|
 Edison Phonograph Works, North
American Phonograph Company cylinder, circa 1890-1894, the first link to the history of professional recorded music. Notice
channeled rim, that originally received a paper label noting song and performer, and North American branch. Even some early
1889-1894 Columbia cylinders have the paper label and channeled rim, recorded on Edison blanks. A North American Cylinder
from the collection of The North American Phonograph Company collections.
Original North American Cylinders, as seen above manufactured
from 1889-1894 can be easily identified by the channeled rim, the single spiral core,and all North Americans have the
curious pour streak due to the wax coming in the early Edison spiral core moulds, made in 1889 at one point, a cup shaped
funnel, as part of the cap on the mold and the wax poured in this to fill the moulds , with one inlet point. North American
Edison cylinders were Edison's first commercially available recording medium. Some 1889 records have a string core. These
early brown wax records can only be played with early phonographs such as Class Ms, Spring Motors, or other machines that
have the automatic or standard speaker reproducer. The Columbia machines that have a floating type reproducer and ball
stylus can also play brown wax without too much damage. If you find a North American cylinder record with the original sound
recording, and not moldy you have a real historical treasure. Very few phonographs were sold the first couple of years, and
most of the NAPC records were used for coin slot phonographs, and wore out from continuous plays. Time has been hard on them,
as moisture also caused them to be moldy. Up to 1895, only two million cylinder phonograph records were made. Many North
American Records have announcements such as "Edison Record Number 1058, Beautiful Waltz Song Entitled Daisy Bell, Sung by
Mr. Edward M Favor."
Or "My Old Kentucky Home, sung by the Old Kentuckian, Mr. Charles Field, record Taken for the North American Phonograph Company
of Chicago." Many have regional announcements, such as New Jersey (New Jersey Phonograph Company.)
Below is 1897-1912
Edison National Phonograph Company Cylinder recording blank for home use. These blanks were the same as used for commercial
cylinder recordings from 1896-1901. The above North American and the below National Phonograph Co. brown wax cylinders are
to be played on pre- 1901 Edison phonographs that use Standard Speaker, and Automatic reproducers. These both are direct cut
records, gold molding had not come out yet for commercial records, although some masters were said to be according to court
cases. The 2 minute wax records are 100 grooves per inch, and the grooves are cut with sapphire rod .039"
diameter and played back with a reproducing ball about .036". Many brown wax records are live recordings. The musicians
and artists would sing, or play into many recording funnels, leading to several recording phonographs with blank, brown wax
cylinders. When the blanks became recorded, the process was repeated, until enough copies were made to fill orders.
There is some brown wax records made by tube copies, where a recording phonograph is hooked to a reproducing machine
by the use of a hollow tube, like the tube on a speaking tube, the master on one machine and the blank on another and the
record copied this way, there is a hollowness to these kinds of copies. Another kind of method was the pantograph.
The pantograph had mechanical linkage hooking a recording stylus to a reproducing stylus, and springs, and weights used
to keep tension between the two. A blank cylinder was put on the recording side, while the master cylinder mad of a
direct recording on the other side, the pantograph copied the grooves and sound waves onto the blank cylinder. Some of the
masters used for copying were either 2 and 1/4" standard size, or 5" cylinders, some were made of wax, and others were
reported to be metal. What I call wax is actually an aluminum, sodium soap with ceresin wax added to cut and keep moisture
out of the compound. Edison Blanks made after 1897 have double spiral cores, early North American Blanks have a single spiral
and more pronounced left end, while later Edison blanks and Brown wax records, the left end ends more abruptly.
 Edison recording blank brown
wax cylinder, circa 1900-1905. Photographed from the collections of The North American Phonograph Company. We still make
these blanks, in 2018 and you can buy them in the store.
Click Here to Email The North American Phonograph Company.
 Columbia brown wax cylinder circa
1898-1901. Sousa's Band playing Sousa's March "The Stars and Stripes Forever March". Record photographed from the collections
of The North American Phonograph Company.
