NPR: At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Cared

[toydk]

I found the following story on NPR

At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Cared
by Laura Sydell

NPR - May 22, 2017

In the late 19th century, French inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville patented the earliest known sound recording device. But his accomplishments were only recognized recently.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechcons ... pad&f=1001

[WDC]

Just found it this morning too. Finally an article that does not mix up all the facts and turns history into some odd fantasy. NPR does make a difference in quality.

[audiophile102]

Thanks for posting. Great radio show.

[CarlosV]

Very good article and radio program, thanks for posting. It also has a link to the history of the Edison dolls, and man, they sound reeeally creepy! (the soundbit is there in the article, listen at your own risk).

[briankeith]

I always wondered how many working complete Edison talking dolls still exist? And Edison electric pens?

[TinfoilPhono]

I know of 8 dolls with intact original cylinder, plus the one prototype metal cylinder from the Site's collection. There's always a chance there could be some in the hands of doll collectors that are unreported. There are another 10 or so reported to exist with original phonograph intact but without original record. Those records were ridiculously fragile due to their relatively large diameter but extremely narrow width.
Most surviving dolls lack the phonograph mechanism.