Thompson, E. Machines Music, and The Quest For Fidelity..

Machines, Music, and the Quest for Fidelity: Marketing the Edison Phonograph in America,
1877-1925
Author(s): Emily Thompson
Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 79, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 131-171
Published by: Oxford University Press
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Institutions,Industries,Technologies
Machines, Music, and the Quest

for Fidelity: Marketing the Edison
Phonograph in America, 1877-1925
EmilyThompson
1. Introduction
On Fridayafternoon,28 April 1916, a crowdof musicloversand

curiosityseekersgatheredat CarnegieHall in New York.They came
to heara "tonetest,"a recitalof musicand musical"re-creations"
sponsoredby ThomasA. EdisonIncorporated. The event, headlined
"EdisonSnaresSoul of Music,"wasdescribedthe next day in the New
YorkTribune:
Startlingly novel even in this age of mechanical marvels was the

concert that drew 2,500 persons to Carnegie Hall yesterdayafternoon.
Alone on the vast stage there stood a mahoganyphonograph,
apparentlyexactly like the tamed and domesticatedvariety that has
become to be [sic] as much a part of the furnitureof the ordinarydraw-
ing room as was the wheezy melodeon a generation ago. In the midst of
the hushed silence a white-gloved man emergedfrom the mysterious
region behind the draperies,solemnly placed a record in the gaping
mouth of the machine, wound it up and vanished.
Then Mme. Rappoldstepped forward,and leaning one arm affec-
tionately on the phonographbegan to sing an air from "Tosca."The
phonographalso began to sing "Vissi d'Arte, Vissi d'Amore"at the top
of its mechanical lungs, with exactly the same accent and intonation,
even stopping to take a breath in unison with the primadonna.
Occasionally the singer would stop and the phonographcarried
on the air alone. When the mechanical voice ended Mme. Rappold
sang. The fascination for the audience lay in guessingwhether Mme.
Rappoldor the phonographwas at work, or whether they were singing
together.1
Thousands of tone tests, identical in format to the event

described by the Tribune, were presented to millions of Americans
in the years between 1915 and 1925. From Symphony Hall in Boston
to the Keyler Grand Theater in Walla Walla, Washington, Edison
131
132 TheMusicalQuarterly
Figure1. Publicity of Frieda

photograph Hempel,Edisonrecording
artist,withEdisonemploy-
ees, circa 1918. Courtesy United States Departmentof the Interior, National ParkService, Edison
NationalHistoricSite
recordingartists and Edison re-creationsperformedin tandem,

convincing-or attempting to convince-audiences that "it was
actually impossible to distinguish the singer'sliving voice from its
re-creation in the instrument."2By equating phonographicrecordings
with live performancesof music, the tone test advertisingcampaign of
the Edison Company helped to transformmusical culture in America.
As phonographictechnologies provided a means to mass-produce
identical recordingsof musical performances,people increasinglyexpe-
rienced music not by attending unique live performancesor by produc-
ing music themselves in their homes but instead by purchasing
recordings,carryingthem home, and reproducingthe music on
machines in their parlors,whenever and as often as they desired.
Cultural critics as diverse as John Philip Sousa and Theodor Adorno
have examined the significance of this transformation.3Whether cele-
brating the widespreaddiffusion of previouslyrestrictedevents and
experiences or decrying the perceived degradationof those events by
that same diffusion, critics have uniformlyconstructed their analyses
in terms of "the impact of the machine" upon musical life.
Music,andtheQuestfor Fidelity 133
Machines,
Mostrecently,MilesOrvellhas moregenerallyposedthe ques-

tion, "Howhas the machine,with its powerto producereplicasand
reproductions, alteredourculture?"4While Orvelldoesnot specifically
considermusicalculture,his focuson "imitationand authenticityin
Americanculture"rendershis analysisparticularly applicableto the
phonograph,and especiallyto the tone tests, with theirchallengeto
audiencesto distinguishcreationfromre-creation,authenticfrom
imitation.Orvellconsidersthe culturalformsof literature,photogra-
phy, and domesticfurniture,and he chartsa trajectoryfroma
nineteenth-century cultureof imitation"fascinated by reproductions of
all sorts"to a modemeffort"to get beyondmereimitation,beyond
the manufacturing of illusions,to the creationof more'authentic'
worksthat werethemselvesrealthings."5Modemartistsstrovenot for
realismbut for "realityitself,"and consumersof modemart (in whom
Orvellis farless interested)similarlysoughtnot realisticreproductions
but "therealthing."6
Within an Orvellianframework,tone tests shouldbe seen as
retrograde,vestigialcelebrationsof the mimeticcapabilityof the
machine,evidencethat, as Orvellhimselfnotes, "thenineteenth-
centurycultureof imitationremained(and still remains)a strongpart
of the mainstream of twentieth-century industrialpopularculture."7
Indeed,phonographic recording more generallyseemsto have playeda
predominantly conservativerole with respectto musicalcreationand
compositionthroughoutmostof its preelectriclife. The phonograph
wasput to workrecordingand reproducing musicas it existedpriorto
the developmentof the new technology;few chose to use that tech-
nologyto createa new kind of musicin the way that GeorgesMilies,
SergeiEisenstein,and othersemployedmotionpicturetechnologyto
renderfilman artformdistinctfromtraditionaltheater.8
Still, an artistand architectas modemas HannesMeyerchose
to includea phonographin his self-portrait (1924) as well as in his
antibourgeois "Co-opZimmer"(1926), a photographof a modelbed-
roomfor modemlife.9And in his 1927 reviewof Manhattan Transfer,
D. H. Lawrencedrewuponthe phonographto describethe modernity
of the proseof JohnDos Passos.10Phonographic reproductions clearly
constitutea kindof modernitythat Orvell'saccountfailsto acknowl-
edge. In his effortto address"themachine,"Orvellapparentlyfalls
short of accuratelydescribingthis particularmachine. The modernity
of the acoustical phonographlies not in the realm of aesthetic produc-
tion but in consumption.
T. J. Jackson Lears, like Orvell, has addressedthe quest for "real-
ity" and "authentic experience" that occupied people during the
decades surroundingthe turn of the century," but unlike Orvell,

Learshas recognizedthe importanceof the consumerculture associ-
ated with the mass-producedproductsand reproductions,the "commu-
nities of consumption" that Orvellacknowledgesl2but neverreally
explores. Lears's
work has indicatedhow advertisingand the commer-
cial cultureassociatedwith the marketingof mass-producedobjects
providednew conceptualandperceptualresourcesfor consumersto
draw upon to define the meaning of those productsin their lives.
While Learshas emphasizedthe institutionalized
powerof professional
advertisingagenciesworkingin concertwith to
largecorporations
promulgatea particularcultural image or message, LizabethCohen
has explored how variousgroupsof consumers,defined by economic
status, race, and ethnicity, have respondeddifferentlyto that message
and have assigned their own distinctive meanings to the mass-
producedobjectsin theirlives.13 Cohen considersconsumerswho
differedin somewayfromthe modelconsumerdepictedand described
by advertisers;in contrast, I focus here exclusively on consumerswho,
at least superficially,fit the image-white, middle class, educated,
nativeborn-presentedby advertisers. Yet they, too, will be shownto
workwith the materialof advertisingcampaigns,applyingit to their
own sets of issuesand concernsto createtheirown definitionof "real
music."
2. A History of the Edison Phonograph and

Phonographic Fidelity
In 1877 Thomas Edison was trying to improve the telegraph. He
believed he could increase transmissionspeed, and thus the
information-carryingcapacity of a line, by prerecordingMorse code
messagesas indentations on a strip of paper. The paper, when passed
under a tracing point, would open and close the telegraphcircuit. A
rapidlymoving strip of paper could then transmitan electronic mes-
sage much faster than the prevailing method of nonrecorded,manual
key tapping. Edison was intriguedby the noise that the apparatus
produced, "a musical, rhythmic sound resemblingthat of human talk
heard indistinctly."'4 The noise brought to mind another ongoing
project: the amplificationof telephonic voice signals. He attached
the embossingpoint to a telephone diaphragm,created an indented-
paper record of his voice, described this experiment in his notebook,
and concluded, "[T]here is no doubt that I shall be able to store up
and reproduce automatically at any future time the human voice
perfectly."'15
Machines,
One month laterEdisonsubmitteda designto his model-builder,

JohnKreusi.The long, narrowstriphad contractedinto a continuous
spiralarounda cylinder,and tin foil now replacedthe fragilepaper.
Kreusibuilt the machineand Edisongave it its firsttrial.He set the
cylinderin motion, engagedthe needle, and recited"Maryhad a
LittleLamb."With those inauspicious words,the historyof phono-
graphicrecordingbegan.
Edison'sinventionwasproclaimedthe acousticalmarvelof the
century.16The storageand retrievalof soundwasan unprecedented
achievement,and everyonewasamazedthat sucha simplemachine
--it lookedlike a smalllathe--couldsomehowpreserveand then
reproducethe humanvoice.17As a storagedevice, the phonograph
wasinitiallycomparedto the camera.Edisonclaimedthat "[florthe
purposeof preservingthe sayings,the voices, and the last wordsof the
dyingmemberof the family-as of greatmen-the phonographwill
unquestionably outrankthe photograph."18 Yet no one reallyknew
whatpurposethe phonographwouldultimatelyfulfill.Edisonsug-
gestedeverythingfromspokenlettersand recordedtelephoneconver-
sationsto musicaltoys and talkingadvertisements.'19 Anotherproposal
wasset forthby ScientificAmerican: "It is alreadypossibleby ingenious
opticalcontrivancesto throwstereoscopicphotographs of peopleon
screensin full view of an audience.Add the talkingphonographto
counterfeittheirvoices, and it wouldbe difficultto carrythe illusion
of realpresencemuchfurther."20 "Theillusionof realpresence"repre-
sentsa standardof performance, and this standardis tied to the nature
of the proposal.If the phonographwereto representan individual,
speechwouldhave to be reproduced with "sufficientfidelityto make
the voice easilyrecognizable by thosewho werefamiliarwith the
original."2'"Fidelity,"or faithfulnessto the source,wasthe goal.
How did the phonographactuallysoundto thosewho heardthe
firstdemonstrations? An accountof Edison'sfirstpublicdemonstration
noted that the recordingwas"perfectlyaudible"to a dozenor more
people,and that the machinepronouncedits own namewith "espe-
cial clearness.'"22Therewasno illusionof realpresence.Still, Edison
claimedthat "theapparatus is practicallyperfectedin so faras the
faithfulreproduction of soundis concerned."23 He basedhis opinion
not on the recognizability of an individual'svoice but on the abilityof
a listener to understandevery word. While Edison recognizeda loss in
"quality,"he felt this loss was "nonessentialin the practical applica-
tion of the apparatus."24Others, however, were more critical of this
loss of quality: "Now, it is quite evident to you that though the pro-
duction of sound is very wonderful, it is not very perfect. . . . The
Figure2. ThomasEdisonwith his phonographin Washington,D.C., 18 Apr. 1877.Courtesy

