Although the tinfoil phonograph attracted a great deal of attention when it was first shown to the public at the end of 1877, very few related materials have survived. Paper items such as trade cards and handbills offer unique insight into the marketing the phonograph in its infancy, however, these "ephemeral" items were never intended to last and are very hard to find today.

This early advertisement and article both appeared in the June 4, 1878 issue of the Cincinnati Daily Gazette. It is particularly interesting since it refers to Ezra T. Gilliland, who was a friend of Edison from his telegraph days of the early 1870s. Edison and Gilliland went on to become best friends, referring to themselves as "Damon & Pythias" and building summer homes side-by-side in Fort Myers, Florida. Gilliland even introduced Edison to Mina Miller, who would soon become his second wife. Gilliland presented tinfoil phonograph exhibitions throughout the midwest in the summer of 1878. During the 1880s he worked closely with Edison, especially developing the "improved" phonograph of 1888. However when Gilliland cut a secret deal to profit from the phonograph behind Edison's back the friendship came to an abrupt end. Edison never spoke to Gilliland again for the rest of his life.

This photograph, scanned from a 3-D stereoview card, was taken on June 5, 1878 in my old home town of Springfield, Massachusetts. On the building in the center of the block is a large sign announcing a tinfoil phonograph exhibition. As seen in the closeup on the right, the sign reads "EDISON'S PHONOGRAPH - Talks, Laughs, Sings &c. - ON EXHIBITION - 10, 12, 2, 4, 8, 10 - ADMISSION 25c." The local newspaper for June 6th carried a notice about the exhibition, which was held on the second floor of the building.

This "carte de visite"-sized photograph was taken on August 21, 1878, by Edison's nephew Charles Pitt Edison, the official laboratory photographer at the time. It shows a large phonograph made for Edison by Alex Pool of Newark, NJ. Ten prototypes were made but none are known to survive -- all that remains of that interesting machine are a few surviving pictures. The back of the photo carries a rubber-stamped notation that it is from Edison's Menlo Park laboratory and is signed and dated by Charlie.

"The Song of Mister Phonograph" was commissioned by the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company and published in sheet music form in mid-1878. The flyer seen on the right was a promotional advertisement directed at phonograph exhibitors, encouraging them to use the song for demonstrations of the tinfoil phonograph, and to sell the sheet music to members of the audience for 25 cents. "This is a good song and quite effective."

This 8-1/2" by 11" handbill was distributed by an Ohio mail-order company in February 1879. Printed on extremely thin colored paper, it was designed to be pasted to walls, fences, or telegraph poles. This is the oldest surviving advertisement for a phonograph offered for private sale to the general public, rather than promoting an exhibition. The engraving shows Edison with the early "Brady" model tinfoil as photographed at the studios of Matthew Brady in April, 1878, however the phonograph being advertised was actually the much smaller "Parlor Model."(In the text it is admitted that the phonograph is "imperfectly represented in the engraving.") Customers were encouraged to buy a phonograph in order to "derive a nice income in the exhibition of the phonograph in his own and adjoining towns."

This souvenir plate was made in France circa 1878 as part of a series of twelve, all featuring satirical images of "War of the Future." The drawing shows a terrified man operating a "Brady" style exhibition phonograph as a battle rages behind him and a shell hits the table on which the phonograph sits. The legend reads "During the action, the manufacturers of the EDISON company will be able to record the sounds of combat." (To express the brand-new concept of recording, for which no word yet existed, the original French used the invented word "phonographier," which could be translated as "phonographify" or "phonographicate".) This novelty plate illustrates just how much the phonograph had captured public imagination in 1878.