Although Edison's invention of the tin foil machine in 1877 was greeted with great publicity, development languished for several years, with the phonograph being a only scientific curiosity, while Edison busied himself with greater endeavors such as the electrification of New York City. A few tin foil machines were used in exhibitions before a curious public, but the commercial potential of the phonograph was limited, as the strip of tinfoil could not be removed from the mandrel without damage, thereby eliminating the possibility of interchangeable records.
A number of entrepreneurs in the United States and on the Continent tried their hand at tin foil phonograph construction. Sigmund Bergmann, a manufacturer of electrical appliances in New York, probably sold the machine depicted below in 1878.
Lynn Bilton
Box 435
Randolph,OH 44265
330 325-7866
We buy, sell, and repair antique phonographs and music boxes.
Pick-up and delivery possible in many parts of the midwest, south, and northeast.
Mechanical music
for sale