Dictaphone, circa 1908
Add to SetSummary
Dictaphones and Ediphones were sound recording devices used for efficient oral dictation in business settings. When Edison invented the phonograph, one proposed use was "dictation without the aid of stenographers." Its tinfoil playback medium lacked quality, however. Alexander Graham Bell's Graphophone (later, Dictaphone) improved the phonograph by using wax cylinders for superior playback; cylinders were also used in the competing Ediphone.
Dictaphones and Ediphones were sound recording devices used for efficient oral dictation in business settings. When Edison invented the phonograph, one proposed use was "dictation without the aid of stenographers." Its tinfoil playback medium lacked quality, however. Alexander Graham Bell's Graphophone (later, Dictaphone) improved the phonograph by using wax cylinders for superior playback; cylinders were also used in the competing Ediphone.
Artifact
Dictating machine
Date Made
circa 1908
Creators
Place of Creation
United States, New York, New York
Creator Notes
Manufactured by American Graphophone Company and distributed by Dictaphone Company of America
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
00.4.2111
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Wood (Plant Material)
Cast Iron
Nickel (Metal)
Leather
Textile
Dimensions
Height: 15 in
Width: 11.25 in
Length: 17 in
Inscriptions
plaque, front: Dictaphone Manufactured by American Graphophone Company Dictaphone Company of America New York label, front: Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Patent Office Manufactured by American Graphophone Co. New York label, rear: Patented June 10, 1890 . . . Dec. 31 1907