Old wax cylinder recordings!

[gunug]

You might have a listen to some of these:

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/playlists.php

I found this one compelling; kind of like laying in bed at night with headphones on and trying to tune in something on shortwave
radio!

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.p...ry=cylinder8063

from the curator's notes:

QUOTE

The cylinders from this time are primitively recorded, with the repertoire selected for the broad audiences that the arcades attracted. There was no mass production. Cylinders were produced in small quantities using a fragile "brown wax" medium that couldn't withstand the heavy use of the arcade machines. Over time, almost all of them developed significant wear, and in many cases surface mold caused the brown wax itself to deteriorate. Today, almost all of these early recordings are gone. When those that remain are carefully restored, however, they conjure up a sonic tapestry of another time. This is a world of band concerts in the park, military bravado, and slow courtship as the norm rather than the exception.

-- http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/incunabula.php

And a rag:

http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.p...ry=cylinder0849

[Xairbusdriver]

Can't imagine what Mr. Edison would think if he could see how millions could hear one of his cylinders virtually at the same time! Or that the thousands of cylinders could be accessed in such short order, or even the randomness of choices!

Speaking of "sound", it is also amazing what happened to one of the Brothers Wright inventions! The first flight faster than the speed of sound took place a year before Orville died!

<The Wright Brothers, p. 261>
<Sound Barrier just above the X-1 image>

[Highmac]

Well, this thread led to some interesting conversation in this house. I love it when the chat wanders into the realms of the truly absurd...

Mention of Orville reminded me of the dummy used by British children's entertainer Keith Harris which achieved the really weird feat of reaching No. 4 in the UK charts with Orville's Song (I Wish I Could Fly). The gold-disc winning song was later to be voted the worst record ever made, despite having shared that chart with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Abba and Donna Summer. However, since it was a Christmas chart, it was also shared by David Bowie duetting with Bing Crosby, Baa Baa Blacksheep by the Singing Sheep, and The Birdie Song (which is still a favourite at many a boozy wedding do) by The Tweets. Sometimes 2min 33sec can feel like half a lifetime...

Our conversation ended with the profound (and unanswerable) tongue-in-cheek question: "Wonder why Mr and Mrs Wright named their boys after a green talking duck and the owner of a talking horse..?"  

The well-written story of Keith Harris and his duck is told with affectionate humour on the Songfacts site.

[jcarter]

Speaking of really neat old stuff and Edison, my son in law's great grandfather was in on the invention of primitive rheostats. And my grandson will be doing a report on this, its their Industrial Revolution assignments.  Its in pretty bad shape, but it will be OK for the school report, as it surely is fun to look at.

[gunug]

Wow, thanks for the picture of the neat old rheostat; haven't seen anything that old.