The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Was there a tin foil machine on display?

briankeith wrote:Was there a tin foil machine on display?

Yes! Also period recordings on tinfoil on display.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:

briankeith wrote:Was there a tin foil machine on display?

Yes! Also period recordings on tinfoil on display.

George P.

If I may ask; would those period recordings be by Edison or someone prominent?

George this is great. And finally a curator got in touch with someone who actually knows something about the subject at hand. It's always been a mystery to me why museums don't get in touch with published experts in the field when a collection is prepared for display. In the days before the internet there might have been a tiny excuse, but today there really is none when three minutes of on line searching should produce quite a number of reputable people with whom to consult..instantly!

Jim

One of the recordings was purportedly signed by Edison, so one might presume that his voice is on it. I expect within a few years we'll be hearing the contents of such foil recordings courtesy of Dr. Haber et al at Santa Barbara. At that point we'll have a better idea of what's on them.

George P.

Lenoirstreetguy wrote:George this is great. And finally a curator got in touch with someone who actually knows something about the subject at hand. It's always been a mystery to me why museums don't get in touch with published experts in the field when a collection is prepared for display. In the days before the internet there might have been a tiny excuse, but today there really is none when three minutes of on line searching should produce quite a number of reputable people with whom to consult..instantly!

Jim

I'm happy to report that since my return home, I've already received one unsolicited email from the Registrar with whom I met at Ft. Myers. It seems they're serious, and I'm very pleased to report it!

George P.

I haven't seen the current display but in the past they had a Bergmann exhibition tinfoil on exhibit. It had some very odd modifications done to it, and was missing the original base with drawer. It also has a replacement flywheel. They also have a Parlor Model, with a repaired speaker arm (very common problem -- they were prone to breaking).

The full sheet of tinfoil on dispaly is Bergmann-sized and was autographed by Edison. There is another just like it at the Edison National Historic State Park in New Jersey, which they received with some magazines from the Fort Myers estate in the 1930s. The signatures are both written in Edison's characteristic late-life style and almost certainly were signed in the 1920s. No one can be sure until or unless they are 'played' through laser scanning but it is highly probable that the recordings do not date to the 1870s, but almost certainly the 1920s. Just as at the Ford Museum, where original machines have been used for demonstrations since 1929.

I took the picture below in Fort Myers around 12 years ago or so.

phonogfp wrote:One of the recordings was purportedly signed by Edison, so one might presume that his voice is on it. I expect within a few years we'll be hearing the contents of such foil recordings courtesy of Dr. Haber et al at Santa Barbara. At that point we'll have a better idea of what's on them.

George P.

You answered the question I was about to ask, so thank you!

^^^^
Just for accuracy's sake, I should mention that Carl Haber is at UC Berkeley, not Santa Barbara.

If he and his team do attempt one of the signed foils, the one in New Jersey is most likely to be the first candidate.

TinfoilPhono wrote:^^^^
Just for accuracy's sake, I should mention that Carl Haber is at UC Berkeley, not Santa Barbara.

If he and his team do attempt one of the signed foils, the one in New Jersey is most likely to be the first candidate.

Oops - thanks for the correction, Rene. All those California places just run together for an East Coaster like me!

George P.