Wax cylinders were the first form of audio that was produced in a way where people could listen to commercial music and record themselves. These cylinders were called Edison phonographs.
These cylinders have been a mystery for generations due to their fragileness and tendency to deteriorate after a few dozen uses.
In 2016, Jessica Wood, the assistant curator for music and recorded sound at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, found a box of unlabeled cylinders on a storage shelf. Inside the box were the words “Gift of Mary Dana to the New York Library in 1935.”
Original post by Jennifer Vanasco/NPR 7-minute Listen
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