1903 Edison Phonograph Recording Demo | Maker Faire Detroit

Senior Conservator at The Henry Ford, Clara Deck, demonstrates recording on a historic 1903 Edison Standard Phonograph. These phonographs used a stylus to cut into wax cylinders — literally "cutting a record."

Join us for Maker Faire Detroit where you too can record onto a historic Edison phonograph!

[marchstoneytony]

Can't imagine how much this must have blown people's minds

[cerealexperiments]

She looked so happy during playback. This is really wholesome.

[alsaz_]

Imagine the feeling first time you’ve been able to record a voice in human history! Mind blowing!

[ruler_of_everything]

i'd record a vintage style playing of "Never Gonna Give You Up", put it in a box labeled "OLDEST PHONOGRAPH SONG EVER MADE", and leave. then people will notice the box and want to play it, then they'll get 1903rolled :)

[polygonalfortress]

the fact that some groves on wax cylinder could make sound is interesting

[abc-xfjg]

if I'm honest, I find this so much more intriguing than what can iphone can do! technology is of course incredible today, but to look at where it started and how hands-on it was is quite mind-boggling but amazing. God gave us some crazy awesome minds!

[AdamSFNews]

This is blowing my mind in 2024, imagine how crazy this was back then!

[wrsdes]

First time I saw such a wonderful piece of work. Wow ! thanks for the posting.

[FitraFadilana]

I can't imagine how happy they are when listening to their very first recorded voice playback

[granthashimoto]

My brain literally refuses to believe that this somehow works lol

[deiregachin]

That's so cool and nostalgic! I heard that even in playing, the playback stylus had over recorded the surrounding voices on the cylinder. So whenever you listened to the cylinder it was different.

[Bunniluvs_bunz]

Fascinating! I could imagine how fun it would have been to listen to a recording for the first time

[davecrupel]

This must have been INCREDIBLE to bear witness to, for first timers!!
Wow!

[chennaindia]

Hats Off the person who invented the instrument of voice recording. ❤

[clutrike]

I imagine looking at this and being amazed at how this is even possible is how people from 100 years ago would look at phones today

[Nocgirl]

This was very cool. I was trying to find a video that explains how wax or tin foil produced the first sounds and I found it. Very fascinating.

[THall-vicp]

It would be fun to tinker with one of these.

I'd probably call a pianist over, get my horn out and get to work making some "vintage" recordings.

[judahsmall]

This phonograph was invented the same year both Bob Hope and Johannes Heesters was born. Bob Hope died at the age of 100 while Johannes Heesters died at the age of 108. Thinking about these vintage objects, it is nice to know that some humans around from the 1890s and 1900s lived to see the 2000's decade and half of the 2010's.

[jathebest]

100 years later, We record our voices using a phone. It is very light and convenient. Even the voice quality is better than the phonograph. Then..imagine what invention will be coming to the world in 100 years..

[roteschwert]

This somehow blows my mind more than the iPod did! The fact that we managed to figure this out 140 years ago!