Mechanical Music Extravaganza, Spring 1999
Page 3
One of the highlights of the show was what was perhaps the last open public showing of Aaron Cramer's 1879 Lambert lead-cylinder phonograph, containing the world's oldest known recording.
Behind the recorder, seen to the left, are the grooves of the recording. Although age has certainly taken its toll, a careful electronic reproduction of the recordinging revealed a recitation of the hours ("One O'Clock... Two O'clock... ", etc).
Mr. Cramer's research revealed that this was an early aborted attempt of Mr. Lambert and the Ansonia Clock company to create a "Talking Clock".
Viewed from the end, one can see the reproducer and opposed recorder.
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