As early as 1857, there were many early designs and early developments of the phonograph before Thomas Edison got his hands on it and was credited in 1877 (Augustyn, 2019). Based on two previously made inventions from Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell, the telegraph and the telephone, Edison tweaked both inventions to create the phonograph (Harris, 2020). Edison was continuously taking notes throughout his experiments leading up his invention, and had even written at some point during summer 1877 that he would soon be able to record and play back the human voice (McNamara, 2018). The way the sound was made was a stylus or needle of some sort etching a groove into a wax cylinder that rotated, almost like a candle. When the sound would be played back, the stylus would play the sound from the grooves (Harris, 2020). There have also been reports that Edison also used a different type of cylinder that was covered in layers of tinfoil that the needle would engrave the sound waves into (Briceño V., 2021). In order for Edison to be able to play back his recordings and listen to them he had to use the hand crank on the end of the phonograph (Nirode, 2021). This is similar to how today’s record work, with a etch in the vinyl that essentially recorded the

sound waves. As Thomas Edison and his assistant, John Kreusi, were finishing

the prototype, the first song that Thomas Edison had successfully recorded

and played on his device was “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (Harris, 2020). When

Thomas Edison reached the patent office, he had recorded a voice on it

asking employees how they are doing, and how much they enjoy the

phonograph, even adding a farewell to the recording. This took the workers

by surprise, and they became rushing for a patent for Edison (Harris, 2020).

Edison filed for his patent in November 1877, and February 19th, 1878, he

was given it (Briceño V., 2021).

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           After gaining his patent, Edison’s phonograph was being used all over

for various purposes. He even got a written work published in summer 1878

in an American magazine that demonstrates that his device could be a

pivotal turning point in the world (McNamara, 2018). Throughout the essay

Edison explains that he originally believed that the phonograph would be

useful in his business life, such as reading out letters, and even thought that

his recordings could be sent through mail. This paved a path that could be

given Edison credit for predicting audiobooks, as he even mentioned his phonograph could be used to record written books for those people who are hard of vision, asylum patients, or even a busy businessperson that wanted to read but did not have enough hands (McNamara, 2018). This was also a pivotal point in the music industry, as most people had bought music sheets and they would have to play the music on the piano they had in their home. This changed the industry since people could now record the music of the artists and be able to play them back in their own home. This even helped families love music more, since it was like they were still there in front of the band or artist listening to the music (Harris, 2020). After he was given his patent for the phonograph, Edison created the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company. He wanted to use this company as a means to get information about his phonograph into the public’s hands and introduce them to innovative technology and how useful it was, and could be. He explained that families could use this device to record family events, or even historical events (Harris, 2020).

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           During his time in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company, Edison developed a special phonograph that was designed to withstand traveling more than the normal phonographs. The goal for this device was that military would be able to listen to motivational speeches, historical speeches, and even hear the voices of friends and family back home while they were deployed (Harris, 2020). Later on in 1890s there was an advancement in the phonograph that began to use disks, as opposed to tin foil cylinders and it was founded by a German man named Emile Berliner (The Phonograph Idiot, 2020). As both Nirode (2021), and The Phonograph Idiot (2020), stated in their article and video, after Edison had gotten his patent for the phonograph, Alexander Graham Bell began to experiment and play around with the device and eventually started the Volta Laboratory in 1886. This spearheaded a new development in the industry as Alexander Graham Bell developed the graphophone and created the Volta Graphophone Company. In 1887, businesspeople in Philadelphia created the American Graphophone Company and then merged with the Volta Company to ultimately create Columbia Records. As the business began to grow, the cylinders needed to record music began to become mass produced, which helped families and users grow their collection of music and store more recordings. There were advancements in technology catching up to Edison, the invention of the radio. This ultimately drove Edison to close his business of phonographs, but he will be remembered as a pivotal point in the recording business, as well as the music industry (McNamara, 2018).