Edison phonograph sound horn

This beautiful, handpainted Edison horn from the early 1900s would have been a classy addition to any Edwardian living room.

Horns were the forerunners of both microphones and speakers. They were used to capture and concentrate sound at the point of recording, creating vibrations that were etched into metal or wax. They also amplified the sounds when the recordings – initially distributed as wax cylinders and later flat discs – were replayed on a phonograph. 

The first phonograph was invented in 1877 by American Thomas Edison. A dazzlingly prolific inventor, Edison’s other triumphs include the electric light bulb.