Brett Hurt - Sound without Wires

This is a free lecture but registration is required. Use the ticket link to register. If you like these kinds of events, please consider supporting the Museum's programming by making a donation.

In this lecture, we'll trace the remarkable story of how humanity first learned to capture and replay sound — from a Frenchman scratching waveforms into glass to the golden age of the 78 RPM record.

We'll begin with Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, the visionary (and forgotten) pioneer who attempted to record sound on glass in the 1850s — decades before anyone thought to play it back. From there, we move to Thomas Edison and his astonishing cylinder phonograph, then follow Emile Berliner as he revolutionized the industry with the flat disc and changed listening forever.

Along the way, we'll explore the full arc of early recorded sound: the transition from cylinder recordings to the gramophone disc, the rise of the Victrola, and the cultural moment when music first became something you could own and play at home.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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