The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

Vol. I. I\ro. 4 THE PHONOSCOPE 13 letters This column is open to any of our patrons who have a complaint to make, a grievance to ventilate, information to give, or a subject of general interest to discuss appertaining to Sound Producing Machines, Picture Projecting Devices, Slot Machines, Amusement Inventions or Scientific Novelties in general. Phonoscope Publishing Co. Gentlemen — I am in receipt of your sample copy as per my request and send you enclosed $1 bill in payment of one year's subscription beginning with t he first number. I am pleased to see one phonograph journal that is not issued in the interest of one concern, but which has for its object the news for the entire trade. While my main business is the selling of typewriters, I sell a good many graphophones for commercial use in connection with the machines and also a good mapy of the cheaper talking machines for musical purposes, and a large number of records. I have a great deal of trouble getting uniform g od, loud originals, as I find a tendency even on the part of the best and most reputable concerus,to work off all the poor and duplicate records they can wilh each order as originals. Very truly yours, M. E. B. The PnoNoscorE Publishing Co. : Gents — I wish to ask you a question : Do you know anything about the dealings of of your city advertised in The Phonoscope ? The reason I ask this question is because someone gave me a co; y of your paper in which the firm mentioned was advertised, and about the latter part of February I sent them an order enclosing N. Y. Draft, and I received a card from them acknowledging the receipt of my order and stating that the records woidd go forward that clay (which was March 1). I doubt the honesty of , and if they keep my money and don't send the records I shall always consider it a most dastardly robbery, and the reason I report it to you is to keep them from robbing others. I have always been interested in the phonograph business and have often had duplicates sent, but. never been robbed to a finish before. Yours respectfully, T. O'S. Gentlemen — I read your issue of The Phonoscope and am very much pleased with it. I like to keep posted in regard to new music and the phonograph business, in which I And you are up to date. Enclosed you will find my subscription Respectfully yours, E. R., Dayton, O. ®ur Correspondents IIaktfohd, Conn. — Another of the inventions for throwing moving pictures upon the screen has reached us. It, is called the centographe and it makes the same claim upon popularity that do the cincmatographe and the biograph, all of which have been seen here recently. All of these machines are wonderful in the effects produced, showing objects in life like and natural motion. The new machine has arrived here so suddenly that the public was not prepared for its coming, and consequently the audiences lo see it were small. But they will surely lie larger when people learn what may be seen at these exhibitions. They are worth going far to see. The audience was so small last night that only three pictures were shown, simply to give an idea of what the centographe is capable of doing, and those present were then given the option of receiving their money back or taking tickets for a future performance. All took tickets, saying they wanted to see all the pictures. This decision on their part shows how much the pictures were appreciated. Courant. J=1RaE litems The X=Ray in Law The X-ray is becoming of more account than its discoverer knew. It recently, appeared as a witness in a suit in New York for $20,000 damages for malpractice, and the facts as they were Heveloped on the trial fully justified the sufferer in-making his appeal in court. A young man was shct in the hand and a physician pretended to remove the bullet. Indeed, he procured a bullet and carried it around to prove that he had performed a successful operation. As the old wound continued troublesome the sufferer went to another physician who said that he would put the hand under the Crookes tube and see what was the matter. To this the older surgeon objected, declaring that the X-ray was a humbug, that no reputable physician used it, and that sort of thing; and he nearly persuaded the patient to refuse to lend his hand to the experiment. But the younger physician turned on the light and the shadowgraph was made, showing the bullet just whereit had lodged, in a joint of the thumb. The older physician was a quack. A second operation was performed and this time the bullet was removed. The same young physician has secured other pictures showing outrageous malpractice on the part of " natural bone setters" and other such people. If tests like this could be made in every community it is very probable that certain men who are practicing without proper warrant of any competent medical college would leave the delicate branch of surgery alone, however much they might continue to dose their victims with patent medicines and mysterious decoctions of which the best that can be said is