Edison tin foil phonograph 1877

top of article on tinfoil phonograph
from Scientific American, Dec. 22, 1877
tinfoil phonograph
from Scientific American, Dec. 22, 1877
1877 tin foil phonograph on display in glass case at Edison NHS
1877 tin foil phonograph on display in glass case at Edison NHS
Sketch of Original Phonograph; November 29, 1877
29.001/55 from Edison NHS
Original Tin-foil Phonograph; West Orange, NJ
29.110/13 from Edison NHS
Original Tin-foil Phonograph; Paris, France
29.110/16 from Edison NHS
1879 tin foil phonograph
from Smithsonian NMAH

  • see additional photos from the Edison National Historic Site and early recording devices from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
  • read essay on the Birth of the Phonograph Industry by Allen Koenigsberg
  • read and view the illustrated essay Early Recorded Sounds by Glenn Sage; hisThomas Edison Commemorative has sound and film clips and a color image from Harpers Weekly 1878

    © 1999 by Steven E. Schoenherr. All rights reserved.
    The photos on these pages are used with permission of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. They may not be reproduced or distributed without written permission of the NMAH.
    digital photos taken June 21, 1999 by Schoenherr | Return to Recording Technology History Notes | this page revised 1/9/2000