The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

SPEAKER: Eric Monroe
EVENT DATE: 2017/05/22

I knonw that many of you don't believe findings unless a degreed expert says it is true. Eric Monroe is a Chemist at the Library of Congress, who has worked on similar compositions that I have written about, and worked at for about 20 years. He did chemical analysis of original cylinders and then used the Aylsworth notebooks as I have done and Mr. Richards and Paul Morris have done to replicate these formulas. The most interesting part of his findings is that the molecular structure of the metallic soap cylinders do not like a change in temperature, however the composition for them is somewhat stable, that the components are not degrading. It is best to always bring the temp of them up slowly, because the materials crack from sudden changes in temperature. He also proves my information on color changes, he shows the composition as it has been cooked at different temperatures, and times and the changes in colors. He also shows the metals shown in spectrographs added by kettles vessels, molds ect they were cooked in. He also talks of the differences in the chemicals used to create the cylinders, the differences from 19th century ingredients to the ones available now. https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/featu ... p?rec=7890

Well there's always a difference between
pure research and actual commercially viable
production.

What I find to be a very interesting idea, would be
to somehow eventually gain the collaboration
of people such as you mentioned above.

With the added available horsepower of folks such
as this, together with the tools, instrumentation,
and equipment of a modern chemical laboratory,
there would be virtually no limit to the detail
which could be applied to making new cylinders.

Where as we must always be forced to "do more with less", organizations such as LOC have nearly
unlimited funding.

I've said this before many times and it again
applies here: Follow The Money.

Chuck, It is really interesting to see this video. I found it exciting, and well done even talks about the court cases and notebook sources. It verifies what we have discussed for many years.

Alright, I've finally had enough.

If you continue to address this "Collector Community" as if you are on some higher plane of existence, I'm going to ask that you stop posting here.

I understand that you take your work very seriously. Many of us do this for enjoyment. Every post you make these days has some sort of nasty remark about everyone conspiring against you. The only person here I've ever seen speak ill of you is...YOU. Nobody is marching up to your castle on the hill with torches and pitchforks to burn down your laboratory, so just STOP.

You also need to remember that not everyone is interested in wax, recording, or even cylinders, so stop belittling anyone who doesn't show interest in the same things as you. I'm sure just about everyone here has other interests that you couldn't care less about.

This is the last time I will ask you to treat the members here with the same respect you expect in return.

Thank you, Brandon!

Steven

Unfortunately removing your past posts is not a possibility, sorry.

Whence all the drama? I do not find any reason to take offense at the OP...

Bill

I think this is overdoing it on everybody's part. Starting to sound like the Model T Ford forum, but one can hardly blame car collectors for always trying to start something...

Shawn! Stick around!

Ye Mods! Let's not go overboard here. Deleting his posts (though impossible) would destroy much valuable information about the beginnings of the recording industry.

Everybody Else!

Nothing to see here, just take the other lane and calmly drive around the fender-bender while the parties involved figure it out.

If anyone is confused as to why I've asked Mr. Borri to be nice, please take a moment to search the forum before jumping in. It's also worth mentioning that a few posts were edited or deleted from this thread by the author, which makes this look out of context. Make sure to pay close attention to the quoted text vs. the original...

I took the liberty of preparing a search on the keyword "community" as an example:

search.php?keywords=community&terms=all&author=edisonphonoworks

It's the "me vs. them" mentality that doesn't jive well with an "us" sort of group.

Shawn, I'll gladly discuss this with you in person next weekend if you'd like.

That's an illuminating (and somewhat disturbing) search thread, Brandon. Thanks for posting it.

I've avoided commenting in this thread, because it strikes me as a no-win situation. Still, if Brandon is taking heat for insisting on civility, I believe it's time for me to express my support for his action.

This in no way implies any malice on my part toward the OP. Back in March 2014, I did my best to explain my perspective to him in hopes that he might be happier:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=16326&p=94760&hilit=new+blanks#p94760

As the search thread in Brandon's post above demonstrates, apparently nothing changed. The OP's feelings of resentment are evident, and unfortunately seem to have escalated to condescension - as clearly shown in the title he chose for this thread.

I feel badly about this situation; it's unfortunate. I hope the OP will choose to return here and interact with good will and camaraderie.

George P.