diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/30112.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/30112.txt | 981 |
1 files changed, 981 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/30112.txt b/old/30112.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce9a374 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/30112.txt @@ -0,0 +1,981 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Development of the Phonograph at Alexander +Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory, by Leslie J. Newville + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory + Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5, (pages 69-79) + + +Author: Leslie J. Newville + + + +Release Date: September 27, 2009 [eBook #30112] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHONOGRAPH AT +ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL'S VOLTA LABORATORY*** + + +E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Stephanie Eason, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 30112-h.htm or 30112-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30112/30112-h/30112-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30112/30112-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's note: + + Passages in italics are enclosed between underscores + (_italics_). + + Additional spacing after some of the quotations is intentional + to indicate both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a + new paragraph as presented in the original text. + + + + + +Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, +United States National Museum Bulletin 218, +Paper 5, (pages 69-79) + +DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHONOGRAPH AT +ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL'S VOLTA LABORATORY + +LESLIE J. NEWVILLE + + +DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHONOGRAPH +AT ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL'S +VOLTA LABORATORY + +by + +LESLIE J. NEWVILLE + + + + + + + _The fame of Thomas A. Edison rests most securely on his genius for + making practical application of the ideas of others. However, it + was Alexander Graham Bell, long a Smithsonian Regent and friend of + its third Secretary S. P. Langley, who, with his Volta Laboratory + associates made practical the phonograph, which has been called + Edison's most original invention._ + + THE AUTHOR: _Leslie J. Newville wrote this paper while he was + attached to the office of the curator of Science and Technology in + the Smithsonian Institution's United States National Museum._ + + +The story of Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone has been +told and retold. How he became involved in the difficult task of making +practical phonograph records, and succeeded (in association with Charles +Sumner Tainter and Chichester Bell), is not so well known. + +But material collected through the years by the U. S. National Museum of +the Smithsonian Institution now makes clear how Bell and two associates +took Edison's tinfoil machine and made it reproduce sound from wax +instead of tinfoil. They began their work in Washington, D. C., in 1879, +and continued until granted basic patents in 1886 for recording in wax. + +Preserved at the Smithsonian are some 20 pieces of experimental +apparatus, including a number of complete machines. Their first +experimental machine was sealed in a box and deposited in the +Smithsonian archives in 1881. The others were delivered by Alexander +Graham Bell to the National Museum in two lots in 1915 and 1922. Bell +was an old man by this time, busy with his aeronautical experiments in +Nova Scotia. + +It was not until 1947, however, that the Museum received the key to the +experimental "Graphophones," as they were called to differentiate them +from the Edison machine. In that year Mrs. Laura F. Tainter donated to +the Museum 10 bound notebooks, along with Tainter's unpublished +autobiography.[1] This material describes in detail the strange machines +and even stranger experiments which led in 1886 to a greatly improved +phonograph. + +Thomas A. Edison had invented the phonograph in 1877. But the fame +bestowed on Edison for this startling invention (sometimes called his +most original) was not due to its efficiency. Recording with the tinfoil +phonograph is too difficult to be practical. The tinfoil tears easily, +and even when the stylus is properly adjusted, the reproduction is +distorted and squeaky, and good for only a few playbacks. Nevertheless +young Edison, the "wizard" as he was called, had hit upon a secret of +which men had dreamed for centuries.[2] Immediately after this +discovery, however, he did not improve it, allegedly because of an +agreement to spend the next five years developing the New York City +electric light and power system. + + +[Illustration: Figure 1.