Phonoland

Amazing news here:
NY times

A recording made by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville 17 years before Edison

Listen here to the 1860 recording of "Au clair de la lune": :arrow:

Thanks for posting this! A friend told me about it this morning, but I didn't have a chance to check it out until now. I did a google news search for phonoautograph, as well as phonautograph (alternate spelling), and noticed that a number of news sources have picked this up.

It's fascinating to think about the possibilities; that these images of the recordings can finally be played. I remember people talking about this as far back as 30 years ago. At that time, they thought it might be possible to photograph the sheets and then photoengrave the sound waves for some type of electrical or mechanical playback.

There was (and still is) a great deal of speculation about who was recorded; noteably, whether the voice of Abraham Lincoln was captured by the phonoautograph.

I hope we will see a special web site devoted to this, at some point, with many more recordings posted.

The historical importance of this project is yet to be determined. It's truly mind blowing to learn of these recordings and to be able to hear them. The rumor of a Lincoln recording has never been proven and if it did happen it would still have to be located. It's highly unlikely but fascinating to ponder how wonderful that would be.

Gents,

It truly is a historic moment for all us acoustic audiophiles. The clip sends chills up my spine every time I hear it.

Regards,
J.