Edison Ediphone Shaver Phonograph

In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph using a combination of the phonautograph, the telegraph and the telephone. His goal was to transcribe messages from the telegraph to a piece of paper tape. After Edison realized that his device may have other applications in relation to the telephone, he worked to develop a way to record sounds. He developed a device that would use one needle to record the sounds onto a cylinder with tin foil. A second needle was used to replay the sounds via the phonograph. After working with John Kruesi to build the device, he recorded the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and then played the rhyme over the invention. Edison filed a patent for the phonograph on December 24, 1877 and the patent was issued on February 19, 1878.

As a novelty, the machine was an instant success, but was difficult to operate except by experts, and the tin foil would last for only a few plays, but after the novelty wore off Edison stepped away from the invention. In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell started making adjustments and changes to improve the device. Bell used a floating stylus to play back the sounds and music. He also started using wax instead of tin foil for the recordings, which made them more durable and long-lasting. He called the new device the graphophone. Although the adjustments improved on the original design, Thomas Edison decided to make changes to his original invention personally to perfect his invention. He then started his Edison Phonograph Company on October 8, 1887 to sell the new and improved phonograph.

After the initial development of the phonograph, changes and improvements began developing at a rapid pace. By 1901, mass produced wax cylinders allowed artists to record a song or other sounds in larger quantities rather than recording each cylinder one at a time. That resulted in more opportunities for the music industry and changed the way that people enjoyed music. The device changed and altered over several years to keep up with the consumer demand. By 1913, the device started using discs rather than cylinders to play back sounds. Over time, the phonograph developed into the record players used in modern music.

The Edison phonograph we have on display was made by the Roach Reid Company around the early 20th century, with a Edsion Shaver from 1915 installed. The drawer below the shaver was used to hold record cylinders.