Columbia Phonograph Company was the Washington DC franchise of The
North American Phonograph Company. It recorded such artists as Patrick Gilmour's Band,The United States Marine Band. It relied
on blanks from The Edison Phonograph Works for the first 3 years, and made quite a name for its pedigree artist collection
. Later it combined with the American Graphophone Company, and thus made it hard for The Columbia Phonograph Company to obtain
blanks. For a period of time Edison quit selling blank cylinders. The Columbia Phonograph Company almost sued the American
Graphophone Company because it could not supply good in house recording blanks early ones fogged and decomposed. It was not
until 1896 that the American Graphophone Company was able to make a blank of somewhat comparable quality to the Edison blank.
The American Graphophone Company had failed from 1894-late 1896 in manufacturing blanks in house. By 1897 The American Graphophone
Company made a usable, blank for the Columbia Phonograph Company, of an aluminum stearate formulation, like the Edison blank.
The salvation Of American Graphophone Co. from ruin; was the work of the Adolph Melzer & Co. Soap Company of Evansville,
Indiana. Melzer answered Thomas Hood MacDonald's advertisement in the American Soap Maker Journal. Because of the work
of Melzer, it changed American Graphophone Co, and Columbia records from failure to success, and proliferation of the Columbia
brown wax record. This one dates between 1898-1900. By late 1897 Columbia moved the headquarters to Bridgeport Con, with studios
in New York. Early ones are announced made in Washington DC, and then New York and Paris, and New York City, some Just Columbia
Phonograph Company. All Columbia made standard size blanks and records of the cut brown wax variety have a single spiral
core, and pronounced beveled, left ,starting end. Earlier Columbia blanks from late 1896- early 1898, have a lighter color,
more dainty spirals (thinner) and are usually a little shorter than 4 1/4" long. The early Columbia blanks and records also
are less than 2.160" in diameter, while later Brown wax Columbia's are By mid 1898 The blanks are darker, and were 4 1/4"
long and over 2.160" in diameter.
Columbia found out about Edison's Gold Moulded records, and had to enter the game of moulded records. These are said to be
made in steam heated molds, and then water cooled through circulation according to Columbia's Patent and court testimony.
This was shown by the Edison team of experts to be a lie, (or a misprint on the patent as they said they heated the mold
to 300C or 572 F At this temperature the compound easily sets on fire.) Moulded records first appeared about March or April
1902. The Columbia moulded wax, is also softer then Edison Gold Moulded records, and thus wears out quicker, as it is simply
brown wax with lamp black added. They are soft and wear out quickly. Columbia's do have loud volume, and clear, recordings
when found in good shape. Columbia cylinders become moldy easily and are hard to find without mold.
 Columbia Moulded record 1902-1908.
Made of brown wax colored with lampblack. Record photographed from the collections of The North American Phonograph Company.
About 1908
Columbia stopped using wax (Aluminum Soap.) for its records. This is a celluloid indestructible record dating from about
1910 or so. Celluloid is very flammable and made of nitric acid, cotton cellulose, and camphor. Today it is used for guitar
parts, and picks, ping pong balls. Celluloid can be identified by a smell of camphor. These can also be labeled Oxford
and sold by Sears. These celluloid cylinders can be 2 or 4 minute records. Two minute records have
the 1902 date without the addition of 4m. A 4 minute celluloid indestructible has the 4m written on it. These
cylinders were manufactured However: by the Albany Indestructible Record Company of Albany New York under the patents of Lambert
and Petit.
 Columbia (Albany Indestructible)
celluloid moulded record, circa 1907-1922, the plant in Albany was destroyed by fire in 1922. Photographed from the collections
of The North American Phonograph Company.
Edison
in 1901 started to produce two minute Gold Moulded cylinders with a 100 tpi feed, until he had enough to fill a catalog. In
1902 the Edison Gold Moulded record was offered. A gold moulded record, a perfect
master is made, and then gold is vaporized by the process of the master put on a mandrel in a glass bell jar. The mandrel
turns on centers, like how it turns on the topworks of a phonograph. A disc of iron is located above the mandrel. A magnet
is spun by a motor, on a belt that revolves around the outside of the glass jar, causing the master record to revolve. Inside
the jar, suspended on hooks, and the wires sealed, is gold leaf. The gold leaf is hooked to an induction coil, similar to
a model T ignition coil. A vacuum pump evacuates the bell jar, the mandrel sent revolving and the induction coil tuned on.
