Has Anyone Heard Of This Tinfoil Phono Inventor?

[SonnyPhono]

I thought this was interesting. I found it while looking into the name scratched into the bedplate of Andersun's Class M.

"MR. CHARLES PAIGE CARTER died at his home in Kingston,
N. Y.. Aug. 13, at the age of 81 years. He was well known as an in-
ventor especially along mechanical lines. He was the originator of the
apple parer. In 1872 he constructed a phonograph which reproduced the
sound of the human voice after it had been recorded on tin foil, but
the device was not patented. Mr. Carter was married three times and
is survived by seven children. One of his sons is Mr. Charles Carter,
superintendent for Blackall St Baldwin, manufacturers of electrical sup-
plies. New York."

This excerpt is located within the text on the following site:

http://www.archive.org/stream/electrica ... y_djvu.txt

Has anyone heard of this person?

[phonogfp]

The firm of Patrick & Carter popped into my mind as soon as I read this post. I checked Rene Rondeau's book, Tinfoil Phonographs, but couldn't find it. Where did I come up with Patrick & Carter? I swear this is (was) a real company...

George P.

[phonogfp]

Aha! When all else fails, check the Index! Rene's book indeed confirms the firm of Patrick & Carter of Newark New Jersey as a manufacturer of tinfoil phonographs for the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company. A photograph of a probable P&C machine can be seen on page 46 of the book.

Whew!

George P.

[New Owner]

Scans for those who don't have the book, please?

Also, 1882 sounds like a more likely date. If so, he made a major mistake not patenting it

[Starkton]

Unfortunately, Franklin S. Carter of Partrick & Carter is not our man. Thank you for the hint to Charles Paige Carter.

C. P. Carter was certainly not the only one who built phonographs before Edison and didn't patent it. The British engineer William Fitch comes to my mind who, allegedly, built a phonograph in late 1876. Fitch used "ferrotype" [sic] for the diaphragm. The mandrel was grooved 26 to the inch. It had a diamond stylus cutting the vibrations on the record. The machine was, again supposedly, exhibited at several places in Great Britain. On at least one occasion a glass funnel was used.

[phonogfp]

Egads! I've been mis-reading the company's names for over a decade??? Time for new bifocals...

George P.

[Guest]

I have been trying to find out more about Charles P. Carter myself. I live close to Kingston N.Y. and first heard of him in reading 'From Tin Foil to Stereo' where he was said to have assigned patents to an Edison company. In checking U.S. patents, I found patent # 1,047,497 applied for on Mar. 1, 1909 and granted to Charles P. Carter on Dec. 17, 1912. This was for a combination 2 Min/4 Min reproducer for Edison Phonographs. This reproducer used a single oval-shaped stylus that could be rotated 90 deg. in the stylus bar. A Phonograph collector friend of mine (who unfortunatly has recently passed away) told me of an Edison reproducer in his collection with just such an arrangement. This reproducer was said to look like a Model C or H but is marked Model G! I am trying to find out more about this. In a local Kingston, N.Y. area atlas type book from 1896, there is a photo of a man in a workshop with a Phonograph in view and the caption reads "A Wall St. Edison". I believe this is Mr. Carter. ( Wall St. in Kingston N.Y. was/is the main commercial street in the city of Kingston. In fact, major Edison Phonograph jobbers Forsyth & Davis were located at 307 Wall St.) Charles P. Carter is also known locally as a watchmaker and inventor who built a notable house on nearby Green St. The Historic Society in Kingston probably has more information about him and I will try to find out more.I will try to include the photo that I believe to be Mr. Carter.
Dan Z.

[Retrograde]

Scans for those who don't have the book, please?

one should buy the book

[Starkton]

It seems that Partrick & Carter only manufactured three machines in late May 1878, individually numbered #55, #57 and #58 in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. files. They were badly manufactured and caused problems, despite correcting of defects in the factory in June 1878.

[phonogfp]

It seems that Partrick & Carter only manufactured three machines in late May 1878, individually numbered #55, #57 and #58 in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. files. They were badly manufactured and caused problems, despite correcting of defects in the factory in June 1878.

I'm not surprised the machines were badly manufactured...they couldn't even properly spell their own name!

George P.