EdisonNationalHistoricSite
Music,andtheQuestforFidelity 137
Machines,
instrumenthas not quitereachedthat perfectionwhen the tonesof

a Patti, or the speechesof a Gladstone,or the sermonsof a Liddon,
can be faithfullyrepeated;in fact, to someextent it is a burlesqueor
parodyof the humanvoice."25Edisonconcededthat the qualityof
reproduction wasnot yet readyfor AdelinaPatti'svoice "in all its
purity."26 Fidelitywas thusrelatedto function;performance that was
sufficientfor practicalpurposeswasconsideredinsufficientfor convey-
ing the artof opera'sreigningdiva.
In 1878 therewasa conceptof fidelity,but no singlestandardfor
evaluatingphonographperformance existedbecausetherewasno
single role or purpose for the invention to fulfill.The phonograph
appeared before a need for its functionhad been identified.While
numeroususeswereprojected,none wererealized.When Edisonset
asidehis latestinventionand turnedinsteadto the developmentof
electriclighting,the phonographdisappeared. Fewseemto have
missedit or even to have noticedthat it wasgone.
Ten yearslaterEdison"resurrected"27 his phonograph.The per-
fectedphonographwasgreetedwith the sameexclamationsandproph-
ecies that had been set fortha decadeearlier.The publicremained
unsureaboutthe ultimateutilityof the machine,but this time, Edison
supplieda function.His phonographwasto be a businessmachine.It
wouldrecordspeechby engravingwax cylindersto createauralletters,
which wouldbe sent directlyto, andplayedbackby, the recipient.28
Edison'sphonographreturnedwith a purposeand a singlestandardof
performance. As a capturerof words,it had to be intelligible:audible
and articulate."Fidelity" now referredto the retrievabletruthof the
message;an oralcontractor agreement,committedto wax, wasren-
deredpermanentand thereforeindisputable.
In spiteof its potentialfor injectingboth moralityand efficiency
into the workplace,the phonographas officeequipmentwasnot a
success.Stenographers opposedthe machines,but the devicesnever
workedwell enoughto threatentheirjobs. Businessmen simplydid
not have time to fusswith the delicatemechanisms,and the local
phonographdealers,who wereleasingmachineson a regionalbasis,
followingthe modelof the telephonecompanies,werefrustrated by
the logisticalproblemsassociatedwith the business.At that time the
"practical" use of the phonographprovedhighlyimpractical.29
As the business application failed, however, a new use for the
machine appeared.One enterprisingdealer equippedhis phonographs
with a coin-operatedmechanism that played a cylinder (featuringa
populartune or comic monologue) through a set of eartubesto the
patron who had deposited the coin. In 1890, this dealer reportedthat
all of his company'sprofitcamefromthese "nickel-in-the-slot"

machines.30Phonographic musicwassoon beingheardin saloons
and hotel lobbiesacrossthe country.
In New York,gentlemen-about-town wanderedfromhotel to
hotel, listening to the machines "untilten or fifteenhotelshave been
visitedand the partyhave hearda little bit of the verylatestthingsin
townrenderedwith so startlingand realisticeffectthat it seemsalmost
impossiblethat the humanvoice can issuefromwax and iron."31As
the phonographtook on the role of a purveyorof musicratherthan
simplya transmitter of words,standardsmovedbeyondaudibilityand
intelligibility."Qualityof tone"wasthe new criterion,32and adver-
tisementsbeganincreasingly to point to "thesweettone for whichthe
Edisonis famous."33
In 1896 the Edisonphonographwasfirstofferedfor sale to the
public,and as earlyas 1900 it wasrecognizedas "afamiliarobjectin
ourmodernhome life."34The phonographwasnot justsituatedin
modernhome life; it playeda role in definingthat modernity,by
beingput to use in waysthat distinctlychangedthe prevailingculture
of musicin the home.
3. The Machine in the Parlor
The musicallife of turn-of-the-century middle-class Americanswas

dividedbetweenpublicand privatespheresof activity.Publicmusic
existedin concerthalls, wherecrowdsgatheredto hearthe perfor-
mancesof giftedstrangers.Privatemusicwascreatedwithinthe
home, by a familymemberor friend.This musicprovideddomestic
entertainment; it also manifestedthe diligenceand culturalaspirations
of the (usuallyfemale)performer. Victorianvirtue,if not alwaysvirtu-
osity, prevailed.35
Earlierin the centurythe boundarybetweenpublicandprivate
musichad not been so distinct.An occasionalvirtuosolike Jenny
Lindor LouisGottschalkwasheard,but mostpublicmusicwasoffered
by town membersin local bandsor musicalsocieties.Duringthe sec-
ond half of the nineteenthcenturyprofessional musicalorganizations
increasingly took hold in American cities, and by the turnof the
centurypublicmusichad achieveda level of technicalskill and
expertise that many amateursat home felt unable and unwilling to
match.36
The Atlantic, in 1894, recalled that there had been a time when
the adjective "amateur"carriedwith it "respect,dignity and worth."
Machines,
But now, "[a]mateur has collidedwith professional,and the former

termhas graduallybut steadilydeclinedin favor;in fact, it has be-
come almosta termof opprobrium."37 JaneAddamsdescribedthe
generational difference between a mother who believedherselfto
have possessedmusicaltalentbut lackedopportunityto develop
it, and a daughterwho, with all the advantagesnecessaryto develop
sucha talent, knewherselfto be lackingit: "I mightbelieveI had
unusualtalent if I did not knowwhatgoodmusicwas."38And Edward
Bellamyimagineda futurein which all music,includingdomestic
music,wouldbe professionally rendered.When the nineteenth-
centuryprotagonistof Looking Backwardwasofferedmusicby his
twentieth-century hostess,the musicthat she had in mindwasnot
at all whathe expected:
"Nothing woulddelightmeso muchas to listento you,"[he]said."To
me!"sheexclaimed, "DidyouthinkI wasgoingto playor
laughing.
singto you?. . . Of course,weall singnowadays
as a matterof course
in the trainingof the voice, andsomelearnto playinstruments
for
buttheprofessional
theirprivateamusement; musicis so muchgrander
and moreperfectthan anyperformance
of ours,andso easilycom-
whenwewishto hearit, thatwedon'tthinkof callingour
manded
singingor playingmusicat all."39
Bellamy'sdream,however,wasJohnPhilipSousa'snightmare.
In 1906, Sousapredicted"amarkeddeteriorationin Americanmusic
and musicaltaste, an interruptionin the musicaldevelopmentof the
country,and a host of other injuriesto musicin its artisticmanifesta-
tions, by virtue-or ratherby vice-of the multiplicationof the vari-
ous music-reproducing machines."Sousafearedthe replacementof
musicmakingwith passivelistening;the gradualsilencingof the town
band, the amateursingerandpianist,"untiltherewill be left only the
mechanicaldeviceand the professional executant."40"Whereverthere
is a phonographthe musicalinstrumentis displaced.The time is com-
ing when no one will be readyto submithimselfto the ennobling
disciplineof learningmusic.. . . Everyonewill have theirreadymade
or readypiratedmusicin theircupboards."4'
Sousacoinedthe derogatory term"cannedmusic,"42and similar
characterizationsoften appearedin popularliterature,43 but the
bandleader'soverly pessimistic opinion of the new musical technology
was shared by few. As a respondentto Sousa'seditorial put it, "No
one who reflects upon the matter for a single moment will deny that
the averagerendition of music by the amateursin the homes of our
land is far, far below that of the mechanical music reproducerof
today.It is justbecausethese devicesbringinto ourhomesrenditions

of musicof a superiorquality,to whichthe vast majorityof ourpeople
aretotal strangers,that they aremeetingwith suchuniversalaccepta-
tion."44As earlyas 1904 one noted musiccritichad alreadybegunto
celebratethe passingof "thepianogirl,"45but phonographic technol-
ogy wouldnot simplyassumeher role withouttransforming the culture
of domesticmusicin otherways,and in the process,phonographic
cultureitselfwouldbe transformed.
The phonographofferedmanyimmediatelyapparentadvantages
to consumers.It provideda greaterrangeof musicthan a household
couldtraditionally produce;not justpianobut bandmusicand instru-
mentaland vocal soloscouldall be calledforth, inexpensivelyand at
a moment'snotice.46The phonographeffectivelybroughtthe quality
and varietyof publicmusicinto the home, and it additionallyoffered
new kindsof activities.The Edisonphonograph,for example,allowed
one to makehome recordings: "Talkaboutentertainment--there is
nothing that approachesthe fun and fascination of making records at
home on the EdisonPhonograph."47 And therewereotherwaysto
enjoythe machine;somelistenersultimatelybecamemoreinterested
in the phonographrecordingsthemselvesthan in the musicthat they
reproduced.In 1907, Littel'sLivingAgedescribeda typeof personwho
endeavorsto possess"perfectspecimensof the recordingart. To this
man, the classof recordis immaterial,his aimbeingonly recordsfor
whichclearness,volumeand qualityof tone are absolutelyfaultless."48
In spiteof these new attractionsand activities,the phonograph
as a providerof domesticmusicstill threatenedto eradicatemanyof
the culturalassociationsthat had been attachedto domesticmusic
making.Consumerswerestill facedwith the fact that theirmusical
instruments had been replacedby "talkingmachines,"or worse,"can
openers."Theirdomesticmusicwasno longerthe individualcreation
of a livingmusicianin the homebut a mass-produced mechanical
reproduction.49 In orderto make the phonographacceptable,manu-
facturers,advertisers and consumershad to redefinethe machine,
visually,culturally,and acoustically.The phonographcouldnot just
reproducethe soundsof musicalinstruments; it had to becomean
instrumentitself.While phonographadvertisements had assertedthat
"this is not an imitationof music,but is indeed real music,performed
by the artistthe sameas in one'sactualpresence"50 as earlyas 1895
(just when the phonographentered the home), this kind of appeal
was increasinglymade by manufacturersand accepted by consumersin
the years that followed. By 1913, the Edison company consistently
Machines,
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~~e EDI:
,~:::i?:::ZYN._n:?~-i-~~
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::-i:.iiii~ii-i~ii-~i~:Bi~:
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Figure3. EdisonPhonograph
advertisement, EveningPost,12 Nov. 1910
Saturday
referredto its recordsnot as reproductions The

but as "re-creations."
the
"re-creator," phonograph, was no longera machine but now a
musicalinstrument.
4. The DiamondDisc and EdisonRe-Creations

ThomasEdison'sproclamation that the phonographwasaboutto
become"thegreatestmusicalinstrumentin the world"51 coincided
with the releaseof his new DiamondDisc phonograph.Foryears,the
Edisoncompanyhad maintainedthe superiority of the cylinderto the
disc, but increasedcompetition from the disc-playinggramophones of
Victorand Columbiaultimatelyled the Edisoncompanyto enterthe
disc market.52Consumerspreferred discsbecausethey weresturdier
and easierto handleand store,and manufacturers foundthe disc
recordsfareasierto massproduce,as they couldquicklyand easilybe
stampedfrommasterdies. Hollowcylindersrequireda morecompli-
catedmoldingprocessto producemultipleduplicatesfroma master
mold.53
Once the decisionto enterthe disc markethad been made,the
goal of the Edisoncompanywasto producethe best possibledisc
machine.Severalyearsand severalmillionsof dollarswerespenton
this project,and the resultwasa machinethat differedfromthe com-
petitionin severalsignificantways.Countlessexperimentswerecar-
riedout in the Edisonlaboratoriesto determinethe best sizeand
shapeof groove,and the choice wasmadeto stickwith the "hilland
dale"grooveformatthat had been employedin Edisoncylinders.The
verticalundulationsof this kindof groovewereunlikethe lateral
"to-and-fro" undulationson the recordsof the othermanufacturers,
and the two formatswereincompatible.Victorrecordscouldnot be
playedon Edisonmachinesand vice versa.The Edisoncompanyalso
designeda styluswith a diamondpoint, a needlethat neverrequired
replacement,unlikethe steel needlesof the competition,whichhad
to be replacedafterjusta few playings.Chemistsworkingfor the
Edisoncompanydevelopeda new kindof plasticfor the discsthem-
selves, and countlessotherinnovationswereincorporated in the
mechanismof the new machine.
Edisondealers,however,wereforbiddento referto the new
productas a machine;they weretold to call the DiamondDisc a
"musicalinstrument."(The competition, of course, remaineda collec-
tion of "talkingmachines.") Dealers were also encouragedto offer
"recitals"featuringdisc recordingsby Edison'sfinest artists. At one
such Diamond Disc concert in 1914, an old Edison Standardcylinder
Machines,
jaI t &.rb,
I(r
You ar t *Ii d tto

n l
moi co rdIiIy lyI r oN co n-
)ay
informl
to b nutifhul
visittot v -
ence wherour et Idison Co
n tertto
deli i ted
HatlI we will bt.
o I4tv c (II
I)1 rtf.n
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Figure4. Invitationto attenda DiamondDisc recitalat an Edisondealership,1914. Courtesy

