JF Ptak Science Books Post 2263
Edison's name was not a popular item in the average American home before his invention of the phonograph. It was actually some months later, after the initial announcement in 1877, that Edison became justifiably famous. (The phonograph seems to have been up-and-running by August of 1877, though Edison did not apply for the patent until December of that year, the patent itself being granted in January 1878.) It is difficult today to place the amazement and astonishment that greeted the invention--there was nothing like it, before, ever--except for writing, of course, and then the recording telegraph. It was a sensational piece of power, being able to record and save sound--and then play it back again. It was the first time in human history that the auditory sense world could be audibly preserved.
The thing about the earliest phonographs was that the recording were made on tin foil, which meant that the cylinder had a limited lifespan. The use of wax on the cylinder took a few years to come (Edison having moved on to other more interesting ideas like the light bulb rather than mess around with tweeking the phonograph) and following the initial public sensation with the invention in 1878/9 there was not another big rush towards it until the mid-1880's with the much more durable wax cylinder. This version not only was more stable and had a far greater shelf life, it was also much easier to use (i.e. record and play), and it was in the late 1880's that the ideas for the use of the thing really took off.
I noticed this ad for Mrs. Potts' "Sad Iron" at the top of the page for something that I wrote the blog-post previous to this one. It is an odd thing, Uncle Sam presenting the Czar with a recording of Mrs. Potts' irons being shipped his way. (This was a clothing iron, shaped sort of like a boat, made of iron, and fired up on some heat source--Mrs. Potts' big improvement was to have a detachable handle on the thing.)
The ad is dated June 1, 1878, which makes it quite an early use of the great new invention, still in the same year as when the thing was patented. And here it is, a wonder of the age, used to sell irons.
I wonder about how quickly other great inventions succumbed to trivial notice like this...or perhaps this is more a sign of the instrument's acceptance into popular culture, and it is actually a measure of the distribution of a great new idea that is so even and complete that six months later the thing is so well known as to be trivial? Or perhaps this is a peek at a more-modern phenomenon for capturing teh attention of a buying public by using a word that is hyper-popular and in the news and a main point of discussion, like "Atomic Cafe" or "Radium Cakes"?
I don't know--just wondering out loud.
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