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Hello,

I came across an apparently original tinfoil phonograph.. I have almost no information on this, and nothing is written on it, nor any serial number.. any comments from experts? I put a picture I took!

Thanks!

That is an original tinfoil phonograph made in Italy by a manufacturer in Torino named J. Nigra. There is little known beyond those basic facts. It most likely dates to the 1880s or 1890s, and was probably made for scientific research or education purposes. Such tinfoils were made throughout Europe even as late as the start of WWI in 1914, though most production ended by the mid-1890s since far superior instruments were available for acoustic studies.

I know of one in a collection in the US. It appears virtually identical, except for the mouthpiece and the hinge mounting for the front standard. (See attached picture.) It's certainly a great find.

Wonderful to find this out there. Thanks for posting!

It belongs to a high school collection of antique scientific instruments, located north of Italy!

They also have what they claim to be the biggest known Daguerrotype with a picture of Leon Foucault (see it attached, but I'm not an expert of this).

Thanks for the precious details!

Some information on Joseph Nigra and his tinfoil on this page of my site: https://www.phonorama.fr/phonographes-tinfoil-p4.html
Julien Anton

Many thanks, Julien, for the hint.

Joseph Nigra from Turin was known in Germany primarily for his high-quality, all-metal and therefore expensive telephones. For example, he exhibited his devices at the International Electricity Exhibition in Munich from September 1882.

Incidentally, the loud-speaking tinfoil phonograph by Stuttgart physicist Gotthilf Weigle was also exhibited there. In addition to the playback volume, the main attraction was the fact that the tinfoil could be removed from the cylinder and later played back by another phonograph of the same design. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find such a device to verify the historical record.

Thank you Stephan.

Yes, yes this is, it is in Italy right now. did you listen to it?

Thanks so much for those additional insights, Julien and Stephan.

I have a question where were these tinfoil machines sold? Were they clones of Edison’s tech? I assume they were made for office dictation and Edison didn’t mass produce these under his name.