The history of the gramophone is closely connected with the invention of Thomas Edison — the phonograph, one of the first devices in history that enable people to record and reproduce sounds. Despite causing a huge sensation among the contemporaries, the scientist’s invention was still quite imperfect — for example, it was extremely difficult to listen to music because of the low quality of the sound. The invention of the gramophone was to solve that pressing issue.
The gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner, a scientist and designer who was also known for his aircraft models. His device had an advantage when compared to Edison’s phonograph: the sound transmitted by the machine was loud, clear and almost without any distortions. However, the gramophone working principle was the same: Berliner recorded the sound by the means of a needle, only unlike Edison, he used a round disc to do this. This technology was more durable (the foil used by Edison could be used only a small number of times) and made it easy to make copies of the disc.
The first gramophone record was made in 1888. It took Berliner almost ten years to find the perfect material for it. As a result, the inventor chose shellac — an organic resin, which he combined with other ingredients. In 1895, Berliner founded a company that produced gramophones and records for the public. And his brothers opened the company’s branch in Berlin (by the way, the German label ‘Deutsche Grammophon’ — the original name of the Berliners' company in Germany — still exists).
Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the gramophone became an object everyone wanted to buy. Moreover, the instrument looked quite picturesque: it had a large external horn that towered over the body with the turntable. The device became widespread in 1902, when a gramophone record was released with a recording of ten songs by the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. When starting the gramophone caution was needed to avoid breaking the spring — the most important and scarce part of the device. Usually, the sound level reached 80-100 decibels, which was quite a lot. The sound was a little hoarse and depended on the needle: over time, the needle became less sharp and the sound quality deteriorated.
The museum houses a gramophone made of wood and a cabinet for storing records. The model was created at the turn of the 20th century and was donated to the museum from the private collection of Nikolay Polyakov.
The gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner, a scientist and designer who was also known for his aircraft models. His device had an advantage when compared to Edison’s phonograph: the sound transmitted by the machine was loud, clear and almost without any distortions. However, the gramophone working principle was the same: Berliner recorded the sound by the means of a needle, only unlike Edison, he used a round disc to do this. This technology was more durable (the foil used by Edison could be used only a small number of times) and made it easy to make copies of the disc.
The first gramophone record was made in 1888. It took Berliner almost ten years to find the perfect material for it. As a result, the inventor chose shellac — an organic resin, which he combined with other ingredients. In 1895, Berliner founded a company that produced gramophones and records for the public. And his brothers opened the company’s branch in Berlin (by the way, the German label ‘Deutsche Grammophon’ — the original name of the Berliners' company in Germany — still exists).
Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the gramophone became an object everyone wanted to buy. Moreover, the instrument looked quite picturesque: it had a large external horn that towered over the body with the turntable. The device became widespread in 1902, when a gramophone record was released with a recording of ten songs by the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. When starting the gramophone caution was needed to avoid breaking the spring — the most important and scarce part of the device. Usually, the sound level reached 80-100 decibels, which was quite a lot. The sound was a little hoarse and depended on the needle: over time, the needle became less sharp and the sound quality deteriorated.
The museum houses a gramophone made of wood and a cabinet for storing records. The model was created at the turn of the 20th century and was donated to the museum from the private collection of Nikolay Polyakov.
