I've got a secret

[Sidewinder]

Go to about minute 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCShX5O8nW8

[alang]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Andreas

[Phono-Phan]

Really cool!! I wonder if this tinfoil is still around at the Ford museum.

[TinfoilPhono]

What a great clip! Thanks for posting that.

The Brady model in the program is still at the Ford Museum, but it hasn't been demonstrated for many years.

[Phonofreak]

I was at Greenfield Village about 10 years ago when I was visiting family. There is a reconstructed Edison laboratory, with a working Tin Foil Machine. I volunteered to do Edison's rendition of Mary Had A Little Lamb. I was given a little souvenir card with a piece of tin foil. I'm curious if this is the Brady machine or a different one. The horn shown in the TV show looked like a late 1890's brass horn. Thanks for sharing the video.
Harvey Kravitz

[TinfoilPhono]

The Ford has been using an original Bergmann exhibition tinfoil phonograph for demonstrations in the Menlo Park complex for at least 20 years. It surprises me that they continue to use it since it has really taken a beating over the years. I've been working with the conservator there since the mid-90s and have tinkered with that machine many times. It is easy to see how much more worn the phonograph is now than 20 years ago. It's rare for a museum to subject an original artifact to that much abuse, but they have 3 original Bergmanns in their collections, one of which looks virtually new, so I guess they feel they can spare one.

That said, they would love a replica Bergmann to use for demos, which is what they do at the Edison Site in NJ. Back when machinist Bill Ptacek was still alive, and making reproduction tinfoils, we held several meetings with the Powers That Be at the Ford to see how we could get them one of Bill's. Even at his own cost it would have been too much for him to unilaterally donate one, and the top brass at the Ford was unwilling to allocate funds to purchase one. We discussed various fund-raising options but ultimately it went nowhere, much to the frustration of the Senior Conservator who spent a lot of time championing the idea. Today I'd wager we could make it happen with a GoFundMe campaign, but now that Bill is gone all of his replicas are in collections and museums.

[edisonclassm]

That's a real kick! Thanks for digging that one up!