Cylinder of the Month

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Hear a turn-of-the-previous-century homemade recording presenting a Christmas gift of a new phonograph.

Christmas gift of a phonograph

Company Homemade
Cylinder # None
Category Talking
Title Christmas gift of a phonograph
Performed by Unknown
Circa 1899-1901
Announcement "Presentation speech."

This is a charming one-of-a-kind recording made by a father (possibly grandfather) for playback on Christmas day during the presentation to his children of the gift of a "graphophone".   The Graphophone was the Columbia Phonograph Company's name for their cylinder phonographs.

There are many interesting and remarkable facets to this recording, including the speaker's advice on how to use "this wonderful invention": It works best when warm; tap the horn if the sound grows faint.

To hear the Christmas gift of a phonograph  —

For help playing these sounds, click here.

— This cylinder is from the collection of The Library of Congress —