Articles by Allen Koenigsberg

"Persistence, if nothing else..."

Before the Polyphone: Behind the Scenes in Olde Chicago, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2014 - Originally titled: Before the Polyphone: Phonograph Action in Olde Chicago

Also, see World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Phonograph by Doug Boilesen, 2021, for details about the phonograph at the fair and the "Souvenir - The Welcome to the Edison Phonograph.

A Bird's-Eye View of Indestructible Cylinders, Allen Koenigsberg 2013, The Antique Phonograph - Originally titled: “Indestructible Cylinders: A Bird's-Eye View"

Also see Indestructible Cylinder Record Index, Duane Deakins, 1960

Both Sides Then: The Strange Origin of Two-sided Disc Records, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2010

Also, see Records, Albums and Playlists by Doug Boilesen, 2023

The Centenarian and the President: Wax Recordings from 1890? Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2006 - Originally titled: “The Centenarian and the President: Two Lost Artifacts of Sound

The Devil in the Details: Random Bits of Paper..., Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, September 2011 - Originally titled: The Devil is in the Details: Random Bits of Paper, Wood, and Bronze

The Echophone of Enoch J. Rector, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, June 2010 - Originally titled “A High Class Talking Machine” Rector’s Echophone (1904-1908)

Edison and Madame Helena Blavatsky: Theosophy Redux, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2014 - Originally titled: Edison and Madame Helena Blavatsky: Tracking Down Tinfoil #158

Edison Goes "National" (1896-97): His Records 'Echo All Over the World, 'Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2011 - Originally titled: “They Echoed All Over the World” ...But When Did the First ‘National Phonograph’ Cylinders Appear?

Edison in Hollywood: the Belated Infancy of the Phonograph, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2016 - Originally titled: Edison in Hollywood Or... “Of What Use is a [Pinched] Baby?”

Also, see Phonographs in the Movies by Doug Boilesen, 2006* for a list of movies with at least one phonograph in its story.

Edison's Brain: The First X-Rays & the Phonograph, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, September 2012 - Originally titled: Edison’s Brain: An inside look at early recorded sound and the discovery of X-rays

The Euphonic Talking Machine: Fact or Fiction, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, December 2023

The First "Hello!" Thomas Edison, the Phonograph and the Telephone, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph Monthly, October 1987.

Also, see Hello, Ahoy and Edison (a Phonographia Factola, 2020) by Doug Boilesen. "Hello" Telephone postcards, "Hello" Telephone sheet music, and an extract from the New York Times March 5,1992 by William Grimes titled "The Great 'Hello' Mystery is Solved" based on Koenigsberg's discovery.

The First Phonograph Magazine: Distaff Editor Virginia McRae (1891-1893), Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, September 2010 - Originally titled: Behind the Scenes:The First Phonograph Magazine (1891-1893)

The First Unbreakable Records, 1900-1905, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, September 2021 - The Many Colors of Thomas B Lambert - An Updated History of the First American Celluloid Cylinders

Frank Lambert's Unique "Time" Machine: A Talking Clock in 1878? Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph Monthly, Issue No. 87, 1992

Also, see Talking Clocks and the Phonograph by Doug Boilesen, 2017 Exhibit at the Westminster Public Library.

Hoax or History? The 'Gramophone Cylinder' of Walt Whitman, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2016 - Originally titled: The “Gramophone Cylinder”of Walt Whitman - Hoax or History?

Imagined Madness and the Phonograph: Drama vs History, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, December 2016 - The Ravings of John McCullough ...and An Unsolved Mystery

"Inventive Genius": The Only Known Laterally-Recorded Cylinder, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, June 2006 - Originally titled: “The Edison Wax Records are a Thing of the Past” J.W. Van Meter’s Lateral-Cut Cylinder

"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night..." The Forgotten Story of Four-and-a-Half Edison Busts, 1878 - 1910. Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2023

Also, see Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, May 9, 1891 illustration of Edison Bust in the Library of Edison's Lab, perhaps made by Rupert Schmid.

