THE PHONOGRAPH.

Evening Star, Issue 8399, 27 December 1890, Page 2

THE PHONOGRAPH.

As might be naturally expected, last night, on whioh the public were given the first opportunity of making a personal inspection of the wonderful phonograph, which has raised people's cariosity to a high pitch, the City Hall was well filled by those anxious to see and verify the accounts given of this most ingenious and mysterious of inventions. That the audience or spectators must have been struck with amazement at the extraordinary result of a probably long and patient scientific research by Edison to bring to such a state of perfection a machine whioh must rank very high among modern inventions was evident. There is something decidedly startling to hear a reproduction of the human voice come from a machine of such a form and make, and it borders on the supernatural to hear this and the music which emanates from Edison's invention. Before the practical exhibition was begun Professor Archibald gave a short lecture on the instrument, explaining in a clear and concise manner the capabilities of the phonograph in reproducing varieties of sounds. The patent of Mr Edison for the machine dates from July, 18S7, and he states that the discovery may be regarded as almost accidental. He was engaged upon a machine intended to repeat Morse characters, and in the manipulation of this he found that when the cylinder carrying the indented paper was turned with great swiftness it gave off a humming sound from the indentations—a musical, rhythmic sound, resembling that of nnman talk distinctly. He was led from this to try to fit a diaphragm to the machine which would receive the vibrations upon an impressible material placed on the cylinder. The result of a trial with parafined paper was excellent. The indentations on the cylinder, when rapidly revolved, caused a repetition of the original vibrations to reach the ear through a recorder, just as if the machine itself were speaking. " I saw at once," sayß Edison, "that the problem of registering human speech, so as it could oe repeated by mechanical means as often as might be desired, was solved." It must have been indeed to him a glorious moment of bis life. A programme was gone through at the conclusion of Professor Archibald's address, among other things being a message sent from Mr Gladstone to Lord Carrington. The sound of the voice was distinctly audible over the whole of the hall, the tone being metallic, as were all the loud records delivered through the funnel, but it was found on trial that through the tubes the tone was very natural. A variety of samples of tbe extraordinary powers of the instrument were given, among them being a comic song by Mr J. L. Toole, cornet solos by Mr Arthur Smith (the first cornet of Covent Garden Opera Company), a song by Mr Bingley Shaw (of Nottingham), and banjo solos by Mr W. H. Vane (of Liverpool, champion banjoist of the world). There can be no doubt that the exhibition is a highly interesting one, and Messrs Macmahon are pretty safe to have a good seasoa here.