wasplayed,and the audienceburstinto laughteruponhearingit.54

Apparently,morepeoplehad becomeawareof a differencebetween
"good"and "bad"recordings.Musicloverscriticallycomparednot
only old and new phonographs but also the variouscompetingmodels
of the day. One Edisondealerexclaimed,"[T]hepeopleareso phono-
graphcrazyand the Victoragenthas filledthem so full of taleswhich
they areanxiousto proveor disproveby the Edisonmachinethat they
are in the storehere all day long and partof the night to formtheir
own conclusions."55
What mighta comparison-minded shopperencounterupon
enteringan Edisonshop?The followingdialoguewassuggestedin a
1915publicationfor Edisondealers:
A CUSTOMER
HANDLING IN THESTORE
SHOPPER: Do you claim to have something better than the Mineola?
MR. BROWN: Comparisonsare alwaysodious. The Mineola has no
superior-intheclassto whichit belongs.TheEdison
Diamond Disc is a more expensive instrumentand in quite
another class.
SHOPPER: Is the Edison tone equal to the Mineola tone?
MR. BROWN: The Edison has no tone.
SHOPPER: No tone?
MR. BROWN:Exactlythat.Mr.Edisonhasexperimented
foryearsto
produce a sound re-creatinginstrumentthat has no tone
-of its own . . . If a talkingmachinehas a distinctive
tone, then suchtone mustappearin everyselection,
whether band, orchestra, violin, soprano, tenor or what
not. In other words, there is a distortion of the true tone
of theoriginalmusic.56
That old "sweetEdisontone"had been designedout of the

machineand alsoout of the advertisingcampaign.In orderto efface
the machine,the machinehad to becomeinaudible.The goal wasto
providean experiencelike that describedby a reporterto the Scientific
American:"Thesoundwasliftedclearof the machine.The singeror
musicianwas in the room,not in the box."'57
Manufacturers effacedthe machinenot justby assertingits
but
inaudibility also by makingit invisible.The claimthat the phono-
graphwasa musicalinstrumentwasreinforcedby physicallyconceal-
ing the device in a fancy wooden cabinet. Earlymodels, with exposed
gears and horns, had celebratedtheir mechanism. The nickel-in-the-
slot machines that had been located in bars and phonographicparlors
in the 1890s, while of necessity housed in a protective cabinet, always
Machines,
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.........
'IPP'
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as machine:EdisonTriumph,circa1910. CourtesyEdisonNational
Figure5. The phonograph
HistoricSite
provideda glasswindowthroughwhich the patroncouldwatchthe

internalworkingsof the machine-it waspartof the entertainment
that one purchased.But once the phonographmovedinto the home,
it wasnot long beforethe machinerybecameunsightly.The Victor
Victrolaof 1906wasthe firstmajorAmericanmachineto be sold in a
cabinetthat concealedthe mechanismand the horn, and othermanu-
facturerssoon followedsuit.58EdisonAmberolacylinderphonographs
werehousedin woodencabinetsin a varietyof styles,and the earliest
DiamondDiscswereplacedin these samecabinets.
The style andqualityof cabinetcouldsend the priceof a phono-
graphskyward; top-of-the-linemachinescost about$250 when housed
in a respectablebut modestpiece of furniture.59Fanciercabinets,in
stylessuch as Chippendale,Elizabethan, Jacobean,Georgian,Italian,
Colonial,and LouisXVI, to namebut a few, easilydrovethe priceof
the samemachineup to $400 and well beyond;a Sonoramodelwith
a list priceof $1,000 wasadvertisedin the New YorkTribunein
1916.60That sameyearthe Edisoncompanyoffereda specialcollec-
tion of "handmade periodcabinets."These "artmodels"werecrafted
by the W. A. French Company,and they madetheirdebutto invited
guestsat a privateexhibitionin the ballroomof the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel in New York.Startingat $1,000, the priceroseto $6,000 for a
large"FrenchGothic"piece, "[a]ftera celebrationpiece whichstands
in the centreof a roomon the groundfloorof the Hotel de Cluny."61
Forthose who couldaffordit, the cabinetcouldre-createauthentic
antiqueartifacts,even as its mechanicalcontentsre-createdauthentic
music.However,the Edisoncompanyreassured its customerswho
couldnot affordsuchextravagance that "[t]hosewho areconcerned
solelywith obtainingthe best musicalresultneed not paymorethan
$250, as the OfficialLaboratory Modelwhichsells at $250 is equalin
musicalsenseto the mostexpensivemodels."62
The mechanicalnatureof the phonographwasfurthereffaced
by the Edisoncompanythrougha focusuponthe organicmaterials
out of which the machinewasconstructed."Musicthroughmetalis
and alwayswill be metallicand 'machinelike,' " an Edisonpamphlet
from1917 proclaimed.The text went on to describehow the repro-
ducerof the New Edisonwasconstructedof silk, cork,and a vegeta-
ble tissuediaphragm."Thereareno acousticpropertiesin any of these
materials. . . The New Edisonhas no tone of its own. It is a perfect
vehicle for the Re-Creation of music."63
Shortly after this ad appeared,an Edison owner named Edward
Buckley stopped by a Sonora Phonographshop in order to evaluate its
"much advertisedBell-Like tone." Buckley felt compelled to write to
Machines,
&~l#pGARTET
photh atktt, o our
'f ag. Yor G
H. t tg. KTo
U aI tof
N York oTribune Onof h m m s
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Sl O e
chinYars itgio n of A p
121
T ku
EdmoVIVO
. w :
ws
tkew~n
ap
hegret
Thi~hfa ~tenaerjvaSig
,Kindirctc(?mprhonw
g
tab
lktg 01 n~il~~
iiiiqu c ml:
Figure 6. The phonographas furniture:Edison phonographadvertisement,Cosmopolitan,Jan.

1917. The Chippendale style of cabinet is shown here.
the EdisonCompanyand describehis experience:"[A]fterhearing

severalrecordson the Snorer[sic]the agentaskedme whatadvantage
I sawin the Edisonreproducer, I havingobjectedto the nazal[sic]
tone of the high registerof the vocal records.To which I repliedthat
the fibrediaphragm coupledwith the silkencordand the shapeof the
soundchamberremovedthe metallictwang."64
Clearly,the EdisonadvertisingmaterialprovidedBuckleywith
not justa vocabulary but a conceptualframework for evaluatingpho-
nographicperformance. In one sensehe seemsto constitutethe ideal
manipulablecustomer,acceptingand reiteratingthe Edisonpropa-
gandalock, stock, and barrel.But in anothersense, Buckleyonly used
the ad as a startingpoint. He did not simplyacceptthe assertionsof
the ad as true,but insteadwent to a rivalshopto decidefor himself.
As a Brunswickad put it, this was"anew era in phonographic
art."The "noveltyis past. Musicloversare morecritical.Old stan-
dardsdo not satisfy,"65and the Edisondealersagreed:"Theimmense
strideswhich Mr. Edisonhas madein the art and industryis develop-
ing an advancedappreciationof soundreproduction. It is a higher
education.'"66
Consumersclearlyput theireducationto use. They compared
one phonographto anotherto learnaboutanddefinefor themselves
whatconstitutedsoundquality,in orderto choosethe best machine
and recordsfor theirhomes.67ButThomasEdison'sgoalwasnot
reallyto becomethe numberone seller;in fact, his companynever
surpassed Victorin the market.Edisonwas interestedin competition
not with othermusicalreproductionsbut with "real"musicitself.
Thus, beforehe couldfullyaccomplishhis goalof transformingthe
DiamondDisc into a musicalinstrument,he wouldhave to placeit
in directcompetitionwith "therealthing."
5. The Tone Test Campaign
In 1915, the directorof the EdisonPhonographDivisionpublished

the followingaccountof the firsttone test: "A yearor so ago in Des
Moines,Iowa,MissAnna Case, the Metropolitanprimadonna,hap-
penedto enterthe storeof Hargerand Blish,ourjobbersat Des
Moines,andwas inducedto sing in unisonwith one of her own
records. While our distributorshad all known that the tone of the
Edison Diamond Disc was wonderfullytrue, none of them had realized
that it was absolutelyidentical with and indistinguishablefrom the
original."68The distributorsdid, however, realize the marketabilityof
Machines,
this typeof demonstration,and tone testingsoon becamethe primary

formof advertisement for the Edisonphonograph.
The structureand contentof everytone test wasrigidlydeter-
minedby the EdisonCompany;an Engineering Test ServiceDepart-
ment was in
established 1917 to establishand ensurestandard
procedurefor the events.69Contractsspecifiedthat local dealerswere
to providea suitableplaceof performance "in which it is customary
to give high-classmusicalentertainments and in whichhigh-class
artistsareaccustomedto appear,and in no caseshallthe placeof
performance be a placewhich, by reasonof its locationor the uses
madeof it, is not frequentedby the betterclassof people."70The
dealersmailedinvitationsto prospectivecustomers(no admissionwas
charged),hiredushersand a "lightman,"and suppliedthe $295 Dia-
mondDisc phonographusedfor the comparison.The machinewasto
arriveat the site fourhourspriorto the startof the performance and
was to be inspectedafterarrival.A backupmachine,also inspected,
was additionallyrequired.Promoterswererequiredto use only official
Edisoncompanyadvertising,both beforeand afterthe event, and they
wereinstructedto fill out and submitto the companya standardpost-
event informationform.An internalpublicationfor dealerseven sug-
gestedthe best arrangement of phonographandotherobjetsd'arton
stage to createa "tasteful"atmosphere.71 In returnfor meetingthe
numerousrequirements, the local dealerswereprovidedwith the musi-
cal servicesof Edisonrecordingsartists,and theiradvertisingcosts
weresubsidized.
One of the firsttone tests took place in SymphonyHall in Bos-
ton on 18 November1915. ContraltoChristineMillerwasfeatured,
and EdisonrecordingartistsArthurWalshand HaroldLyman,on
violin and flute, alsoparticipated beforean audienceof aboutfive
hundred,manyof whomweremembersof Boston'sHandeland Haydn
Society.The programopenedwith introductory remarksby an Edison
representative appropriately named Verdi Fuller. Millerthen sang
"O Rest in the Lord," and "Abide with Me," in tandemwith "The
Laboratory Re-Creationof Her Voice."WalshandLymandid not
performduetswith themselvesin this waybut insteadplayedalong
with orchestralrecordingsor otherrecordedsoloists.The tone test
was consideredmost effective and convincing with the female voice;
thus, women were almost always the featuredperformers.Miller
returnedto the stage, singing "Ah, mon fils!"by Meyerbeerand some
Scottish folk songs; her numberswere interspersedwith the playing
of some particularlyprestigiousEdison re-creationssuch as Arthur
Middleton'srecordingof the Pro Peccatis of the StabatMaterof
A-Main phonograph (should be a mahogany Chippendale)

B-Secondary phonograph (William and Mary, or Art Model suggested)
C-Mahogany stand for REXCREATIONS used. by artists.
D-Small Davenport or settee, mahogany, upholstered.
EE-EChairs to match Davenport.
a-The best franmed picture of Mr. Edison you can produce.
G-Picture suitable to "balance" F (May be a landscape).
.H-H1-Other suitable framed pictures-landscapes suggested.
JJ-Ma hogany pedestals bearing imitation marble busts of composers (or the real tig,
if available).
KQK-Unbleached muslin or cheesecloth "runners," tacked down, to protect the artist's gow0
at her entrances.
.LI-Practical floor lamp (one with mahogany pedestal suggested).
L-2-Practical boudoir lamp with silk shade to harmonize with L-1.
L-3-Bunch light with amber globes to illuminate entrances.
-A good-sized palm, or a small one on a mahogany stand or pedestal.
NN-N-Palms or large fern pots, set so as not to interfere with curtain.
P-Another.palm or fern is effective here.
Q-Bowl of flowers or pot of ferns.
R-Throw scarf or "runner"-to harmonizewith general color tone.
S--Grand.Piano (mahogany).if possible.
Worthy of special attention is the idea of borrowing an dison ofrm an owner
.for use at the I'Toe-TFest, zard let ing it be know th-at the of
n
startling duplIcation voice
v; achieved on an instrumient fromn the home of an E'dis01n owner, K-K are riot needless
refinlements, according to Mjr, Clark, wvho hehteves that the costh, of the artists
gowrns
shto?uld he protected f mtile flo r.
"WHAT MUSIC WILL DO FOR YOU"
Figure7. Edisondealer'ssuggestedstagesettingfor tone tests, EdisonDiamond

Points,Nov. 1920. CourtesyEdisonNationalHistoricSite
Machines,
0 REST. INTHE LORDELIJWH . .......