that while they never cure they do not always kill. Hope for Bald Heads Discoveries in connection with the X-ray are hustling right along. First came the X-ray itself. Then the experimenters with it found that it was injurious to the hair after persistent exposure. Now it is discovered that a moderate exposure stimulates the growth of the hair, while the heads that were made bald are being covered with a thicker growth of new hair. So it "appears there is hope, after all, for the incorrigible bald head. H. D. Hawks, of Tarrvtown, says that hair began to grow in his case in about nine weeksTrom the time it fell out, and that it came in thicker than it was before. He thinks that working around the X-ray tubes encourages the growth of hair if the action is not prolonged too much, and this beneficial result he says may be due to the presence of electricity under high tension, referring to the similar effect of static electricity. The action of the ray upon the skin takes longer to dissipate, but gradually the effect disappears. Mr. Hawks ventures the hope that the use of the X-ra3^ may be valuable in some skin diseases. He Could See Light The X-ray has given a glimmer of light to eyes that had been sightless for ten years. Mr. F. Martin, who, by submitting to experiments as a substitute for Charles Broadway Rouss, has become known as "Mr. Rouss's man." Martin first presented himself to Mr. Rouss eight months ago. He was formerly a druggist, but in 1887 was stricken with atrophy of the optic nerves and became totally blind. Famous occulists treated him from time to time but all agreed that his case was hopeless, that he would never see the light again. Hearing that Mr. Rouss was to submit to a hundred volts of electricity in the hope he might restore his sight, Martin called on the merchant last April with this proposition: "If the shock kills me it would kill you ; if it cures me it will cure you. Let me submit to the experiment in your stead." . Mr. Rouss assured the volunteer that he had no intention of undertaking any such perilous risk, nor would he consent to anyboly undergoing it for him, but he was of a mind to try another expedieut which had been suggested to him and here let Martin take his place. Martin has since submitted to a succession of tests, perhaps a hundred. Two attendants led him to the office of Dr. David R. Edsou. The fluroscope was placed at his eyes and the X-ray turned on. There was an instant's vicious sniping of the current, then absolute stillness, as all in the room strained to watch the face of the man in front of the electric glare. At length Dr. Edson asked : " Do you see anything? " "No," answered Martin. His lips scarcely framed the reply when there rang from him : "I can see — I can see light," and the joy in the tone moved all who heard it. Dr. Edson at once turned off the ray. Martin was deeply moved at the gleam which had penetrated his long darkness and he was led to a seat to compose himself before the experiment was continued. Dr. Edson questioned him about the effect of the ray, but the blind man only repeated that he had seen light. Again the fluroscope was placed at his eyes. This time he received the impression of light more quickly and when he had revelled in it for a minute, the sphere of metal was passed in front of the fluroscope. Martin detected the movement instantly. "It is a shadow," he said, " it is like the sun going behind a cloud." Hnswers to Corresponbence All questions pertaining to Talking Machines, PictureProjecting Inventions, Automatic Coin-in-SIot devices, Amusement Inventions, etc., will be cheerfully and fully answjred in this column. Inquiries for this department should be addressed, Information Department, The Phonoscope, 4 East Fourteenth Street, New York, U. S. A. J* & J. B. Berlin — The word Phonograph is derived from two Greek words : Grapho, I write, and Phone, a sound. It signifies a machine which writes down sound for future reproduction. The word Graphophone is derived from the same Greek words as the word Phonograph and signifii s a machine in which sound ''s recorded and reproduced. The word Gramophone is derived from the Greek words Gramma, writing, and Phone, a sound, and signifies literally a machine which produces sound from writing. Its composition seems to indicate that the machine which it defines is not intended to record sound, but simply to reproduce sound from writing. Vitascope is a hybrid word, being composed of the Latin word Vita, life, and the Greek word scopein, to see. It signifies seeing life .and denotes a machine used to reproduce pictures full of action and life. The word Phonoscope is derived from two Greek words : Phone, a sound, and Scopeo, I see, I observe, I watch. It thus combines the ideas of watchfulness, observation and hearing, and as we intend to be watchful and obsesvant in all that pertains to scientific and amusement novelties in general, and to the mechanical reproduction of sound and sight in particular, we have adopted the word PHONOSCOPE as an admirable title to this monthly journal.