Tin Foil Phonograph: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The donor reported: "One of the first Edison tinfoil phonographs made for commercial use. Two hundred were made by Bergmann and this is one of them. It was made in 1878 or early 1879. Given to [William] Carman (the bookkeeper at Menlo [Park]) by Charles Batchelor and in 1923 to F. A. Wardlaw by Carman, and by Mr. Wardlaw put in working order.”

This machine recorded sound with a needle on a strip of tin foil 2.75" wide by 12.75" long that tucked into a horizontal slot on the metal cylinder. The grooves on the cylinder kept the needle on track. Cranking the handle rotated the cylinder with the tin foil under the needle, which was attached to a diaphragm (missing on this specimen) in the reproducer. Sound waves made the needle vibrate up and down, impressing a hill-and-valley groove in the foil. Cranking the impressed foil under the needle reproduced the sound.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1878
• maker: Bergmann & Co.
• Object Name: Phonograph
• Other Terms: Phonograph; Mechanical
• Measurements: overall: 5 5/8 in x 13 in x 4 3/4 in; 14.2875 cm x 33.02 cm x 12.065 cm
• ID Number: ME.310581
• catalog number: 310581
• accession number: 123470
• Credit Line: Frank A. Wardlaw and Frank A. Wardlaw, Jr.
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.