Early Talking Doll Recording Discovered

[Jerry Fabris]

Today the National Park Service released a recent audio discovery - the earliest surviving talking doll record, made circa November 1888:
http://www.nps.gov/edis/photosmultimedi ... overed.htm

ScienceNOW is covering it as a news story:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... st-co.html

Jerry Fabris, Museum Curator
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
National Park Service
United States Department of the Interior
211 Main Street
West Orange, New Jersey 07052
tel: (973) 736-0550, ext. 48
fax: (973) 243-7172

[phonogfp]

It's an exciting time to be a phonograph/record collector. We're hearing recordings that haven't been played for a century or more. I'm sure other interesting "lost sounds" will be unlocked in the near future.

George P.

[TinfoilPhono]

I have done a lot of research on the Edison talking doll over the years and continue to be fascinated by the myriad of unsolved mysteries. This offers one of the most puzzling of all: why, if they were capable of making a recording in tin, did they ultimately elect to use exceedingly fragile wax records for the dolls that were finally put on the market in 1890? That option was doomed to failure by its very design -- relatively large diameter versus extremely narrow width, steel playback stylus, and a phonograph meant to be handled by young children.

It is certainly fascinating to hear the 1888 recording today, especially when you consider the damaged condition it was in. These are indeed exciting times for phonograph collectors and historians!

[antique1973]

Thanks to some modern technology(the internet) we can all enjoy the find. Neat stuff!

[gramophone78]

Like George & Rene, I too find this wonderful that in the last two years "talking dolls" have had a lot to say after being silent for over 125 years. It is really something. Soon, I too will have a very clean version of the K&R Berliner doll record for others hear. With luck and a little guess work, we will see how it should truly sound.

[Starkton]

I am glad that one of the metal cylinders for the Edison talking doll was finally discovered. Modern technology allows us to get out the best possible sound, leading to a somewhat biased perception of its fidelity. Listeners in 1888 needed much more imagination to enjoy the doll's talking.

A. T. E. Wangemann mentioned during his testimony in a court case in December 1905 that "some of the dolls had records made of soft metal" or "metallic composition". This could mean that other metal cylinders are still to be found.

Even in its earliest form of appearance in March 1888 the talking doll phonograph had an automatic return motion. The small users could simply turn in one direction and the cylinder was played over and over again. This requires that the cylinder was very durable and could be one explanation why Edison experimented with metal.

To my surprise the metal cylinder bears the voice of an adult woman, which doesn't seem to be appropriate for a doll resembling a little girl. In 2003 I arranged for the transfer of a 3" disc for the Kämmer & Reinhardt gramophone talking doll on CD in the course of an elaborate conservation project involving the doll and its record at my university. The 3" disc, manufactured under protection of Emile Berliner 's German patent, is in good condition. Its recording lasts 15 seconds, was taken in the early 1890s and clearly reveals the voice of a child or very young woman singing the German tune of "Kommt ein Vogel geflogen". Very likely, this early artist was a worker, or child of a worker or employee at the Kämmer & Reinhardt factory in Waltershausen, Thuringia.