Aug. 12, 1877, is the date popularly given for Thomas Alva Edison’s completion of the model for the first phonograph, a device that recorded sound onto tinfoil cylinders.

Tonight, we meet two collectors, one from Manchester who stockpiles cookie cutters, and another from Rumney with a world-class collection of working Edison cylinder phonographs that date back to the ...

Imagine if your couch or your coffee maker suddenly started talking to you — or perhaps launched into the chorus of “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.” What would your reaction be? Consider that, ...

You might be old enough to remember record platters, but you probably aren’t old enough to remember when records were cylinders. The Edison Blue Amberol records came out in 1912 and were far superior ...

One hundred years ago on a December day in 1877, the world’s first recording session took place in a laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J. It was strictly a one-man show. A 30-year-old scientist, Thomas Alva ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. This is an experimental sound ...

We know the melodies that soared through his mind, but did you ever think you would be able to hear Tchaikovsky’s actual voice? Well, it turns out you can. Take a listen to Tchaikovsky talking to some ...