ABIDE WITH ME _ _ .............. ......
MAISS M ILLERWITH TH LABORATORY
RE CREATIORIES
AVE MARIAN .TH ...O. D ....................... ................

AV ........... E M R IA .
A V E MA R IA ............... . .....R........................................... ................UNO

SCH
MR. WALSH, WITH THE LABORATORY RE-CREATIONS OF SOLOS
RECORDoED Y MISS MARIE RAPPOLo. ALBERT SPAUtLDING AND CARL FILKEC
THE BUTTERFLY .................. ............

..... THEO. BENDIX
MR. LYMAN, WITH THE LABORATORY RE-CREATION OF A SELECTION
RECORDED BY OcRHESTRA.
AH MON FILLS......... ............. LE PROPHET ............. .......... MEYERBEER

Miss MILLER. WITH THE LABORATORY RE-CREATION OF HER VOICE.
THE TWO LARKS .............................LESCHETIZXY

RE-CREATION OF PIANO SOLO REcORDED BY MR. ANDRE BENOIST.
BONNIE DOON............ ...............BURNS

MY AIN COUNTRIE ...................- ....... ........ HANNA
MISS MILLER WITH THE LABORATORY RE-CRRATION OF HER VOICE.
PARAPHRASE ON DIE.LORELEY..... ...... .......... ....... ...... ...... NESVADSA

MESSRS. WALSH AND LYMAN WITH THE LABORATORY RE.CREATION
OF A RECORD MADE BY ORcHEsTRA.
PRO PECCATIS ....... STABAT MATTER .... . ROSSINI

RE-CREATtON OF SOLO RECORDED BY MR. ARTHUR MIDDLETON.
OLD FOLKS AT HOME .... ......... ..... . ....... ...........FOSTER

MIss MILLER. WITH THE LABORATORY RX-CREATION OF HER VOICE.
TKE PURPOSE OF THIS HEARING IS TO ILLUSTRATE THAT MR. EDISON

HAS REALISED HIS AME3TION TO RE-CREATE THE
CORRECT TONAL QUALITY OF MUSIC.
Figure8. Program,ChristineMillertone test, SymphonyHall, Boston,18 Nov. 1915. Courtesy

BostonSymphonyOrchestraArchives
Rossini.The programclosedwith Millerandher re-creationsinging

"TheOld Folksat Home."The BostonEveningTranscript reported
that Miller"gavevariouscombinationsof her own voice with the
'record'but in all caseswith the mechanicalmusicalaccompaniment.
FirstwasheardMissMiller'svoice and then her 'record';then there
werethe alternationsof the voice and the recordin phrasesso that it
was at timesdifficultto distinguishwhichone heard[,]the voice or
the 'record'unlessthe lips of the singerwerewatched,and in the last
piece the lightswereturnedlow so that the singer'slipscouldnot be
seen."72
One yearlater,MarieRappoldsangalongwith her Edison
re-creationsat CarnegieHall in New York,and "the immenseaudito-
riumof this templeof musicalartwascrowdedto its capacity"73 of
about2,500 persons.In 1919, she appeared,againto a capacity
crowd,at CarnegieHall in Pittsburgh; by this time the theatricalityof
the event wasfullydeveloped.The significanceof the "lightman"
calledfor in the tone test contractwasnow clear:"Itdid not seem
difficultto determinein the darkwhen the singersangand when she
did not. The writerhimselfwasprettysureaboutit until the lights
wereturnedon againand it wasdiscoveredthat Mme.Rappoldwas
not on the stageat all and that the new Edisonalonehad been
heard."74
Perhapsthe mostnotabletone test wasthat performed by Anna
Case at CarnegieHall in New Yorkon 10 March1920. In a program
muchlike Rappold'searlierrecitalin that hall, Casesangalongside
Edisonre-creationsof her voice in "Depuisle jour,"fromCharpen-
tier'sLouise,"Quandom'envo," fromPuccini'sLa Bohame,and a
selectionof Scottishfolk tunes ("MightyLaka Rose"and "MyLad-
die"). A re-creation(withoutthe live artist)by ArthurMiddleton
wasplayed,andpianistVictorYoung,violinistWillardOsborne,and
flutistWilliamReedall playedminorrolesin the program.The pro-
gramclosedwith Case andher re-createdvoice singing"HomeSweet
Home"(Program,10 March1920, CarnegieHall Archives).
A monthearlier,H. H. Blish,of Hargerand Blish, the Des
Moinesdealerwho had spontaneously sponsoredthe veryfirsttone
test (alsoby Anna Case), receiveda letterfromthe EdisonCompany:
Miss Case will probablyappearin a Tone Test Recital, at Carnegie

Hall, New York on March 10th. This is expected to be a very interest-
ing event and special emphasiswill be placed on the so called dark
scene, where the artist steals from the stage, while the phonographis
playing. If we look back to the time when Miss Case gave her first
Machines,
30 Sept. 1919. Courtesy

Figure9. MarieRappoldtone test, CarnegieMusicHall, Pittsburgh,
impromptuTone Test in your store, and then consider her appearance

at Carnegie Hall next month, we get a very good conception of the
progressthat has been made.75
was indicatedin the ascentfromHargerand

While "progress"
Blishto CarnegieHall, perhapsanothermoresignificantmeasure
mightbe the sheernumberof tone tests that werepresentedin the
interval.Between1915 and 1920 the Edisoncompanysponsoredover
fourthousandtone tests;twenty-fivesets of artistswerescheduledto
performmorethan two thousandtone tests in 1920 alone.76An Edi-
son ad fromJanuaryof 1917 indicatedthat threehundredthousand
peoplehad heardtone tests, and one undatedscrapbookclippingin
the Edisonarchivesindicatesthat a total of two millionpeoplehad
attended the events.77
Of those thousandsof tone tests, only a smallfractionwereheld
in placeslike CarnegieHall and SymphonyHall. And only a small
fractionof the tone testsutilizedthe musicaltalentsof Edison'smost
prestigiousrecordingartists.Rappoldand Casewereboth associated
with the MetropolitanOperaof New York;they wereconsidered"spe-
cial artists"and thussparedmuchof the grindof touringthat was
standardfor most tone test artists.78Therewerereallytwo typesof
tone tests. While specialartistsperformedoccasionallyin the lavish
154 TheMusical
Quarterly
concert halls of large cities, less well known artists traveled exten-
sively, appearedprimarilyin small towns, and performedunder much
less impressiveconditions.79 Only would-be stars, new recordingartists
who perhapsaspiredto the Met, would tolerate the nonstop touring
and endless performingin assortedElks lodges, churches, and high
school auditoriums.s80
Some never even made it this far; a Mrs. VanHuff auditioned
twice at Edison'sNew York studios for the privilege of being a tone
test artist. Even with considerablepractice after her firstfailure, she
was rejected a second time.8' An internal memorandumreveals that
musical skill was not necessarilythe only requirement:"Mr. Edison,
Here is a trial recordof Miss Shenk sent here by Mr. Blish who wants
to use her for tone testing. She has some shake [vibratoor tremolo]
but otherwise sounds pretty good. She is a fine looking woman and
would be just the cheese for the purpose."82While the Handel and
Haydn Society of Boston was tone tested with the MetropolitanOpera
singer Christine Miller, the upstandingcitizens of small towns like
Henryetta, Oklahoma, were more likely to get someone like Miss
SandersonFagan, an artistic whistler. Still, the format and structure
of the small-town tone tests were just as rigidlydefined and moni-
tored. In 1921 Arthur Walsh received a telegramfrom a tone test
artist named Sokoloff, informinghim that the local dealer in Kiowa,
Kansas, had given a tone test in conjunction with a "moving picture
show" and had charged admissionfor the event.83 Such infractions
seem not to have happened very often, and it is clear that the small-
town events were as popularas the "specialevents" held in big cities.
Tone test artist Marie Morriseyoffered an honest explanation of her
appeal: "One of the best things about tone tests is that they bring
artists into towns that aren't big enough to affordgood concerts other-
wise. Why, small as I am, I'm the greatest artist some of these towns
have ever heard-and don't they appreciateit!"84 Tone tests offered
something new: a glimpse of what the tone test local contract had
identified as "high class musical entertainments."An Edison pamphlet
from around 1921 indicated that "[t]he very presence of a New Edison
in your home speaks eloquently and convincingly of your musical
culture and discriminatingtaste,"85and the tone tests furtherallowed
Edison customersin small towns and big cities alike both to acquire
and publicly display their "musicalculture." Sometimes, however, this
culture had to be translatedfor less cosmopolitan audiences. For
instance, the 1915 Christine Miller tone test in Boston's Symphony
Hall included on the program"Ah, mon fils!" by Meyerbeer.The
same program,given in Des Moines, offered "Ah, My Son!"86The
Machines,
Edisoncompanywasclearlyappealingto the culturalpretensionsof a

certainsegmentof the population,and the externaltrappingsof the
tone test-"high-class"location,European"classical" musicon the
program-wereenoughto satisfythosepretensionseven when the live
performer wasnot quitefromthe MetropolitanOperaof New York.
The "specialartists"themselves,in fact, werenot as renowned
in the worldof operaas the Edisonadvertisingproclaimed.Indeed,
the Edisoncompanywas infamousfor its lackof realstars,mostof
whomrecordedforVictor.A Victorad from1917 posedthe question:
artists
twoconcerts-thegreatest
If youhadyourchoiceof attending
in all the world appearingat one, some little-known artists at the other
-which wouldyouchoose?Youwouldquicklydecideto hearthe
renowned artists who are famousfor their superbinterpretations.And
this is exactly the reason why the Victrola is the instrumentfor your
home.Theworld's greatest fortheVictorexclu-
artistsmakerecords
sively:
Caruso,Alda,Braslau,Calve,Culp,de Gogorza,De Luca,Des-
tinn,Elman,Farrar, Gadski,Galli-Curci, Gluck,Hempel,
Garrison,
Homer,Journet, Kreisler,
Martinelli,McCormack, Melba,Paderewski,
Powell,Ruffo,Schumann-Heink, Scotti,Sembrich, White-
Tetrazzini,
Zimbalist.87
hill, Williams,Witherspoon,
ThomasEdison,who personallyapprovedor rejectednot justeach

artistwho auditionedfor the companybut each recordmadeby those
who passedtheirauditions,felt that it was a wasteof moneyto pay
extrafor "names"when therewereless well knownartistswho, in his
opinion,performed betterthan did the stars.88Anna Case, for exam-
ple, wasnot a primadonnaof statureequalto, say, AmelitaGalli-
Curcior Nellie Melba.89And while Edisoncompanyadvertisingcould
raisea rosterof foreign-sounding namesfromthe Met and otherpres-
tigiousorganizations,the mostrenownedof those listedusuallyhad
only a limitedrelationshipwith the company,perhapsrecordinga few
numbersbeforemovingon to Victoror Columbiaand seldomgoing
out on the tone-testcircuit.90
So, the "specialartists"werenot quiteas specialas they might
have been. The popularityof the Tone Testshardlyseemsto have
been affectedby this; indeed,it appearsthat Victoradvertisinghad to
take on the task of educating much of the record-buyingpublic about
who the stars really were. Many people didn't know or didn't care,
and the allure of high-class musical culture was only part of the appeal
of the tone test. Tone tests additionallyprovided an opportunityfor
audiences to engage in the critical listening that many had already
undertakenin theirhomesor in phonographshops.They acceptedthe

novel challengeby the Edisoncompanyto distinguishlive artistfrom
re-creation,and the resultof theirexperiencesvariedfromlistenerto
listener.While Edisonadvertisinguniformlyproclaimedthat not a
singletone test attendeecoulddistinguishlive artistfromEdison
re-creation,newspaperreviewsof the events indicatethat listeners
respondedin a varietyof ways.
6. Listeners' Responses to Tone Tests
When the BostonEveningTranscript reviewedChristineMiller's1915

