Around the World on the Phonograph (1888)

Apr 16, 2012



Thought to be the oldest surviving recording of Thomas Edison's voice, made in October 1888 he describes an imagined trip "around the world on the phonograph," by Cunard steamer from New York City to Liverpool, through Europe and Asia, noting specific ships, railroads, cities, and points of interest en route. In the following decades Edison's phonograph invention would itself spread "around the world".