Edison and the Rise of Innovation by Leonard DeGraaf

Edison and the Rise of Innovation by Leonard DeGraaf

Author:Leonard DeGraaf
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science, ebook
Publisher: Sterling Signature
Published: 2013-09-19T16:00:00+00:00


The experience of Roy Matton, a traveler for the Silverstone Talking Machine Co. in St. Louis, is typical. On October 15, 1910, Matton visited forty-one homes. He placed four phonographs on free trial, sold a Fireside machine left on a previous call, and sold no phonographs on the first call. The woman at the second stop “would not consider free trial as she claimed she was afraid the children would make her buy same.” At the next call, Matton reported, “The lady peeped out of the door then slammed it shut.” On his sixth stop, “a German lady” was “out of temper.”

Edison dealers were encouraged to stage showroom demonstrations or recitals for the public. Customers could attend Turn Table Comparisons, where they would compare the Diamond Disc phonograph with competing talking machines. To demonstrate the quality of Edison records, the company sponsored a series of Tone Tests, which featured comparisons between live Edison recording artists and their records played on Edison machines. The goal of the Tone Tests was to demonstrate that Edison records were so precise and realistic that they could not be distinguished from the live performance. Edison recording artist Marie Rappold held one of the first Tone Tests in April 1916 at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and hundreds of similar tests were conducted during the First World War.

"A Dream" Edison Diamond Disc recording, performed by Marie Rappold, November 19, 1917, in New York, NY



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