Name/Title
Edison Phonograph – Prototype Based on the Class M - Version BEntry/Object ID
162Description
Likely American Graphophone Company / Edison’s Laboratory, ca. 1894
From the Charley Hummel Collection – discovered in Kearney, New Jersey
Historical Background
This rare machine was built from parts of the Edison Class M Phonograph but was modified in several decisive ways. The aim was apparently to create a lighter, more portable version of the very heavy Class M. While the original Class M (introduced in 1888) is regarded as the first commercially produced electric phonograph, these two surviving machines document experimental approaches from the early 1890s.
Only two examples are known:
Inventory No. 162 (formerly Charley Hummel Collection): fitted with an aluminum cast upper frame – a technical innovation that reduced weight.
Inventory No. 161 (formerly Howard Hazelcorn): built with the original Class M cast-iron upper frame.
Both machines are now preserved in the Edisonium Mariazell.
Technology and Features
Motor: smaller, lighter electric motor than the Class M, likely designed for higher voltage.
Reproducer & Upper Frame: in ED162, aluminum casting with gold lining – unique among all known Edison phonographs.
Carriage & Layout: largely based on the Class M but more compact and simplified.
Side Panels: removable wooden walls with glass windows, allowing a view of the motor and mechanism.
Accessories: surrounding rail with multiple connections for listening tubes, designed for demonstrations to several listeners.
Interior Finish: motor compartment lined with velvet – an unusually luxurious touch for an experimental model.
Pre-Series Character
Because of the high-quality cabinet construction, professional workmanship, and the fact that these machines were delivered with matching transport/storage cases, it is unlikely that they were mere laboratory prototypes. Instead, the evidence strongly suggests a small pre-series production, in which Edison or his partners practically tested a lighter alternative to the Class M.
Rarity and Significance
These machines represent a little-known development branch between the heavy Class M and later, lighter phonographs. Only two examples are known worldwide, both in the Edisonium.
The exhibited machine (Inventory No. 162) with its aluminum upper frame is the only known example of its kind and stands as a key prototype in the evolution of Edison’s phonographs.