tone test, the papercalledreaders'attentionto the "curiousand inter-
estingtests"that had been conductedat SymphonyHall. The writer
noted that "thequestionhas been constantlyarising"as to how
closelyphonographic reproductions resembledthe originalperformance
of the musicand that "perhapstherehas been no betteropportunity
offeredin Bostonfor formingan opinionon this matter."91
Of Miller'sportionof the program,the reviewerconcludedthat
it was impossibleto tell the differencebetweenthe voice or the record
unlessone watchedthe singer'slips. Yet the Transcript reportedthat
the
she "adjusted power of her voice to that of the with skill
'record'
and the reproduction wascloselyimitative.'"92It is not clearwhat
"thereproduction" refersto here;is it Miller'sreproduction of the
recording or the recording's reproduction of her? This same ambiguity
is evidentin a reviewof Anna Case'sCarnegieHall tone test of 1920:
"Asfor the tone, thoughthe phonographproduceda reallylifelike
sound,MissCasehad a little the best of the argument.Butwhen it
cameto style, the recordgenerallyexcelled.She wastoo muchcon-
cernedwith keepingup with her recordsto thinkof style.'93 The
reviewersfor the Transcript and the Telegraph acceptedthe premiseof
comparingvoice and recordand generallyconcededthe lifelikesound
of the record,but in the processof evaluationthey invertedthe Edi-
son company'sdefinitionof whichperformance wasauthenticand
whichwas imitation.94
The Transcriptreporterwent on to point out the qualifiednature
of the violin portionof the tone test, in which the violinistArthur
Walshplayedalongsidenot his own re-creationsbut thoseof the more
celebratedartistsAlbert Spauldingand Carl Flech. Since these record-
ings had been made by differentartistson different instruments,the
comparisonwas not nearly as telling. Still, the writernoted: "The
quality of tone was of the 'o' effect, and not the admired'ee' which is
Machines,
so pronouncedin violinsof the Cremonaschool. The 'record'quality

of tone wassomewhatveiled as in thin woodedviolinsand instru-
mentsof the Maggini-Brescian type."95Althoughthe Transcript
offeredcriticism,the revieweracceptedthe premiseof the comparison
and was clearlyengagedin the kindof criticallisteningthat the tone
test encouraged.
Othersrespondedby rejectingthe entirepremiseof the compari-
son. One reviewer,commentingin the New YorkTribuneon Marie
Rappold's1916 CarnegieHall tone test, adopteda sarcastictone,
personifyingthe phonographin a waythat madethe Edisoncompany's
claimsseemabsurd:"thesingerbowed,pattedher stiff-jointedmahog-
anyfriendon the backand left it to amusethe audiencewith a piano
solo."The writerwasnot convincedthat the "dumband unresponsive
machine"wasany differentfromany otherphonographs,and con-
cluded:
The secret of the new phonographlies in the fact that Edison has
been able to reproducethe overtones in musical sounds. These over-
tones, of which the domestic phonographshave been so long deprived,
are apparentlythe intangible essence of music. Now that they have
been capturedit is easy to imagine visions of future voiceless and
instrumentlessoperas and concerts. Given a battery of mahoganyover-
tone producersand enough romantic scenery. . . there should be no
future need of paying gigantic salariesto mere human beings.96
When Case appearedin CarnegieHall fouryearslater,one

reviewerinterpretedthe event as an opportunitynot to comparethe
tonal qualityof voice and recordbut insteadto considerperhapsmore
fundamentalimplicationsof the recordingprocess:"Cana singersing
as well by herselfin a smallroomas in a largecrowdedconcerthall?
Is the inspirationwhich comesfroman audiencenecessaryto bring
out all that is best in a voice?Can the elementof personalityeverbe
eliminatedfromsinging?These weresomeof the questionsthat con-
fronteda largeaudiencewhich attendeda uniqueconcertyesterday
afternoonin CarnegieHall."97
Mostpressaccountsof tone tests, however,wereneitheras
thoughtfulas those in the BostonEveningTranscript and the New York
EveningTelegraphnor as sarcasticas that in the New YorkTribune.
More typical was a short piece describingthe event as a resounding
success and a confirmationof Edison'sachievement: "Not a person in
the audience was able to say whether Miss Miller was singing or the
new Diamond Disc phonographwas playing, and all were convinced
that the instrumentis all that Mr. Edison claims for its absolute and
truere-creationof the humanvoice .... Mr. Edison'swonderful

instrumentpresentsthe completegratificationof the musicaldesiresof
the mostculturedand aesthetictastesin music."98 Overand over, the
claimswereconfirmed.Overand over the samewordsappeared;in
fact, the samesentencesandparagraphs appeared.In Pittsburgh,
MarieRappold's1919 tone test wasdescribedin almostidenticalprose
in severaldifferentpapers.Only the headlinesdiffered;while the Post
GazetteTimessubmitted"Phonograph Reproduction RivalsVoicesof
Singers," the Dispatchexclaimed "MiracleSongs Create Furore[sic]."99
Copyusedin Pittsburghappearedas farawayas Stanwood,Washing-
ton, in an accountof Helen Clark's1921 tone test.100The New York
Tribunehad pointedto the presenceof the "pressagent"in 1916, and
it is clearthat these agentswerestill hardat workin 1920. The Stan-
woodNewseditoreven appearsto have neglectedto customizethe
providedprosebeforesettingup the type. Apparentlythis tone test
(andperhapsmanyotherson this tour)wasto have commencedwith
an announcementthat the artistwouldbe late, so the programwould
startwith a phonographic re-creationof her voice. Clarkwasthen to
appearin the auditoriumand beginto sing alongwith her re-creation.
She wouldeitherarriveon stagefrombehindthe scenesor enterfrom
the rearof the hall and walkto the front.As the paperreported,
"HelenClark'sgoldennotes, emanatingfromthe grilleof the New
Edison,soaredover the auditoriumin all theirbeauty.Suddenlywe
heardanothervoice, or ratherthe samevoice, comingfromthe rear
of the auditorium(or behindthe scenes). Helen Clarkhad arrived
and wassingingin unisonwith her RE-CREATED self."l1o
In these accountsthe distinctionbetweennewspapernewsand
advertisingcopyhas been obscured.The fact that the internalaccount
generatedby the Edisoncompanyappearednot only in the follow-up
advertisements that the local dealersplacedin theirtowns'papersbut
also in the columnsclearlydesignatedas reportednewsmayhave
influencedsomelisteners'reactionsto the tone test. But it is also clear
that manymaynot have been interestedenoughin the issueof fidelity
to be convincedby pseudo-reporting, let aloneby personalexperience.
Many reviews of tone tests simplypresentedaccountsof enjoy-
able eveningsof music,with little if any discussionof fidelity."Con-
cert PleasesLoversof Music-Singersat KeylerGrandTheaterGive
SplendidMusicalProgramduringEvening,"announcedthe Walla
Walla[Washington]Union. The account devoted much more space to
the singers than to the phonograph.102 While the Montesano[Wash-
ington]Videtteheadlined "Machine ImitatesNature-Re-Creation of
Human Voice at Concert Perfect is Verdict," the paper described
Machines,
"frequentencores[that]calledthe singersout afterthe programhad

been completed,singinga numberof songswith pianoaccompani-
ment and withoutthe re-creationof the phonograph,so well pleased
was the audiencewith the voicesof the singers."103 Obligatoryamaze-
ment at Edison'sachievementwasexpressed,but it is clearthat the
audienceenjoyedthe livingartistsmuchmorethan they did the
machine,or the opportunityto comparethe two. The Liederkranz
Societyof Peoria,Illinois,presentedChristineMillerwith a basketof
lilies and rosesafterher performance, and the next day the Peoria
paper headlined its account "MissMiller Heard."104A Canadianpho-
nograph dealerwrote to the Edisoncompanyin 1922 indicatingthat
his audiencespreferred establishedtone test artiststo new performers,
becausethey "wantto see artistswith worksin the catalogue."105 By
in
seeing person the musicians whose records entertained them at
home, audiencememberswereable to "personalize" theirrecords;not
in the waythat Edisonproposed,throughtonal equivalence,but
insteadthroughhumanassociation.106 By 1922, however,mostaudi-
ence memberswereinitiallyexposedto new musicthroughrecords.A
tone test mightcome throughtown and enablethem to associatetheir
recordingswith the livingartistwho had recordedthem, but by this
time they had alreadyacceptedtheirrecordingsas "realmusic."
7. Conclusion
Tone testswerereceivedand interpretedin a numberof ways;audi-
ence membersactivelyengagedwith the formatimposedby the Edison
companyand madeit theirown. Indeed,this engagementwasencour-
aged.Officialfollow-upadvertisements, while failingto acknowledge
the widevarietyof audienceresponses,still emphasizedthe "personal"
natureof the individual'sreaction:"Proved!Yesterday! to WallaWalla!
No Difference!The end of the concertfoundthe audienceabsolutely
and completelyconvincedthroughits own personalexperience,that
thereis no differencebetweenan artist'slivingperformance and its
Re-Creationby the New Edison-that listeningto the New Edisonis,
in literaltruth,the sameas listeningto the livingartists."107
Still, the questionremains:did most, or even many,people
actuallyconcludethat the livingperformance and its re-creationwere
acoustically indistinguishable?Modem listeners, attuned to digitally
recordedand reproducedstereo sound, may find it hard to believe
that audiences were unable to distinguishbetween the artist and
the record. It would be easy to credit the success of tone tests to
the Edison company'sstrategyof having the performersconscientiously
imitatethe soundof theirrecordings,but this simpleexplanationfails

to recognizethe fact that EdisonDiamondDiscsrepresentedthe pin-
nacle of the technologyof acousticalrecordingand soundedfarbetter
than anythingthat had precededthem.108
Ultimately,the problemof determiningwhetheror not audiences
trulymistookthe recordfor the artistis of limitedsignificance.While
peoplemayor maynot have agreedwith the officiallyproclaimed
outcome,it is clearthat tone testsprovidedlistenerswith a tool, a
resource,that enabledthem to transform theirconceptionof what
constituted"realmusic"to includephonographic reproductions.
In orderto accomplishthis transformation, however,limitshad
to be defined.In 1916 the Aeoliancompanypresentedits Vocalion
phonographin a campaignsimilarto tone tests in that the goalwas
to presenttheirmachineas a musicalinstrument.Herethe emphasis
wasplacednot on criticallisteningand comparisonto live perfor-
mancebut insteaduponactualmanipulationof the phonograph's
tone. The Graduola,a shutterlikedevicethat actedas a volumecon-
trol, wasfeatured.With the Graduola(accordingto the advertise-
ment, "[A]nyonemayrendera recordto suit his individualtaste.This
is a wonderfulprivilege. . . It meansthat everyone mayfindin the
Vocaliona mediumfor the expressionof his own musicinstincts."109
The Graduolaconstitutedan attemptto equatethe playingof records
with the playingof an instrument.The attemptdid not succeed.In
spiteof the sharedterminologystill in use today,few peopleaccept
this equation.Tone tests, in contrast,equatedlisteningto records
with listeningto musicalinstruments and to live vocalperformances.
This equationhas becomecommonplace.
By drawingupona cultureof imitation"fascinated by reproduc-
tions of all sorts,"110the tone test campaignhelpedmove phono-
graphicculturebeyondthis stageto a point wherephonographic
reproductions couldbecomemusical"realityitself."By effacingthe
mechanismof the machine,by blurringthe distinctionsbetweenpub-
lic and domesticmusic,by personalizing the musicalreproductions,
andby cloakingthem in all the traditionaltrappingsof an elite musi-
cal culture,the tone test campaignenabledpeopleto equatelistening
to recordswith listeningto live musicand thus to turnphonographic
reproductions into "realmusic."
8. Epilogue: The End of an Era