--CHARLES SUMNER TAINTER (1854-1940) from a +photograph taken in San Diego, California, 1919. (_Smithsonian photo +42729-A._)] + + +Meanwhile Bell, always a scientist and experimenter at heart, after his +invention of the telephone in 1876 was looking for new worlds to +conquer. If we accept Tainter's version of the story, it was through +Gardiner Green Hubbard that Bell took up the phonograph challenge. Bell +had married Hubbard's daughter Mabel in 1879. Hubbard was then president +of the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co., and his organization, which had +purchased the Edison patent, was having trouble with its finances +because people did not like to buy a machine which seldom worked well +and proved difficult for an unskilled person to operate. + +In 1879 Hubbard got Bell interested in improving the machine, and it was +agreed that a laboratory should be set up in Washington. Experiments +were also to be conducted on the transmission of sound by light, and +this resulted in the selenium-cell Photophone, patented in 1881. Both +the Hubbards and the Bells decided to move to the Capital. While Bell +took his bride to Europe for an extended honeymoon, his associate +Charles Sumner Tainter, a young instrument maker, was sent on to +Washington from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to start the laboratory.[3] +Bell's cousin, Chichester Bell, who had been teaching college chemistry +in London, agreed to come as the third associate. During his stay in +Europe Bell received the 50,000-franc ($10,000) Volta prize, and it was +with this money that the Washington project, the Volta Laboratory +Association,[4] was financed. + + +[Illustration: Figure 2.--PHOTOGRAPHING SOUND IN 1884. A rare photograph +taken at Volta Laboratory, Washington, D. C., by J. Harris Rogers, a +friend of Bell and Tainter (_Smithsonian photo 44312-E_). + +A description of the procedure used is found on page 67, of Tainter's +unpublished autobiography (see footnote 1). There, Tainter quotes +Chichester Bell as follows: + +"A jet of bichromate of potash solution, vibrated by the voice, was +directed against a glass plate immediately in front of a slit, on which +light was concentrated by means of a lens. The jet was so arranged that +the light on its way to the slit had to pass through the nappe and as +the thickness of this was constantly changing, the illumination of the +slit was also varied. By means of a lens ... an image of this slit was +thrown upon a rotating gelatine-bromide plate, on which accordingly a +record of the voice vibrations was obtained."] + + +Tainter's story, in his autobiography, of the establishment of the +laboratory, shows its comparative simplicity: + +I therefore wound up my business affairs in Cambridge, packed up all of +my tools and machines, and ... went to Washington, and after much +search, rented a vacant house on L Street, between 13th and 14th +Streets, and fitted it up for our purpose.[5]... The Smithsonian +Institution sent us over a mail sack of scientific books from the +library of the Institution, to consult, and primed with all we could +learn ... we went to work.[6]... We were like the explorers in an +entirely unknown land, where one has to select the path that seems to be +most likely to get you to your destination, with no knowledge of what is +ahead. + +In conducting our work we had first to design an experimental apparatus, +then hunt about, often in Philadelphia and New York, for the materials +with which to construct it, which were usually hard to find, and finally +build the models we needed, ourselves.[7] + + +[Illustration: Figure 3.--PAGE FROM NOTEBOOK of Charles Sumner Tainter, +describing an experiment in sound recording. The Tainter notebooks, +preserved in the U. S. National Museum, describe experiments at the +Volta Laboratory, in the 1880's. The Graphophone patents of 1886, were +the result of this research. (_Smithsonian photo 44312_.)] + + +The experimental machines built at the Volta Laboratory include both +disc and cylinder types, and an interesting "tape" recorder. The records +used with the machines and now in the collections of the U. S. National +Museum, are believed to be the oldest reproducible records preserved +anywhere in the world. While some are scratched and cracked, others are +still in good condition. + +By 1881 the Volta associates had succeeded in improving an Edison +tinfoil machine to some extent. Wax was put in the grooves of the heavy +iron cylinder, and no tinfoil was used. Rather than apply for a patent +at that time, however, they deposited the machine in a sealed box at the +Smithsonian, and specified that it was not to be opened without the +consent of two of the three men. In 1937 Tainter (fig. 1) was the only +one still living, so the box was opened with his permission. + +For the occasion, the heirs of Alexander Graham Bell gathered in +Washington, but Tainter was too old and too ill to come from San Diego. + +The sound vibrations had been indented in the wax which had been applied +to the Edison phonograph. The following is the text of the recording: +"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of +in your philosophy. I am a graphophone and my mother was a phonograph." +Remarked Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor,[8] Bell's daughter, when the box was +opened in 1937, "That is just the sort of thing father would have said. +He was always quoting from the classics." + + +[Figure 4.--PATENT DRAWINGS from U. S. patent 341214, granted May 4, +1886, to Chichester Bell and C. S. Tainter.] + + +The method of reproduction used on the machine, however, is even more +interesting than the quotation. Rather than a stylus and diaphragm, a +jet of air under high pressure was used. + +"This evening about 7 P. M.," Tainter noted on July 7, 1881, "The +apparatus being ready the valve upon the top of the air cylinder was +opened slightly until a pressure of about 100 lbs. was indicated by the +gage. The phonograph cylinder was then rotated, and the sounds produced +by the escaping air could be heard, and the words understood a distance +of at least 8 feet from the phonograph." The point of the jet is glass, +and could be directed at a single groove. + + +[Illustration: Figure 5.--EXPERIMENTAL GRAPHOPHONE photographed in 1884 +at the Volta Laboratory. This is similar to one preserved at the +Smithsonian Institution. (_Smithsonian photo 44312-D._)] + + +The other experimental Graphophones indicate an amazing range of +experimentation. While the method of cutting a record on wax was the one +later exploited commercially, everything else seems to have been tried +at least once. + +The following was noted on Wednesday, March 20, 1881: "A fountain pen is +attached to a diaphragm so as to be vibrated in a plane parallel to the +axis of a cylinder--The ink used in this pen to contain iron in a finely +divided state, and the pen caused to trace a spiral line around the +cylinder as it turned. The cylinder to be covered with a sheet of paper +upon which the record is made.... This ink ... can be rendered magnetic +by means of a permanent magnet. The sounds were to be reproduced by +simply substituting a magnet for the fountain pen...." + +The result of these ideas for magnetic reproduction resulted in patent +341287, granted on May 4, 1886; it deals solely with "the reproduction, +through the action of magnetism, of sounds by means of records in solid +substances." + + +[Illustration: Figure 6.--ANOTHER EXPERIMENTAL GRAPHOPHONE, photographed +at the Volta Laboratory in 1884. (_Smithsonian photo 44312-F._)] + + +The air jet used in reproducing has already been described. Other jets, +of molten metal, wax, and water, were also tried. On Saturday, May 19, +1883, Tainter wrote (see fig. 3): + + Made the following experiment today: + + The cylinder of the Edison phonograph was covered with the coating + of paraffine-wax and then turned off true and smooth. + + A cutting style A., secured to the end of a lever B was then + adjusted over the cylinder, as shown. Lever B was pivoted at the + points C-D, and the only pressure exerted to force the style into + the wax was due to the weight of the parts. + + Upon the top of A was fixed a small brass disk, and immediately + over it a sensitive water jet adjusted, so that the stream of water + at its sensitive part fell upon the center of the brass disk. + + The Phonograph cylinder E, was rotated while words and sounds were + shouted to the support to which the water jet was attached, and a + record that was quite visible to the unaided eye was the result. + + +The tape recorder, an unusual instrument which recorded mechanically on +a 3/16-inch strip of wax-covered paper, is one of the machines described +and illustrated in U. S. patent 341214, dated May 4, 1886 (see fig. 4). +The strip was coated by dipping it in a solution of beeswax and +paraffine (one part white beeswax, two parts paraffine, by weight), then +scraping one side clean and allowing the other side to harden. + + +[Illustration: Figure 7.