This lid is all that remains of a box the Volta Laboratory Associates delivered to the Smithsonian for safekeeping on October 30, 1881. Inside the box was a copper disc recording (Cat. 312119) and a new kind of sound recording and playback device, which they called the graphophone (Cat. 312123).
The box—along with two others deposited by the Volta Associates in case of a patent challenge—remained sealed and stored in a Smithsonian vault until 1937, when Alexander Graham Bell’s daughters and a great grandson witnessed the opening.
Ink inscription reads: "Washington, D.C./October 19th 1881,/Deposited on behalf of Alexander Graham Bell,/Sumner Tainter, and Chichester A. Bell, /members of the Volta Laboratory /Association, by the undersigned--/Sumner Tainter/Chichester A. Bell"
References:
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This is a recording on a strip of tinfoil made on an Edison phonograph. The recording date is unknown. According to a letter in the accession file, Edison recalled lending a phonograph to the donor’s uncle in 1878. The donor’s uncle was, most likely, Dr. John Call Dalton, a prominent physiologist at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, whom Edison consulted about his growing deafness in March 1878.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2013. Content on sound file is an indistinct male voice talking. Possibly “…"John A Sutherland[?]" and " Charles H. Dalton [?]” and “Yours truly [?]."
Reference:
Edison Papers, 03/02/1878 John Call Dalton to Thomas Edison
This is an experimental sound recording made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., on 15 April 1885. It is a recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice.
In a ring around the center, it is inscribed in the wax: “Record made April 15 1885/AGB and C.A.B. [Chichester A. Bell]/to test reproduction of numbers./ Disk A. G. B. No. 1.” A paper document, probably in Alexander Graham Bell’s handwriting, with a transcription of the recording is 287881.02
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2012. Transcript of recording (4:35 minutes):
“one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, four hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, six hundred thousand, seven hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand, nine hundred thousand, one million
“three thousand five hundred and seventy one / one hundred and twenty three thousand nine hundred and forty one/ one hundred and twenty five thousand eight hundred and seventy three
“one million nine hundred and forty five thousand eight hundred and seventy six / thirty-five thousand nine hundred / thirty three thousand eight hundred and seventy eight
“forty eight thousand seven hundred and fifteen/ seven hundred and ninety thousand [no?] hundred and forty two / four million five hundred and thirty thousand eight hundred and seventy
“forty five dollars and a half / eighty nine dollars and seventy three cents / four thousand [no?] hundred and twenty nine dollars and forty-six cents
“thirty five cents / twenty five cents / thirty cents / fifty cents
“half a dollar [a? seems to be missing] quarter dollar
“three dollars and a half / five dollars and a quarter / seven dollars and twenty nine cents
“ten dollars and a half / three thousand seven hundred and eighty five dollars and fifty six cents
“This record has been made by Alexander Graham Bell
in the presence of Dr. Chichester A. Bell ----
on the 15th of April, eighteen hundred and eighty five at the Volta Laboratory
Twelve hundred and twenty one Connecticut Avenue, Washington [D.C. ?]
In witness whereof --- hear my voice Alexander Graham Bell”
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This is an experimental sound recording made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., about 1884. The wax, poured into a brass holder, has been dyed a bright green.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2011.
Content summary: Hamlet’s soliloquy
Content transcript (17 seconds):
“To be, or not to be: that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die, to sleep…”
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This experimental sound recording was made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., on 17 November 1884. The recording process involved focusing a beam of light, projecting it through a liquid, and causing sound waves to interrupt both the light and the liquid to expose a prepared photographic plate. This is a variable-area recording, that is, sound is represented by a spiral of that varies in width according to volume and pitch. The process is described in U.S. Patent 341,213 awarded Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester A. Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter on 4 May 1886.
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This is an experimental sound recording made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., on 11 March 1885. The recording process involved focusing a beam of light, projecting it through a liquid, and causing sound waves to interrupt both the light and the liquid to expose a prepared photographic plate. The recording, which starts at the center and spirals outward, is of variable density, that is the areas of exposure vary in density according to volume and pitch of the sound recorded. Process is described in U.S. Patent 341,213 awarded Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester A. Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter on 4 May 1886.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2011.