Within a year of Anna Case's appearanceat Carnegie Hall the tone
test campaignbegan to enter a decline from which neither it nor the
Machines,
EdisonPhonographCompanywouldrecover.Startingin 1921, tone

test tourssufferednumerouslocal cancellations.Audiencesdwindled,
dealersbeganto questionthe cost effectivenessof the events, and the
Edisoncompanyitselfeventuallylost interestin the campaign."111 In
1926 EdisonrecordingartistAlice Verletwroteto ArthurWalsh
expressingher desireto undertakea tone test touruponreturning
fromtravelabroad.112Walshresponded,"At the presenttime we are
only givinga few Tone Testsand expectto discontinuethemwithin a
few months,as we aregoingto devoteourmoneyprincipallyto adver-
tisingin magazinesand newspapers."113
Tone testingenduredalmostas long as did the acousticalrecord-
ing process.By 1925, competitionfromradiobroughtabouta sharp
declinein phonographsales,and the recordcompaniesthat best with-
stoodthe new competitionwerethose like Victorand Columbia,
whose"starpower"proveda strongersell than Edison'sfidelity.On 7
November1929 the New YorkTelegram reported,"ThomasA. Edison,
whoseinventionof the in
phonograph 1877 has broughtthe world's
best musicand musiciansto the homesof countlessmillions. . . has
madehis last phonographrecord."114
At firstthe technicalnoveltyof radiodistractedlistenersfrom
theirnow-ordinary phonographs. As radiobroadcasting developed,the
timelinessand "connectedness" providedby the etherialnetworks
offeredsomethingnew and desirablethat the phonographwasunable
to match.115Additionally,and perhapsmostsignificantly,by intro-
ducingelectroacoustically generatedsoundinto the home, radio
helpedbring about a changein tasteregardingthe kindof soundthat
peopledesired.A radioloudspeaker soundedverydifferentfroman
acousticalphonograph,and when peoplechose radio,they chose this
new sound.The phonographindustrywassoon inundatedby a "flood
of radio-generatedpublic demand for more bass, more volume."116
In responseto this demandthe new electroacoustictechnology
wassoon appliedto the phonographitself, firstfor recordingand then
for reproductionin the home;thus the new soundcameto be associ-
ated with the phonographas well as with radio.117A 1927 ad for the
VictorOrthophonicdescribedthe soundof the new phonographic
musicas "Vivid!Lifelike!As radicallydifferentas the modernmotor-
car in comparisonto the 'horselesscarriage.'And the new Ortho-
phonic Victor Records, recordedby microphone, have a characterof
tone that is pleasing beyond description. Rich. Round. Mellow."118
When microphones entered the recordingstudio, not only did a new
kind of sound result, but a generation of meticulouslyacquiredcraft
knowledge was renderedobsolete. Recordingengineers had to relearn
theircraft,and manyyearswouldpassbeforetheirworkwouldagain
be publiclycomparedto live performance.
Tone-test-likecomparisons werefinallyreintroduced in the
1970sby Memorex,but the formatutilizedby Memorexdifferedfun-
damentallyfromthe Edisoncompany'soriginalcampaign.Memorex
"tonetests"appearedon television,and the consumerwasnever
directlyexposedto the "real"musician.An audiovisualreproduction
of EllaFitzgerald
wascomparedto an audiovisualreproduction of an
audioreproduction of Fitzgerald's
voice, and the equivalence dem-
was
the
onstratednot by challenging consumerto discriminate but by
reproducing an imageof a shatteringglass.119Perhapsourown defini-
tion of whatconstitutes"therealthing"todayhas movedeven further
fromthe humanoriginsof "realityitself."
Notes
I am indebtedto countlessfriendsandcolleagueswho havereadandrespondedto
earlierdraftsof this essay.I particularly
thankThomasLevin,MichaelMahoney,
CharlesGillispie,EdwardPershey,CyrilEhrlich,PaulLucier,WilliamJordan,and
the membersof the DavisCenterforHistoricalStudiesat PrincetonUniversity.I also
thankthe staffof the EdisonNationalHistoricSite.
1. "EdisonSnaresSoulof Music,"New YorkTribune,29 Apr. 1916, 3.
2. "Demonstrate New EdisonInvention,"BostonJournal,19 Nov. 1915.Clipping
book,EdisonArchives,UnitedStatesDepartment of the Interior,NationalPark
Service,EdisonNationalHistoricSite (hereafterreferredto as EdisonArchives).
3. Sousa'sviewswill be discussedlaterin this essay.TheodorAdomrno, "Onthe
Fetish-Characterin Musicand the Regression of Listening"(1938), in TheEssential
FrankfurtSchoolReader,ed. AndrewAratoandEikeGebhardt(NewYork:Urizen
Books,1978);Adomrno, "TheCurvesof the Needle,""TheFormof the Phonograph
Record,"and "Operaand the Long-Playing Record,"trans.ThomasLevin,October
(winter1990):49-66; andThomasLevin,"Forthe Record:Adomrno on Musicin the
October(winter1990):23-47. See also
Age of its TechnologicalReproducibility,"
WalterBenjamin,"TheWorkof Art in the Age of MechanicalReproduction"
(New York:HarcourtBraceandJovanovich,1968).
(1936), in Illuminations
4. MilesOrvell,TheRealThing:Imitation andAuthenticityin American Culture,
1880-1940(ChapelHill:Universityof NorthCarolinaPress,1989), 36.
5. Orvell,xv.
6. An exampleof the distinction(takenfromOrvell)wouldbe the "realism" of the
of FrankNorrisin contrastto the "realityitself"of the tele-
literaryrepresentations
graphicheadlines,ad copy,andmiscellaneous bitsof floatingtext utilizedby John
Dos Passos.
7. Orvell,xv.
Machines,
8. The employmentof acousticaltechnologyby modemavant-garde artistsis

exploredin DouglasKahnandGregoryWhitehead,eds., Wireless Imagination: Sound,
Radio,andtheAvant-Garde (Cambridge, Mass.:MITPress,1992). The development
of soundfilmc. 1928 institutedthe beginningsof acousticalcutting,dubbing,mixing,
andothersortsof specialtechniques.Formanyyearsafterthe initiationof thesetech-
niques,however,muchof this creativeflexibilitywasusedto createtraditional-
soundingmusicalrecordings.Multipletakesweresplicedto createa performance more
real(i.e., moreflawless)thancouldactuallybe createdby live musiciansin a single
take,but otherwisethe musicwasnot fundamentally changed.
9. See K. MichaelHays,Modernism andthePosthumanist Subject: TheArchitectureof
HannesMeyerandLudwigHilberseimer (Cambridge, MIT
Mass.: Press,1992), 64-65.
10. "Ifyouset a blankrecordrevolvingto receiveall the sounds,anda film-camera
goingto photograph all the motionsof a scatteredgroupof individuals. . . you more
or lessget Mr. Dos Passos'smethod."Quotedin Orvell,259.
11. T. J. JacksonLears,No Placeof Grace:Antimodernism andtheTransformationof
American Culture,1880-1920 (New York:PantheonBooks,1981);"FromSalvation
to Self-Realization:
Advertisingand the TherapeuticRootsof the ConsumerCulture,
1880-1930,"in TheCultureof Consumption: CriticalEssaysin American
History,1880-
1980, ed. LearsandRichardWightmanFox (NewYork:PantheonBooks,1983);and
"BeyondVeblen:RethinkingConsumerCulturein America,"in Consuming Visions:
AccumulationandDisplayof Goodsin America,1880-1920, ed. SimonBronner(New
York:W. W. Norton, 1989). See alsoLears,Fablesof Abundance: A CulturalHistory
in America(New York:BasicBooks,1994).
of Advertising
12. Orvell,xxii.
13. LizabethCohen, "Encountering MassCultureat the Grassroots: The Experience
of ChicagoWorkersin the 1920s,"American Quarterly41 (Mar.1989): 6-33, and
Makinga New Deal:IndustrialWorkers in Chicago,1919-1939 (New York:Cambridge
UniversityPress,1990).
14. ThomasA. Edison,"ThePerfectedPhonograph," NorthAmerican Review146
(June1888):643. The quoteis a reminiscence.Formoreon Edison'sinvention,see
Edward JayPershey,"Drawing as a Meansto Inventing:Edisonand the Inventionof
the Phonograph," in Workingat Inventing:ThomasA. EdisonandtheMenloParkExpe-
rience,ed. WilliamPretzer(Dearborn,Mich.:HenryFordMuseumandGreenfield
Village,1989) andRobertRosenberg,"Howthe Phonograph Emergedin a Telegraph
LabWorkingon Telephones"(paperdeliveredat the TorontoHistoryof Science
SocietyMeetingon the Historyof Laboratories andLaboratory Science,28 July1992;
I thankRobertRosenbergforsharinga copyof his paperwith me). LeonardDeGraaf,
a graduatestudentat Rutgers,is currentlyworkingon a dissertation
on the Edison
phonograph. Standardtextson the historyof the phonograph includeOliverRead
andWalterWelch, FromTin Foilto Stereo:Evolution of thePhonograph(Indianapolis:
HowardSams,1959), andRolandGelatt,TheFabulous FromEdisonto
Phonograph:
Stereo,1877-1977 (New York:Macmillan,1977). See MatthewJosephson,Edison:A
Biography(New York:JohnWileyandSons, 1959), andAndreMillard,Edisonandthe
Businessof Innovation
(Baltimore: JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress,1990)formoreon
Edisonandhis businesses.
15. Quoted in Read and Welch, 16.
16. "ThePhonograph," Harper'sWeekly22 (30 Mar.1878):249;AlfredM. Mayer,

"OnEdison'sTalking-Machine," PopularScienceMonthly12 (Apr. 1878):719;"The
Journalof Science15 (Apr. 1878):251.
Phonograph,"
17. "Prepared foran elaboratesystemof weights,pulleys,levers,wheels,bands,
...
it wasratherstartlingto findin the famousphonograph a simpleapparatus, which,
but for the absenceof morethanone cylinder,mighthavebeen a modemfluting
machine.""ThePhonograph," Harper'sWeekly22 (30 Mar.1878):249.
18. ThomasA. Edison,"ThePhonograph
andIts Future,"NorthAmerican
Review
126 (May-June1878):533.
19. Edison,"ThePhonograph
andIts Future,"531.
20. "TheTalkingPhonograph," American
Scientific n.s. 37 (22 Dec. 1877):385.
21. EdwardH. Johnson,"A WonderfulInvention,"Scientific
American
n.s. 37 (17
Nov. 1877):304.
22. "TheTalkingPhonograph,"
384-385.
and Its Future,"530.
and Its Future,"529.
25. W. H. Preece,"ThePhonograph," Journalof theSocietyof Arts26 (10 May
1878):537. In the original,the latterpartof the quotationhere,followingthe ellip-
sis, precededthe firstpart(beforethe ellipsis).
26. Edison,"ThePhonograph and Its Future,"534.
27. "Edison's PerfectedPhonograph," Nature39 (29 Nov. 1888):107.
28. Portabilityof phonograph recordingswasa new featureof the 1888machine.
The earlierimpressed-tin foil recordsweredestroyedonce removedfromthe support-
ing metalcylinder,but the new phonograph records,carvedout of the surfaceof a
rigidwaxcylinder,couldbe removed,replaced,replayed,andrerecorded. This
methodwasdevelopednot by Edisonbut by ChichesterBell andCharlesSumner
Tainter.Thesemen, woQrking for Bell'sfamousbrotherAlexander,receiveda patent
for theirengravingphonograph, the "graphophone,"in 1886;see ReadandWelch,
chap. 3.
29. Proceedings of the 1890Conventionof LocalPhonograph Companies,(Nash-
ville:CountryMusicFoundationPress,1974), andReadandWelch, chaps.3 and4.
A phonograph for dictatingwouldlatersuccessfully reappear.
30. Proceedings of the 1890Convention,163.
31. New YorkJournal,9 Nov. 1890. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
32. The Edisoncompanyadvertised of Brand'sConcertBandas possess-
recordings
fine
ing "specially quality of tone, loudnesswithout anddistinctnessof
overvibration,
instrumentation.'"EdisonPhonographicNews3 (July-August1896). PrimaryPrinted
Collection(hereafterreferredto as PPC),EdisonArchives.
33. Advertisingcopycirca1900. PPC,EdisonArchives.
34. "TheManufacture of EdisonPhonographic American
Records,"Scientific 83 (22
Dec. 1900):390.
Machines,
35. CarolNeuls-Bates,ed., Womenin Music:An Anthology of SourceReadingsfrom

