University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Audio
Medical Education
Medical Training
Classification
Audio
Medical Education
Medical Training
Accession Number
1977.11.18 a-c
Description
Black celluloid phonograph cylinder in the original lidded blue cardboard container; lid and top edge of cylinder have the series number, title, and author's last name; holds four minutes of recorded information.
Black celluloid phonograph cylinder in the original lidded blue cardboard container; lid and top edge of cylinder have the series number, title, and author's last name; holds four minutes of recorded information.
Number Of Parts
3
Part Names
a - lid - Size: Depth 1.4 cm x Diam. 6.5 cm
b - container - Size: Length 11.0 cm x Diam. 6.0 cm
c - cylinder - Size: Length 10.0 cm x Diam. 5.6 cm
Provenance
Acquired from the Academy of Medicine; source: Percy Skuy, Toronto, Ont.
Manufacturer's dates for production of celluloid cylinders.
Material
ink: black
cardboard: light blue; beige; black
plastic: black
Inscriptions
Printed on outside of canister: "THE // U-S // Everlasting // RECORD"; "Greatest in volume, sweetest and purest in tone // Unbreakable and wears forever // THE // MEDICOPHONE POST- // GRADUATE CO. Sells this record upon the // express condition that it will // not be sold to any un- // authorized dealer, nor used // in making duplicates, and // that it shall not be sold or // offered for sale by any pur- // chaser thereof for less than // $1.00. Any breach of this // condition terminates the // licence to use and vend this record. // NOTICE: // This record will fit any // cylinder machine and can // be reproduced or played by // cylinder phonograph // that plays the ordinary four // minute musical record by // slowing down the speed of // machine to 80 revolutions // per minute."
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-R2-3
Condition Remarks
#2: Shows wear around edges; plastic bag around cylinder adhered in several areas and bulks out the container.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Internet
Reference Comments
On-line articles "Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project - U.S. Everlasting Cylinders"; "Phonograph Cylinder"
Research Facts
The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison; he patented it on 18 July 1877 as the first device for recording and playing sound; his first attempt was using telephone messages; his first test used waxed paper. Early cylinder machines of the late 1880s and 1890s were often sold with recording attachments. The ability to record as well as to play back sound was an advantage to cylinder phonographs over the competition from cheaper disc phonographs that began to be mass-marketed at the end of the 1890s, as the disc system machines could be used only to play back pre-recorded sound. Edison Records closed down in 1929, and Thomas Edison died in 1931. In 1906, the Indestructable Record Company began mass-marketing cylinder records made of celluloid, an early hard plastic that would not break if dropped and could be played thousands of times without wearing out. This hard, inflexible material could not be shaved and recorded over like wax cylinders, but had the advantage of being a nearly perfect record. The U.S. Phonograph Company of Cleveland, Ohio, produced both two- and four-minute cylinders under its own label, "U.S. Everlasting Records," and under the Lakeside label for Montgomery Ward department stores. Between 1908 and 1912, more than 1,000 titles were released in three series: popular, foreign language, and grand opera. Like Edison, Blue Amberols, and indestructible cylinders, Everlasting cylinders were made of celluloid, but their sound quality is superior to either of them. The Medicophone Post-Graduate Co., a part of U.S. Everlasting Records, produced a series of recordings to provide professional medical advice on a variety of diseases and topics for physicians. Cylinder is noted as series title # X-223. In 1968, the celluloid cylinders were professionally recorded on magnetic tape by the Syracuse University Libraries Re-recording Laboratory. The complete series is stored on a master and duplicate reels. This title is found on reels 1977.11.42 and .47.