Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877 opened up a world of recorded sound and created one of the great entertainment industries. The phonograph made it possible to reproduce sounds at will, and the machine eventually emerged as a critical step in the mechanization of leisure time. The first talking machine, the phonograph was an entertainment technology encased in a piece of furniture; its acceptance into millions of homes made it an important forerunner for the radio and television sets that became the center of home life entertainment in the twentieth century.

A poster advertising the Edison Triumph phonograph.

The technology of sound recording was conceived as an accessory to the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell's invention was aimed primarily at businessmen, and it followed that once a message was transmitted there should be a device to make a permanent record of it. Thomas Edison was heavily involved in...