The gold wants to go from one pole to the other, however the record is in the way, and receives a thin coating of gold, making
the record able to conduct electricity. The master is put in holders, in a rubber tank with distilled water,copper sulfate,
and sulfuric acid. The master revolves in the tank of the solution hooked to the negative side of the power supply, while
the positive is hooked to the copper anodes. After a few days, a copper shell is formed around the master record, and then
the end is trimmed on a lathe, until the line of separation is seen. The master mold is put in an ice box, where the master
shrinks, and then slowly brought up to make a few master molds, the master molds produce mothers, and then working molds.
The working molds were backed up with a brass split, jacket, with felt liner to hold the copper mold. The molds were pre
heated and put on top of long brass tubes, in the bottom holes were drilled, and a tank of harder metallic soap, with ingredients
added to make it harder than cut brown wax went above the lines of the holes, and. A plunger on a handle brought a charge
of wax, that overflowed into the top of the tube and the handle and plunger, and mold removed, and another put in its place.
Next the mold was put on a reaming machine that reamed the taper in the bore of the cylinder, and made annular ribs inside,
while still in the mold. Next the mold was put in cooling cages and the black, moulded record issued from the mold. The
record was put on hollow, tapered cores for a few hours, and pressed out with a hand press to keep the records from warping
and distorting. Later on an automatic moulding machine were used, that had a pre heated, round cubby hole heater, then automatically
charged the molds with wax (black, hard metallic soap), and starting spinning them at 3,000 rpm down a slanted 3 rubber roller
system. When the record reached the end it was cool enough to retain it's shape and then reamed and ribbed on a lathe like
before, and cooled and put on cores like before.
 An Edison Gold Moulded Record
circa 1905-1906. Photographed from the collections of The North American Phonograph Company.
In 1908 Edison increased
the playing time of the cylinders. From 1888-1902 the speed of the records varied so the record could fit the song,
anywhere from 90-144rpm. After 1902 the speed was standardized at 160rpm and 100 tpi. In 1908 Edison cylinders
changed from 100 grooves per inch to 200 grooves per inch. From 1908-1911 Edison wax Amberols were made, these
are a wax cylinder record. And these play with only sapphire stili, on the Edison Reproducers model H,L,N, N56, Model
M, K,O. In 1912 Edison invented the Blue Amberol, it is a 4 minute record but made of celluloid with a plaster core.
These will play on all of the above reproducers plus the Diamond A,B,C,D on the Edison Amberola cylinder phonographs.
Edison Blue Amberols were made from 1912-1929. Wax Amberols will not play with the Diamond A,B,C,D.
 This is an Edison "wax" (metallic
soap) Amberol, four minute, 200 lines per inch record made from 1908-1912. Photographed from the collections of The North
American Phonograph Company.
Above, an Edison wax Amberol record 1908-1912. Four Minute.
 1912-14 era Edison Blue Amberol
Celluloid four minute record. From 1914-1929 the end is rounded instead of flat. Photographed from the collections of The
North American Phonograph Company.
Edison Blue Amberol Records, were made of celluloid for
the record print, and plaster for backing the thick celluloid shell up. These were made by a steam heated mold, The mold was
sealed with lard. Twenty Five pounds of steam pressure were introduced to heat the celluloid and the mold, forcing the celluloid
to the print of the mold. One Hundred Pounds of compressed air was introduced to further push the celluloid into the grooves,
and to set the celluloid and cool it, and after a few minutes shrank away, hard and with the song inprinted into the celluloid
tube. The celluloid print of the record was put in a plaster filling device, and baked at a low temperature in
an oven, and when dry, ribs and taper made inside the record on a lathe. The titles were filled with zinc carbonate
paste, the records cleaned to remove dust from the finishing operations, then packaged in boxes. From 1912-1914 the
Blue Amberols were made from direct recorded masters, and after 1914, the masters for the Blue Amberols were dubbed acoustically
from Edison Diamond Disc records, and some titles in 1929, when production of music records ceased, the master cylinders
were electrically dubbed from Diamond Disc, and needle type records. A business form of the Blue Amberol for the Ediphone
was produced until 1960.
|