Look for the Red Hand, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, December 2012

The Mother of All Talking Machines, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, March 2006

Memory, Jules Verne, and the First Phonograph: Literature vs Reality, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, September 2022 - Hardy will be my man

Also, see The Tribulations of a Chinaman by Jules Verne - A PhonoLiterature library selection by Doug Boilesen, 2020

Music Codes in 1890s Telegrams: Culture vs Technology, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2012

Also, see Cable Addresses and the Phonograph by Doug Boilesen, 2021

Nipper's Arrival in the New World, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2022

Also, see NipperArt by Doug Boilesen, 2007*

"Once Again, Rigid": The First Sound Recordings of American Physical Culture, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, March 2007 - Originally titled: “It is My Voice You Hear!” The Forgotten Cylinders of Strongman Leonide Keating

Also, see Keeping Fit with the Phonograph - "Exercising to Music" by Doug Boilesen, 2022

"Open Sesame!" The Long-ago Voice Lock of Charpiot & Keen, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, September 2006

Origins of the "Puck" (Trivet) Phonograph, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2009 - Originally titled: “Sold at a Price So Low...”The ‘Lyrophone that Never Was!

"The Patent History of the Phonograph, 1877-1912" by Allen Koenigsberg, APM Press, 1991. 2,118 patents and 1,013 inventors are identified who helped create the talking machine industry. Illustrated by 101 Original Patent Drawings with Detailed Commentaries on Each : Additional Historical Essays on the U.S. Patent System.

The Phonograph and the Panama Canal: A Working Model at the 1915 World's Fair, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2007 - Originally titled: “Step Right Up!” Edison’s Blue Amberol Tour of the Panama Canal

Also, see PPIE and the Phonograph by Doug Boilesen, 2023

Phonographic Artifacts and their Curious Role in History, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, September 2013 - Originally titled: Now You See It…Some Tales of Early Phonograph Advertising

Phonographic Automata: The Electrical Diablerie of W. J. Hammer, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2017 - Originally titled: Phonographic Automata (1878 - 1891) The Lost ‘Electrical Dinners’ of W. J. Hammer

Q & A in the 'New Phonogram,' 1904-1912, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2015 - Originally titled: “Is She Stout?” …and Other Vital Information from the New Phonogram, 1904 - 1912

The Record That (Almost) Never Was! Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2022 - The Record (That Almost) Never Was - Berliner Gramophone Disc No 5013

"Rest 10 Seconds Between Speeches:" 1893's Uncle Sam Revisited, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, March 2023 - Originally titled: So Long at the Fair: A Lost Chapter in Phonograph History. The Mechanical Speech of 'Uncle Sam,' The Sound Box, 2004

Also, see Uncle Sam and the World's Columbian Exposition by Doug Boilesen, 2022

Tuning Forks and Wax: The Forgotten Chronograph of Thomas Young (1773-1829), Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2008

The Two-directional record: Lost in the marketplace, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, June 2005

An Unknown Political Recording of Theodore Roosevelt, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, December 2014 - Originally titled: ... and Hit the Line Hard!” Investigating Teddy Roosevelt’s ‘Lost’ Cylinder

Also, see William Jennings Bryan and the Phonograph by Doug Boilesen, 2022

Up in the Sky: Aerial Advertising & the Victor Talking Machine Co., Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, March 2008 - Originally titled: "Look There - Up in the Sky!” The Saga of Nipper’s Lost Balloon

The U.S. Patent Office and Their 'Insane' Inventors: A Lost Chapter, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, March 2009 - Originally titled: “Play It Again, Elam!”The Insane Inventions of Melvin Elam Gilbert

'The Wizard of Menlo Park' -- Origins of a Sobriquet, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, June 2007 - Originally titled: How Edison Got His Name: Origins of the Wizard. Note: The original reference in this article to Edmé Hardy was corrected by Mr. Koenigsberg with the help of Rob Gilmore, a Canadian genealogist, and it was established that Hardy's original birth name (never changed) was simply “Edouard Hardy.” See Ibid. Memory, Jules Verne, and the First Phonograph: Literature vs Reality, p. 26.

Also see An Age of Wonders, Wizardry, Magic and Aladdin's Lamp by Doug Boilesen, 2021

"Who Was Mr. Thomas?"... and other historic puzzles, Allen Koenigsberg, The Sound Box, December 2009 - Originally titled: So Who Was “Mr. Thomas”? And Other Phonographic Curiosities.

A Zonophone By Any Other Name, Allen Koenigsberg, The Antique Phonograph, June 2015 - Originally titled: “The King of all Talking Machines” - An Unknown Model C Zonophone

A special thanks to Allen Koenigsberg for these referenced articles, for his decades of phonograph sleuthing, answering of questions and his "comments are always welcome."