The Phonograph is an early sound-reproducing machine that first used cylinders to record as well as reproduce sound. This anachronistic Edison model should not be mistaken for the Recording Devise.
History[]
The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison using a tin-foil cylinder in 1877. It was then developed by Alexander Graham Bell (who also foresaw the disc gramophone as a dominant medium) into a wax based cylinder in the mid 1880s. In the late 1880s Dr. Emile Berliner was working independently to develop a disc-based "gramophone" record using his own system. Both the cylinder and disc were developed in the early 1890s giving birth a recorded music industry.
Appearances & Mentions[]
The Glass Ceiling[]
- Dr. Julia Ogden has an anachronistic Edison ""Diamond Disc" " phonograph (which is a vertical cut record only available in 1912) in the City Morgue. While she working on the post-mortem of Percival Pollack, she listens to "Three Little Maids From School Are We".
Still Waters[]
- When Dr. Ogden is working on the post-mortem of Richard Hartley she listens to a recording of "After the Ball" on her phonograph.
Snakes and Ladders[]
- Ogden listens to "After the Ball" on her phonograph for the second time.
Murdoch in Toyland []
- Detective William Murdoch claims that in order to record a cylinder for the Edison Talking Dolls one would require electricity (which was yet another anachronism, see Error below).
A Merry Murdoch Christmas[]
Wild Child[]
The Devil Inside[]
- During the post-mortem of James Gillies, Ogden listens to "After the Ball" on her phonograph.
Shadows Are Falling[]
Murdoch and the Undetectable Man (mention)[]
Error[]
- All recordings were done acoustically, in which the recorded person would essentially yell into a recording horn in order to make a loud enough impression onto the medium's grooves. While telephones used a similar system, electrical recording was not developed until the mid 1920s. It can be speculated that the show's creators used this in order to avoid confusing the audience.
