A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography

The way Edison's talking machine brought the study of ethnic cultures into the modern era The invention of the cylinder phonograph at the end of the nineteenth century opened up a new world for cultural research. Indeed, Edison's talking machine became one of the basic tools of anthropology. It not only equipped researchers with the means of preserving folk songs but it also enabled them to investigate a wide spectrum of distinct vocal expressions in the emerging fields of anthropology and ...