Content summary: “Mary had a little lamb”
Content transcript (37 seconds):
“ [?]…Sumner Tainter and H. G. Rogers. This eleventh day of March, eighteen hundred and eighty-five. [trilled r sound] [indistinct phrase] Mary had a little lamb, and its fleece was white as snow [alternatively, black as soot?] . And wherever Mary went…Oh [indistinct word].
Mary had a little lamb, and its fleece was white as snow [alternatively, black as soot?].
And wherever Mary went, the little lamb was sure to go. How is this for high? [trill]”
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This is an experimental machine for recording sound with a vertically cut wax record on its cylinder. It was made as a demonstration piece at the Volta Laboratory, Washington, DC, in September 1881. The machine is a modified Edison phonograph. The grooves of the machine’s cylinder have been widened and coated with wax. A hand-written card attached to the machine with sealing wax reads: “The following words and sounds are recorded upon the cylinder of this Graphophone: ‘T-r-r—T-r-r—There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamed of in our philosophy—T-r-r—I am a Graphophone and my mother was a Phonograph.’”
This machine and recording were part of the proof of invention that the Volta Associates—Alexander Graham Bell, his cousin Chichester Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter—deposited in a sealed tin box at the Smithsonian on October 30, 1881, in case of a patent fight. The box was opened in the presence of Bell relatives in 1937.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2013.
Speaker: Alexander Melville Bell
Content (20 seconds): “[trilled r sounds] There are more things in heaven and
Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy [trilled r sound].
I am a graphophone, and my mother was a phonograph.”
References:
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
This is an experimental sound recording made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., in October 1881. Made from an original recording of paraffin and wax, it is a negative electrotype copy for stamping out multiple recordings. The recording is laterally cut, that is, a stylus cut across the record surface side-to-side rather than vertically. It was part of the proof of invention that the Volta Associates—Alexander Graham Bell, his cousin Chichester Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter—deposited in a sealed tin box at the Smithsonian on October 30, 1881, in case of a patent fight. The box was opened in the presence of Bell relatives in 1937.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2011.
Speaker: unknown
Content (10 seconds): “[trilled r sound] One, two, three, four, five, six [trilled r sounds].”
References:
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
This is an experimental sound recording made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C. In a ring around the center, it is marked with the initials for Sumner Tainter, one of the Volta Laboratory Associates, and a date: “S.T. Dec. 29th 1881.” This recording was copied from an 1881 master at an unknown later date.
Sound was recovered from this recording in 2013.
Content transcript: “…[indistinct] I am a magnetical graphophone. What are you? To be, or not to be: that is the question. [trilled r sounds] How is that for high?”
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
This is an experimental disc made in the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C. on an unknown date. It features two tunes of instrumental music. An unidentified cornet quartet plays “Killarney” and “Hot-Shot March.” The recording was found on an experimental piece of equipment, Cat. 287655.
Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.
This is a business dictation machine that uses wax cylinders to record and play back sound. The basic design for the machine emerged from research at the Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., the sound research facility established by Alexander Graham Bell with his associates Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter.
Tainter refined the design, patented several versions of it, and oversaw the manufacturing of the first six experimental graphophones at Bergmann & Co in New York in 1885. He also supervised the making of commercial models in a sewing machine factory in Bridgeport, Conn., beginning in 1887. In these early commercial machines, the dictation apparatus sits atop a sewing machine table and employs a treadle to rotate the mandrel holding the cylinder recording.
On this machine from 1888, the treadle is marked "American Graphophone Company"; the governor is marked "Patented July 20th 1886." The recorder-reproducer is marked: "The Phonograph-Graphophone m'f'd by the American Graphophone Company for Jesse H. Lippincott, Sole Licensee/ Type C No. 03042" and numerous patent dates.
Reference:
Wile, Raymond R. "The Development of Sound Recording at the Volta Laboratory," Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal 21, No. 2, 1990, pp. 208-225.