The Phonogram, Vol. 1:3 (1891-03)

0>*F. YEAR. - • - SINGLE NUMBERS. A MAGAZINE devoted to all interests connected with the re- cording o! sound, the reproduction and preservation of speech, the Telephone, the Type writer, and t he propress of Electricity. PUBLISHED MONTHLY. TERMS: * - - . .. $x.oo Pos tage /'ref>n i,i. V. H. McRAE, Manager, Pulitzer Building, Roo m 137. NEW YORK. . ‘ • ADVERTISEMENTS. TllE PHONOGRAM, having special facilities in its circulation through the vast commercial system occupied by the Phono, graph,^ Telephone, and other Electrical Devices, presents an exceptionally valuabl^advcrtising medium. The rates are rea- sonable and will be furnished on application. CORRESPONDENCE relating to the Phonograph. Typewriter, or Electricity, in any or theif practical applications, is cordially invited, and the cooper- ation* of all electrical thinkers and workers earnestly desired. Clear, concise, well-written articles arc especially welcome: and communications, views, news items, local newspaper clipping'. • of .I'trvNnfcrmation likely to interest electricians, will be thank- fully received and cheerfully acknowledged. The Phonograph—King of Library and Counting- . Room. . Fkom the vigilant and practical West there comes to us the following query, propounded by one who-is not only interested in the phonograph but anxious to see it made the most useful of man's servants. He asks. “Is the absence of Reserved popularity in the phonograph due to it- selT? the management, or the public?*' I he best -answer is to be found in comparing the phonograph with what, in the language of the turf, may be called its “ running mate,” the type- writer. The latter is no more a factor in business economy than the former. Yet at one bound it - leaped into the good graces of the public, while the phonograph still stands waiting to be sum- moned to even a higher mission, and to perform functions that make it an infinitely superior me- dium for the communication of human thought. One merely preserves the signs of written lan- guage for the’eve; the other crystallizes the sounds of that language, its accents, tones and modulations, and so preserves the very essence of speech. To carry tlie simile still further, one is the race-winner; the other only a helper, while both speed around the track. There being no inherent defect in the phono- graph. its lack of general use is due to other con- ditions for which, in the main, its business pro- moters arc responsible. Let us again speak com- paratively. The typewriter, even in its rude state, was a revelation. Wherever commerce, art, science or literature nourished, there it found an open field awaiting it. The merchant and lawyer encour- aged it. additional salary rewarded the expert, and private and public instruction were quickly in- voked to obtain the training necessary for its use. The wedge having entered, the manufacturers of the typewriter promptly placed it upon the market as a commodity and a bread-winner. In- stead of exhibiting it as a toy. they wisely empha- sized its utility for work. Its destiny was at once fulfilled. The typewriter has therefore taken its place among the essentials of business life. And yet. its relationship is purely subjective. It oc- cupies the position that belongs to the phono- nograph. It economizes only a fraction of the time which, in this quick moving age of ours, is of such inestimable value to all men of affairs. When the phonograph was introduced to the public its first exhibition was upon a public plat- form. Its first impressions were made in con- nection with mere amusement, and, unfortunately for its prosperity in the sphere to which it is best adapted and for which it was originally intended, those impressions still remain. That great com- panies have been formed and in this respect have *