly methods are too numerous, and too readily suggest themselves, to warrant their enumeration; while there are no disadvantages which will not disappear coincident with the general introduction of the new method.”[98]
[98] ‘North American Review,’ May, 1878.