The Telephone, the Microphone & the Phonograph

A scientific publication written in the late 19th century. The book focuses on the invention, development, and scientific principles underpinning the telephone, microphone, and phonograph, detailing their histories, mechanisms, and various applications. Drawing on the recent and rapid advances of the electrical era, it explores both the technical and practical aspects of these groundbreaking communication devices. The opening of the work establishes a historical context for the telephone by tracing humanity’s desire to transmit sound over distances, from ancient times to the 19th century. It highlights early experiments, such as those involving string telephones, and credits significant figures like Robert Hooke, Charles Wheatstone, Charles Bourseul, Elisha Gray, and Alexander Graham Bell for their roles in evolving the concept and technology of electrical sound transmission. The text delineates the transition from simple acoustic to electric methods, outlines the main disputes over priority, and introduces the principal technologies leading up to the Bell telephone. The narrative then proceeds to explain a range of early telephone designs—including musical telephones and speaking telephones—while also providing detailed descriptions of their construction and operation.