 An Edison Gold Mould cylinder record, taken out of its storing tube (left), from c. 1900s | |
| Capacity | 2 minutes |
|---|---|
| Released | c. 1888 |
| Discontinued | 1929 |
Phonograph cylinders (also referred to as Edison cylinders after its creator Thomas Edison) are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyday (c. 1896–1916), a name which has been passed on to their disc-shaped successor, these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engraved on the outside surface which can be reproduced when they are played on a mechanical cylinder phonograph.[1] The first cylinders were wrapped with tin foil[2] but the improved version made of wax was created a decade later,[3] after which they were commercialized. In the 1910s, the competing disc record system triumphed in the marketplace to become the dominant commercial audio medium.[4]
- ^ Phipps, Aodhan (November 8, 2013). "History of Recorded Music". Transcript of History of Recorded Music. Prezi. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
- ^ University of California, Santa Barbara Library Department of Special Collections (2005-11-16). "Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project". cylinders.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "History of the Cylinder Phonograph | History of Edison Sound Recordings | Articles and Essays | Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies | Digital Collections | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ Taintor, Callie (May 27, 2004). "Chronology: Technology and the Music Industry". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved 2018-01-12.