theMiddleAgesto thePresent(NewYork:HarperandRow, 1982);JudithTick,
"PassedAwayIs the PianoGirl:Changesin AmericanMusicalLife, 1870-1900,"in
WomenMakingMusic:TheWestern ArtTradition,ed. JaneBowersandJudithTick
(Urbana:Universityof IllinoisPress,1986);CyrilEhrlich,ThePiano:A History
(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1990);andCraigRoell, ThePianoin America,
1890-1940 (ChapelHill:Universityof NorthCarolinaPress,1989).
36. JosephMussulman, Musicin theCulturedGeneration: A SocialHistoryof Musicin
America,1870-1900 (Evanston:Northwestern UniversityPress,1971);PhilipHart,
Orpheusin theNew World:TheSymphony Orchestraas an AmericanCulturalInstitution
(New York:Norton, 1975);RonaldDavis,A Historyof Musicin American Life(Mala-
bar,Fla.:RobertKrieger,1980-82),3 vols.;andLawrenceLevine,Highbrow/Lowbrow:
TheEmergence of CulturalHierarchyin America(Cambridge, Mass.:HarvardUniversity
Press,1988).
37. "TheDeclineof the Amateur,"AtlanticMonthly73 (June1894):859.
38. JaneAddams,"TheSnareof Preparation,"in TwentyYearsat HullHouse(1910;
repr.New York:Penguin,1981), 65.
39. EdwardBellamy,LookingBackward(1888;repr.New York:Penguin,1984), 97.
40. JohnPhilipSousa,"TheMenaceof MechanicalMusic,"Appleton's
8 (Sept.
1906):278, 281.
41. New YorkMorning 12 June1906. Sousa,quotedin Neil Harris,
Telegraph,
"JohnPhilipSousaand the Cultureof Reassurance," in Perspectives
onJohnPhilip
Sousa,ed. JonNewsom(Washington,D.C.: Library of Congress,1983), 39 n. 102.
The referenceto "pirated"musicis basedon Sousa'sbeliefthat faultycopyrightlaws
allowedthe phonographic recordindustryto deprivecomposerslike himselfof justly
deservedroyalties.See Sousa,"TheMenaceof MechanicalMusic,"formoreon this
complaint.
42. Harris,39 n. 102.
43. Forexample,a storyby O. Henrydescribingtwo Americanswho tooka phono-
graphto SouthAmericareferredto the machineas a "musicalcornsheller"andsaid
of the indigenouspeopleto whomthe machinewasdemonstrated: has
"[P]rogress
nevercondemnedthemto acceptthe workof a can openeras an overture.""The
Phonograph and the Graft,"McClure's20 (Feb. 1903):432, 430.
44. "TheMenaceof MechanicalMusic:Someof the RepliesEvokedby Mr. Sousa's
Article,"Appleton's8 (Nov. 1906):639.
45. JamesHuneker,Overtones
(1904), 286; quotedin Tick, "PassedAwayIs the
PianoGirl,"325.
46. "Unexpectedvisitors,neighbors,or yourchildrencan be mostacceptablyand
economicallyentertainedin this manner."Advertisingcopydated26 Dec. 1905.
Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
47. Saturday EveningPost, 12 Nov. 1910.
48. A. Lillingston,"TheTalkingMachine,"Littel'sLivingAge254 (24 Aug. 1907):
488. This questfor "qualityof tone"mightalsofill the placethat musicmaking
hadpreviously held for thoseamateurswho no longerfelt qualifiedto makemusic

themselves.In 1917, Mrs.Alice G. Falby,of Denver,Colorado,offeredthe following
testimonialto the EdisonCompany:"Lovingmusic,butwith no facultyof expression,
I becamegreatlyinterestedin its reproduction
by mechanicalmeans."AlongBroad-
way,Feb. 1917. EdisonArchives.
49. Playerpianomanufacturers alsohad to dealwith the implications
of introducing
"machine-made" musicalreproductions into the home. Since the machinewas,super-
ficially,the pianoitself,theirtaskwaslessextensivethanthat facedby phonograph
manufacturers. Still, playerpianoadvertisements emphasizedthe controlthat the user
hadoverthe performance: here
"[S]eated with the pneumatic expressioncontrolsat
yourfinger-tips,youknowthe thrillof playingthe musicyou like best in the wayyou
wishto playit. The Artronomeputsthe technicalskillof the artistat yourcommand;
it is youwho providethe interpretation." Straubeplayerpianoadvertisement, Satur-
dayEveningPost,1923;reproduced in Roell, 112.
50. EdisonPhonographic
News(Mar.-Apr.1895):90. PPC,EdisonArchives.
51. Allan L. Benson,"Edison's
Dreamof New Music,"Cosmopolitan
54 (May1913):
799.
52. The commercial discgramophone, developedby EmileBerliner,firstappearedin
1895.Withina fewyears,"salesof Gramophones andrecordswerezooming."Read
andWelch, 128. Formoreon the complicatedstoryof how Berliner's invention
evolvedcirca1900into the VictorTalkingMachineCompany,see ReadandWelch,
chap. 10, andFredGaisberg,TheMusicGoesRound(NewYork:Macmillan,1943).
Formoreon the DiamondDisc, see GeorgeL. Frow,TheEdisonDiscPhonographs and
theDiamond Discs:A HistorywithIllustrations
(Saltems,Kent,GreatBritain:George
L. Frow,1982), andReadandWelch, chap. 14.
53. The advantages anddisadvantages of eachformatarewell outlinedin Readand
Welch, chap. 12.
Monthly10 (May1914):59, EdisonArchives.The concert
54. EdisonPhonograph
tookplacein Woodstock,Vermont.
55. A. M. Kennedyto Reese, 10 Apr. 1915. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
(1915):29. PPC,EdisonArchives.
56. EdisonRetailSalesLaboratory
57. "Improving of Talking-machine
the Reproduction American
Records,"Scientific
109 (27 Sept. 1913):247.
58. Someearlycabinetdesignseven attemptedto makethe phonograph look like a
smallgrandpiano.Frow,chap.3 and illustrations on p. 29.
59. Phonographs in this pricerangewereaffordable only to middle-class
or wealthier
families,and in mostcasestheywouldbe bought"ontime,"throughmonthlyinstall-
ments,in the samewaythatpianosandothercostlymusicalinstruments wereoften
financed.A phonograph of lesserqualitycouldbe hadforaround$25, and this was
the typeof machinefoundin millionsof working-class homes.Recordscost anywhere
fromfifteencents to severaldollarsapiece.
60. Sonoraad, New YorkTribune,30 Apr. 1916.
61. Quotedin Frow,135. It is not evidentthat anyof the $6,000 modelswereactu-
ally sold. By 1917, thirty of the $1,000-$2,000 models had been shipped to custom-
ers. Frow, 134.
Machines,
62. Quotedin Frow,51. The DiamondDiscphonograph becameknownas the

"OfficialLaboratoryModel"in 1916, when it becameclearthat associatingthe com-
tool"wouldattractsales.
merciallyavailablemachineswith Edison'sown "research
Frow,ix.
63. "Edison" booklet(1917). PPC,EdisonArchives.Perhapsforsimilarreasons,in
1916the VictorCompanytransformed its tungstenstylusinto one madeof "Tungs-
tone."Victorad, New YorkEveningMail, 1 May1916, 2.
64. EdwardBuckleyto Mr. Maxwell,circa1918. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
119 (31 Aug. 1918):insidefrontcover.
American
65. Scientific
66. "Artof ReproducingSound,"post-DiamondDiscpamphlet(circa1915)pro-
ducedby SilverstoneMusicCompany.PPC,EdisonArchives.
67. The publiceducatedthemselveswell enoughto complainratherloudlywhen
theyfelt the new standardwasnot beingmet:"ForGod'ssakesendsomeperfectstuff,
youhave done it in the pastand it is up to you to do so again... We area very
criticalaudienceand it is a well knownfact thatwhatwill passin Manchesterin the
wayof musicandoperawill go throughthe worldunscathed. . . Yourmachinesare
the acmeof perfectionandwhycannotrecordsbe in unison."Manchester Edison
Societyto ThomasEdison,10 Aug. 1915. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.Such
consumercomplaintseven occasionallyled the Edisoncompanyto remakecertain
records,recallingthe artistto the studioto re-recordthe number,in orderto generate
a moresatisfactoryresult.In 1916, a recordingof "WachtamRhein"wasremade
becausetherewere"complaints of this recordnow on the marketas beingharsh,too
loudand sharp."W. H. Millerto Hayseand Moss,23 June1916. Documentfile,
EdisonArchives.
(1915): 18. PPC,Edison

68. WilliamMaxwell,EdisonRetailSalesLaboratory
Archives.
69. J. P. Constableto Maxwell,22 Nov. 1917. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
70. Tone Test LocalContractforPrescott,Arizona,8 Dec. 1921. Phonograph
Divi-
sion Records(hereafterreferredto as PDR),EdisonArchives.
71. The suggestedarrangement soughtto recreatea domesticparloron stage,with
rugs,lamps, furniture
and "the best framedpictureof Mr. Edisonyou can produce."
In keepingwith the re-creationalspiritof the event, the authorsuggestedemploying
"mahogany pedestalsbearingimitationmarblebustsof composers(or the realthingif
available),"EdisonDiamond Points(Nov. 1920):15. A "grandpiano(mahogany)if
possible"wasalsosuggested,andsometone testsdid includelive vocalperformance
with live pianoaccompaniment. The financialreportfora 1920tone test in San
Franciscoincluded$10.00 foran accompanist.Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
72. F. W., "Voicesvs. Records,"BostonEveningTranscript,
19 Nov. 1915, 18.
73. "Re-Creation
of Musicby the Phonograph"
New YorkEvening
Mail,2 May
1916, 8.
Vie with Singersin Own Songs,"Pittsburgh
74. "Records Post,1 Oct. 1919, 5.
75. (?) to H. H. Blish, 12 Feb. 1920. Document file, Edison Archives.
76. Walshto Maxwell,4 Aug. 1920, and Maxwellto Walsh,13 Aug. 1920. Docu-
mentfile, EdisonArchives;Frow,238.
77. Edisonad, Cosmopolitan (January1917):85; Scrapbook,vault12, cabinet402,
shelf 1, EdisonArchives.
78. Walshto Maxwell,4 Aug. 1920, refersto "25setsof lesserartists,"with Marie
Rappoldavailablefor "specialrecitals."Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
79. Datafroma portionof the 1921HelenClarke-JosephPhillips-Thomas
Georgetone test tour(Documentfile, EdisonArchives.):
Date Town Attendance
20 Sept. Stanwood Wash. 900
21 Sept. Seattle Wash. 2000
24 Sept. Everett Wash. 1200
26 Sept. Montesano Wash. 600
27 Sept. Tacoma Wash. 1350
28 Sept. Portland Ore. 700
29 Sept. WallaWalla Wash. 1300
30 Sept. Colfax Wash. 700
80. O. A. Lovejoyto Walsh,17 Nov. 1921. PDR,EdisonArchives.
81. W. H. Millerto Edison,9 May1916. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
82. W. H. Millerto Edison,12 Jan. 1917. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.While
the women'sappearances werea factorin determining who wouldmakea successful
tone test artist,evidencesuggeststhat the phonographs themselveswerethe true
objects of sexual appeal.Follow-upnewspaper for the Clarkand
advertisements
Phillipstone testsreportedthat "HelenClarkstoodon the stagenext to a shapely
Chippendale cabinet,"and the tone of the recordedsoundwasdescribedby a
revieweras "roundand luscious."Stanwood [Washington]News,23 Sept. 1921, 3, 1.
The referenceto "shake"has to do with the fact thatThomasEdisonrequiredall
his artiststo performwithoutvibratoor tremoloeffects.
83. Telegramto WalshfromSokoloff.Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
84. EdisonDiamondPoints(Aug. 1918):15. EdisonArchives.
85. "A LittleJourneythroughthe EdisonShop,"pamphlet,post 1921. PPC,Edison
Archives.
86. Program,ChristineMillertone test, SymphonyHall, Boston,18 Nov. 1915.
BostonSymphonyOrchestraArchives."MissChristineMillerTriumphswith Edison
Double,"DesMoinesTimes,27 Oct. 1915. Clippingbook,Edison
Phonographic
Archives.
87. Victoradvertisement, NationalGeographic,Nov.-Dec. 1917.
88. In 1920WilliamMaxwellplayeda numberof Edisonrecordings to conductor
WalterDamrosch,andhe summarized Damrosch's responsesto the recordsin a memo
sent to ThomasEdison.Edisonresponded: "Don'twantto have muchto do with the
well knowleaderstheyareabsolutelyvoid of all knowledgeof the techniqueof their
instrumentsor the lawsof soundandso d d opinionatedby musicanddifferso
muchwith eachotherthat I thinkI can paddlemy own canoeandfutureresultswill
show." Maxwell to Edison (with response), 28 Sept. 1920. Document file, Edison
Machines,
Archives.Edison'sstrongpersonalrole in definingalmosteveryelementof the musi-