--ORIGINAL PLANS FOR A DISC GRAPHOPHONE PATENTED +BY SUMNER TAINTER IN 1888, U. S. PATENT 385886.] + + +The machine of sturdy wood and metal construction, is hand powered by +means of a knob fastened to the fly wheel. From the fly-wheel shaft +power is transferred by a small friction wheel to a vertical shaft. At +the bottom of this shaft a V-pulley transfers motion by belts to +corresponding V-pulleys beneath the horizontal reels. + +The wax strip passes from one 8-inch reel around the periphery of a +pulley (with guide flanges) mounted above the V-pulleys on the main +vertical shaft, where it comes in contact with the recording or +reproducing stylus. It is then taken up on the other reel. + +The sharp recording stylus, actuated by a vibrating mica diaphragm, cuts +the wax from the strip. In reproducing, a dull, loosely mounted stylus, +attached to a rubber diaphragm, carried sounds through an ear tube to +the listener. + +Both recording and reproducing heads, mounted alternately on the same +two posts, could be adjusted vertically so that several records could be +cut on the same 3/16-inch strip. + +While this machine was never developed commercially, it is an +interesting ancestor of the modern tape recorder, which it resembles +somewhat in design. How practical it was or just why it was built we do +not know. The tape is now brittle, the heavy paper reels warped, and the +reproducing head missing. Otherwise, with some reconditioning, it could +be put into working condition. + +Most of the disc machines designed by the Volta associates had the disc +mounted vertically (see figs. 5 and 6). The explanation is that in the +early experiments, the turntable, with disc, was mounted on the shop +lathe, along with the recording and reproducing heads. Later, when the +complete models were built, most of them featured vertical turntables. + + +[Illustration: Figure 8.--ANOTHER PAGE OF THE PLANS SHOWN IN FIGURE 7. +The experimental Graphophone built from these plans is in the U. S. +National Museum (_cat. no. 287665_).] + + +An interesting exception has a horizontal 7-inch turntable (see figs. 7 +and 8). This machine, although made in 1886, is a duplicate of one made +earlier but taken to Europe by Chichester Bell. Tainter was granted U. +S. patent 385886 for it on July 10, 1888. + +The playing arm is rigid, except for a pivoted vertical motion of 90 +degrees to allow removal of the record or a return to starting position. +While recording or playing, the record not only rotated, but moved +laterally under the stylus, which thus described a spiral, recording 150 +grooves to the inch. + +The Bell and Tainter records, preserved at the Smithsonian, are both of +the lateral cut and "hill-and-dale" types. Edison for many years used +the "hill-and-dale" method with both cylinder and disc records, and +Emile Berliner is credited with the invention of the lateral cut +Gramophone record in 1887. The Volta associates, however, had been +experimenting with both types, as early as 1881, as is shown by the +following quotation from Tainter:[9] + + The record on the electro-type in the Smithsonian package is of the + other form, where the vibrations are impressed _parallel_ to the + surface of the recording material, as was done in the old Scott + Phonautograph of 1857, thus forming a groove of uniform depth, but + of wavy character, in which the _sides_ of the groove act upon the + tracing point instead of the bottom, as is the case in the vertical + type. This form we named the zig-zag form, and referred to it in + that way in our notes. Its important advantage in guiding the + reproducing needle I first called attention to in the note on p. + 9-Vol 1-Home Notes on March 29-1881, and endeavored to use it in my + early work, but encountered so much difficulty in getting a form of + reproducer that would work with the soft wax records without + tearing the groove, we used the hill and valley type of record more + often than the other. + + +In 1885, when the Volta associates were sure that they had a number of +practical inventions, they filed applications for patents. They also +began to look around for investors. After giving several demonstrations +in Washington, they gained the necessary support, and the American +Graphophone Co. was organized to manufacture and sell the machines. The +Volta Graphophone Co. was formed to control the patents. + +The Howe sewing machine factory at Bridgeport, Connecticut, became the +American Graphophone plant; Tainter went there to supervise the +manufacturing, and continued his inventive work for many years. This +Bridgeport plant is still in use today by a successor firm, the +Dictaphone Corporation. + +The work of the Volta associates laid the foundation for the successful +use of the dictating machine in business, for their wax recording +process was practical and their machines sturdy. But it was to take +several more years and the renewed work of Edison and further +developments by Berliner and many others, before the talking machine +industry really got under way and became a major factor in home +entertainment.