Machine Operator (1878)?

[AllenKoe]

Well, I guess even a tinfoil phonograph is a machine, of sorts.

Another mystery has arisen, but's it so ancient that it may not be answerable. As you can see from this page and engraving, the Brady-style tinfoil is being demonstrated by someone who seems like a "real" person. He doesn't seem like a "generic" figure.

As may be obvious, this (Fig 67) is from Du Moncel's 1879 edition of 'The Telephone, Microphone, and Phonograph,' English translation. I think it also appeared in the 1878 French first edition.

This was the first time (Mar 11, 1878) that Edison's new invention was shown in France (in public), and the machine had been brought over, by ship, by Tivadar (Theodor) Puskas (Edison's agent). But the man doesn't seem to be Puskas, or even du Moncel.

And it certainly wasn't Bouillaud, who thought the whole thing was a hoax (he was pushing 82 but tried to strangle the operator: "Wretch!").

We should probably offer some kind of prize for certifiable identification of this early speaker.

Allen