cal outputof the Edisoncompanyis moreintriguingfor the fact that, as a resultof a
boutin childhoodwith scarletfever,he wasquitedeaf.He often listenedto record-
ingsby bitinginto the woodencaseof a phonograph,to conductthe sounddirectlyto
the bonesof his innerear. Edisonhimselfsawhis deafnessas an advantage:"Ican
hearsplendidlythroughmy skulland throughmy teeth. The sound-waves then come
almostdirectto my brain.Theypassthroughonly my innerear.And I have a won-
derfullysensitiveinnerear. I do not knowthat, in the beginning,it wasanymore
sensitivethananybodyelse'sbutfor morethanfiftyyearsit has beenwrappedin
almostcompletesilence.It has beenprotectedfromthe millionsof noisesthatdim
the hearingof earsthatheareverything." Allan L. Benson,"Edison's Dreamof New
Music,"Cosmopolitan 54 (May1913):798. ForEdison'sdeafness,see Josephson,
30-33. A photograph of Edison'sown phonograph, clearlyshowingteeth marksin
the woodencase, is reproduced in Frow,21.
89. Casejoinedthe ranksof the Metropolitan Operain 1909, premiering
as a page
in Lohengrin.
She wasdistinctivefor the fact thatshe wasthe only American-born,
American-trained memberof the companyat that time, andmuchwasmadeof her
"home-grown" talentin Edisoncompanyadvertising.Hercareerpeakedin 1913when
she sangthe roleof Sophiein the Americanpremierof RichardStrauss's DerRosen-
She retiredfromthe Metropolitan
kavalier. in 1916anddevotedherselfthereafterto
recitalwork.Biographical detailscomefromthe clippingfile on Caseat the New
YorkPublicLibrary for the Performing
Arts, MusicDivision.See alsoJohnHarvith
andSusanEdwards Harvith,eds., Edison,Musicians andthePhonograph:A Centuryin
Retrospect(New York:GreenwoodPress,1987), 41.
90. Forexample,SergeiRachmaninoff madeten recordings
with Edisonin 1920,
beforemovingto Victor(EdisonrecordingartistErnestStevenslaterrecalledthat
Edisonhad told the pianistthathe wasjust"apounder."HarvithandHarvith,26).
A subsequentconcerttourby Rachmaninoff wasaccompanied by Edisonadvertise-
mentsinvitingconcertgoers to listento the DiamondDiscre-creationsat an Edison
dealerandcomparethemto theirconcertexperienceas well as to the pianist's"talk-
ing machine"(Victor)records.SalesPromotionDepartment to R. S. Williamsand
Sons Co. Ltd., 28 Oct. 1920. PDR,EdisonArchives.See alsoHarvithandHar-
vith, 9.
91. "Voicevs. Records,"BostonEveningTranscript,
19 Nov. 1915, 18.
92. "Voicevs. Records,"18.
93. New YorkEveningTelegraph,
11 Mar.1920.
94. In a 1972 interviewCasedescribedhow, in her CarnegieHall tone test, she
mimickedthe soundof her recordedvoice:"Iremember
deliberately I stoodright
besidethe machine.The audiencewasthere,and therewasnobodyon stagewith me.
The machineplayedand I sangwith it. Of course,if I had sungloud, it wouldhave
been louderthan the machine,but I gavemy voice the samequalityas the machine
so theycouldn'ttell."HarvithandHarvith,44.
95. "Voicevs. Records,"18.
96. "EdisonSnaresSoul of Music,"3.
97. New YorkEveningTelegraph,11 Mar. 1920.
98. "MissChristineMillerTriumphswith EdisonPhonographic

Double,"Des
MoinesTimes,27 Oct. 1915.Clippingbook,EdisonArchives.
99. "Phonographic ReproductionRivalsVoicesof Singers,"Pittsburgh
GazetteTimes,
1 Oct. 1919, 5; "MiracleSongsCreateFurore," Dispatch,1 Oct. 1919, 4.
Pittsburgh
100. See "Records Vie with Singersin Own Songs,"Pittsburgh
Post,1 Oct. 1919, 5;
and "RecitalIs Enjoyedby MusicLovers,"Stanwood News, 23 Sept. 1921, 1.
101. The samearticlelaterreferredto "theinstrument(or instruments)
of Thomas
George.""RecitalIs Enjoyedby MusicLovers,"1.
102. "ConcertPleasesLoversof Music,"WallaWalla[Washington] Union,30 Sept.
1921, 1.
103. "MachineImitatesNature,"Montesano Videttte,30 Sept. 1921, 1.
[Washington]
104. PeoriaStar,19 Apr. 1916. Clippingbook, EdisonArchives.
105. R. S. WilliamsandSonsCo. Ltd., Toronto,to ThomasA. EdisonInc., 18
July1922. Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
106. Tone teststhemselvescouldeven be broughtinto the home, as is evidencedby
the businesscardof JuliaCottetof Alhambra,Calif., who advertised,"Engagements
acceptedforentertainingin ensembleworkwith EdisonRe-Creations, an artistic
novelty"(c. 1921). Documentfile, EdisonArchives.
107. WallaWallaUnion,30 Sept. 1921. Similarlocaladvertisements fromdifferent
townsclaimed:"Proved!. . . to Seattle!""Proved!. . . to Stanwood!""Proved!..
to Everett!"
108. In theirencyclopedicaccountof the historyof the phonograph, OliverRead
andWalterWelchclearlypresentthe EdisonDiamondDisc as a high-watermarkof
achievement.To themit wasnot justthe bestin its own time, but its qualityof
reproduction
surpassedthat of manyof the electricmachinesthat immediately fol-
lowed.Thereis a melancholictone to theiraccountof the electrification
of the
phonograph.ReadandWelch, chaps.14-18.
109. New YorkTribune,28 Apr. 1916.
110. Orvell,xv.
111. O. A. Lovejoyto ArthurWalsh, 17 Nov. 1921;M. Goldberg,Silverstone
MusicStore,St. Louis,Mo., to ArthurWalsh,8 Jan. 1921. PDR,EdisonArchives.
112. Alice Verletto ArthurWalsh, 18 Oct. 1926. PDR,EdisonArchives.
113. A. L. Walshto Alice Verlet,2 Nov. 1926. PDR,EdisonArchives.
114. Reproduced in Frow,91.
115. Phonograph companiesbeganofferingtheirproductsin cabinetsthat included
spacefora radio.In 1929the VictorTalkingMachineCompanymergedwith the
RadioCorporation of Americato formRCA Victor.
116. ReadandWelch, 239. In 1926the EdisonCompanyaddressed whatit called
"thevolumefad"andproduceda "DanceReproducer," an accessorythat couldbe
installedto increasethe volumeof musicproducedby the Edisonphonograph. Frow,
70-71.
Machines,
117. The initialcommercialproductsincorporating the new technology,the Victor

OrthophonicPhonograph and the ColumbiaViva-TonalPhonograph, wereactually
mechanicalphonographs thatplayedelectricallyrecordedrecords.The firstcommer-
cial electricalhomephonograph wasthe Brunswick Panatrope.ReadandWelch, 268.
118. Victorad, McCall'sMagazine, Sept. 1927, 3; emphasisin original.
119. Evenparticipants in high-endaudioculture,an elite cultureobsessivelydedi-
catedto the pursuitof sonicperfectionat anycost, now measurecomponentperfor-
manceandqualitythroughchartsof frequencyresponseandcomparisons with
referenceequipmentratherthanwith live performance. Joseph O'Connell, "TheFine-
Tuningof a GoldenEar:High-EndAudioand the Evolutionary Modelof Technol-
ogy,"TechnologyandCulture33 (Jan.1992):1-37.

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Machines, Music, and the Quest for Fidelity: Marketing the Edison Phonograph in America,

Machines, Music, and the Quest

On Fridayafternoon,28 April 1916, a crowdof musicloversand

Startlingly novel even in this age of mechanical marvels was the

Thousands of tone tests, identical in format to the event

Figure1. Publicity of Frieda

recordingartists and Edison re-creationsperformedin tandem,

Mostrecently,MilesOrvellhas moregenerallyposedthe ques-

decades surroundingthe turn of the century," but unlike Orvell,

2. A History of the Edison Phonograph and

One month laterEdisonsubmitteda designto his model-builder,

Figure2. ThomasEdisonwith his phonographin Washington,D.C., 18 Apr. 1877.Courtesy

instrumenthas not quitereachedthat perfectionwhen the tonesof

all of his company'sprofitcamefromthese "nickel-in-the-slot"

3. The Machine in the Parlor

The musicallife of turn-of-the-century middle-class Americanswas

But now, "[a]mateur has collidedwith professional,and the former

today.It is justbecausethese devicesbringinto ourhomesrenditions

referredto its recordsnot as reproductions The

4. The DiamondDisc and EdisonRe-Creations

You ar t *Ii d tto

T I? 5loNmtll ' I lA.t x SC PANY

Figure4. Invitationto attenda DiamondDisc recitalat an Edisondealership,1914. Courtesy

wasplayed,and the audienceburstinto laughteruponhearingit.54

That old "sweetEdisontone"had been designedout of the

provideda glasswindowthroughwhich the patroncouldwatchthe

Figure 6. The phonographas furniture:Edison phonographadvertisement,Cosmopolitan,Jan.

the EdisonCompanyand describehis experience:"[A]fterhearing

5. The Tone Test Campaign

In 1915, the directorof the EdisonPhonographDivisionpublished

this typeof demonstration,and tone testingsoon becamethe primary

A-Main phonograph (should be a mahogany Chippendale)

Figure7. Edisondealer'ssuggestedstagesettingfor tone tests, EdisonDiamond

0 REST. INTHE LORDELIJWH . .......

AVE MARIAN .TH ...O. D ....................... ................

A V E MA R IA ............... . .....R........................................... ................UNO

THE BUTTERFLY .................. ............

AH MON FILLS......... ............. LE PROPHET ............. .......... MEYERBEER

THE TWO LARKS .............................LESCHETIZXY

BONNIE DOON............ ...............BURNS

PARAPHRASE ON DIE.LORELEY..... ...... .......... ....... ...... ...... NESVADSA

PRO PECCATIS ....... STABAT MATTER .... . ROSSINI

OLD FOLKS AT HOME .... ......... ..... . ....... ...........FOSTER

TKE PURPOSE OF THIS HEARING IS TO ILLUSTRATE THAT MR. EDISON

Figure8. Program,ChristineMillertone test, SymphonyHall, Boston,18 Nov. 1915. Courtesy

Rossini.The programclosedwith Millerandher re-creationsinging

Miss Case will probablyappearin a Tone Test Recital, at Carnegie

30 Sept. 1919. Courtesy

impromptuTone Test in your store, and then consider her appearance

was indicatedin the ascentfromHargerand

Edisoncompanywasclearlyappealingto the culturalpretensionsof a

ThomasEdison,who personallyapprovedor rejectednot justeach

undertakenin theirhomesor in phonographshops.They acceptedthe

6. Listeners' Responses to Tone Tests

When the BostonEveningTranscript reviewedChristineMiller's1915

so pronouncedin violinsof the Cremonaschool. The 'record'quality

When Case appearedin CarnegieHall fouryearslater,one

truere-creationof the humanvoice .... Mr. Edison'swonderful

"frequentencores[that]calledthe singersout afterthe programhad

imitatethe soundof theirrecordings,but this simpleexplanationfails

8. Epilogue: The End of an Era

EdisonPhonographCompanywouldrecover.Startingin 1921, tone

8. The employmentof acousticaltechnologyby modemavant-garde artistsis