[10] + + +PATENTS WHICH RESULTED FROM THE VOLTA LABORATORY ASSOCIATION + + _Patent + Number_ _Year_ _Patent_ _Inventors_ + 229495 1880 Telephone call register C. S. Tainter + 235496 1880 Photophone transmitter A. G. Bell, + C. S. Tainter + 235497 1880 Selenium cells A. G. Bell, + C. S. Tainter + 235590 1800 Selenium cells C. S. Tainter + 241909 1881 Photophonic receiver A. G. Bell, + C. S. Tainter + 243657 1881 Telephone transmitter C. S. Tainter + 289725 1883 Electric conductor C. S. Tainter + 336081 1886 Transmitter for electric C. A. Bell + telephone lines + 336082 1886 Jet microphone for C. A. Bell + transmitting sounds + by means of jets + 336083 1886 Telephone transmitter C. A. Bell + 336173 1886 Telephone transmitter C. S. Tainter + 341212 1886 Reproducing sounds A. G. Bell, + from phonograph C. A. Bell, + records C. S. Tainter + 341213 1886 Reproducing and A. G. Bell, + recording sounds by C. A. Bell, + radiant energy C. S. Tainter + 341214 1886 Recording and reproducing C. A. Bell, + speech and other sounds C. S. Tainter + 341287 1886 Recording and reproducing C. S. Tainter + sounds + 341288 1886 Apparatus for recording C. S. Tainter + and reproducing sounds + 374133 1887 Paper cylinder for C. S. Tainter + graphophonic records + 375579 1887 Apparatus for recording C. S. Tainter + and reproducing speech + and other sounds + 380535 1888 Graphophone C. S. Tainter + 385886 1888 Graphophone C. S. Tainter + 385887 1888 Graphophonic tablet C. S. Tainter + 388462 1888 Machine for making C. S. Tainter + paper tubes + 392763 1888 Mounting for diaphragms C. S. Tainter + for acoustical + instruments + 393190 1888 Tablet for use in C. S. Tainter + graphophones + 393191 1888 Support for graphophonic C. S. Tainter + tablets + 416969 1889 Speed regulator C. S. Tainter + 421450 1890 Graphophone tablet C. S. Tainter + 428646 1890 Machine for the manufacture C. S. Tainter + of wax coated tablets for + graphophones + 506348 1893 Coin controlled graphophone C. S. Tainter + 510656 1893 Reproducer for graphophones C. S. Tainter + 670442 1901 Graphophone record C. S. Tainter + duplicating machine + 730986 1903 Graphophone C. S. Tainter + +CONTENTS OF SMALL CHEST RECEIVED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FROM +MRS. LAURA F. TAINTER, 1947 + +Books (10) containing the home notes, volumes 1 to 8 and 11 and 12, + inclusive, March 1881-November 1883. (Vols, 9, 10, and 13 were burned + in a laboratory fire, September 1897.) + +Binder containing drawings and notes for multiple record duplicator, + October 8, 1897-1908, and miscellaneous inquiries, log, telegraph + recorder, diet, home plans. + +Binder containing printed specifications of patents, S. Tainter, A. G. + Bell, and C. A. Bell, June 29, 1880 to June 16, 1903. + +Medal, Exposition Internationale d'Electricite, Paris, 1881, marked + "Tainter." + +Medal, Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, 1915, Medal of Award. + +Seven purple lapel rosettes (?), one with ribbon and palms, in boxes + marked "1890." Notes in newspaper clipping. + +Records of testimony of C. S. Tainter in various suits involving the + phonograph: Volta Graphophone Co. _vs._ Columbia Phonograph Co., + no. 14533, Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, dated January 13, + 1894; American Graphophone Co. _vs._ U. S. Phonograph Co., U. S. + Circuit Court, New Jersey, dated May 14, 1895; American Graphophone Co. + _vs._ Edw. H. Amet, U. S. Circuit Court, Northern District, Illinois, + in equity, dated February 14, 1896; American Graphophone Co. _vs._ + U. S. Phonograph Co., _et al._, U. S. Circuit Court, New Jersey, in + equity, no date; American Graphophone Co. _vs._ Leeds _et al._, U. S. + Circuit Court, Two District, New York, N. Y., no date; testimony marked + "Questions asked in Edison Co. suits" (duplicate copies) no date, no + citation. + +CONTENTS OF SMALL CHEST RECEIVED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FROM +MRS. LAURA F. TAINTER, 1950 + +Typed manuscript--"Memoirs of Charles Sumner Tainter" (plus many + photostats of notes and articles) 4-1/2 inches thick, pp. 1-71 to + about 1878, pp. 1 to 104 to factory at Bridgeport, some pages missing. + +Box--containing handwritten notes for "memoirs" includes copies of text + of above (less photostats); copies of short biography; agreement + creating American Graphophone Co.; letter of election to life + membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. + +Binder--exhibits of Tainter drawings in American Graphophone Co. _vs._ + Edison Phonograph Works., vol. 1, U. S. Circuit Court, New Jersey. + +Folder--clippings and photostats relating to the machines deposited in + Smithsonian. + +Certificate of appointment "Officer de l'Instruction publique," France, + October 31, 1889, for exhibition of Graphophone, Exposition + Universelle, 1889. + +Framed photo of Berliner & Tainter, 1919. + +Photo of Tainter, 1919. + +Separate package containing gold medal, certificate, Panama-Pacific + Exposition, San Francisco, 1915; gold medal, certificate, Exposition + Internationale Electricite, Paris, 1881. + + + + +Footnotes: + +[1] Charles Sumner Tainter (1854-1940), "The talking machine and some +little known facts in connection with its early development," +unpublished manuscript in the collections of the U. S. National Museum. + +[2] One of the most interesting prophecies was written in 1656 by Cyrano +de Bergerac, in his _Comic history of the states and empires of the +Moon_: + +"'I began to study closely my books and their covers which impressed me +for their richness. One was decorated with a single diamond, more +brilliant by far than ours. The second seemed but a single pearl cleft +in twain. + +"'When I opened the covers, I found inside something made of metal, not +unlike our clocks, full of mysterious little springs and almost +invisible mechanisms. 'Tis a book, 'tis true, but a miraculous book, +which has no pages or letters. Indeed, 'tis a book which to enjoy the +eyes are useless; only ears suffice. When a man desires to read, then, +he surrounds this contrivance with many small tendons of every kind, +then he places the needle on the chapter to be heard and, at the same +time, there come, as from the mouth of a man or from an instrument of +music, all those clear and separate sounds which make up the Lunarians' +tongue.'" (See A. Coeuroy and G. Clarence, _Le phonographe_, Paris, +1929, p. 9, 10.) + +[3] Tainter retained a lifelong admiration for Alexander Graham Bell. +This is Tainter's description of their first meeting in Cambridge: "... +one day I received a visit from a very distinguished looking gentleman +with jet black hair and beard, who announced himself as Mr. A. Graham +Bell. His charm of manner and conversation attracted me greatly...." +Tainter, _op. cit._ (footnote 1), p. 2. + +[4] A. G. Bell apparently spent little time in the Volta Laboratory. The +Dr. Bell referred to in Tainter's notebooks is Chichester A. Bell. The +basic graphophone patent (U. S. patent 341214) was issued to C. A. Bell +and Tainter. The Tainter material reveals A. G. Bell as the man who +suggested the basic lines of research (and furnished the money), and +then allowed his associates to get the credit for many of the inventions +that resulted. + +[5] Tainter, _op. cit._ (footnote 1), p. 3. + +[6] _Ibid._, p. 5. + +[7] _Ibid._, p. 30. + +[8] As quoted by _The Washington Herald_, October 28, 1937. + +[9] Tainter, _op. cit._ (footnote 1), pp. 28, 29. + +[10] The basic distinction between the first Edison patent, and the Bell +and Tainter patent of 1886 was the method of recording. Edison's method +was to _indent_ the sound waves on a piece of tin-foil (wax was included +as a recording material in his English patent); the Bell and Tainter +improvement called for _cutting_ or "_engraving_" the sound waves into a +wax record, with a sharp recording stylus. + +The strength of Bell and Tainter patent is indicated by the following +excerpt from a letter written by a Washington patent attorney, S. T. +Cameron, who was a member of the law firm which carried on litigation +for the American Graphophone Co. The letter is dated December 8, 1914, +and is addressed to George C. Maynard, Curator of Mechanical Technology, +U. S. National Museum: "Subsequent to the issuance of the Bell and +Tainter patent No. 341214, Edison announced that he would shortly +produce his 'new phonograph' which, when it appeared, was in fact +nothing but the Bell and Tainter record set forth in their patent +341214, being a record cut or engraved in wax or wax-like material, +although Edison always insisted on calling this record an 'indented' +record, doubtless because his original tin-foil record was an 'indented' +record. Edison was compelled to acknowledge that his 'new phonograph' +was an infringement of the Bell and Tainter patent 341214, and took out +a license under the Bell and Tainter patent and made his records under +that patent as the result of that license." + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHONOGRAPH AT +ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL'S VOLTA LABORATORY*** + + +******* This file should be named 30112.txt or 30112.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/0/1/1/30112 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://www.gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: +http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |