Cylinders had peaked in popularity during the year of 1905. But unfortunately for Edison after this period, Berliner discs and disc players, most notably the Victrolas, began to take dominance of the market. Columbia Records, a Thomas Edison competitor, had stopped marketing cylinders in 1912. The Thomas Edison Company had been fully devoted to cylinder phonographs, but later became concerned with the flat discs' rising popularity. Edison associates began developing their own disc player and discs in secret. Dr. Jonas Aylsworth was Thomas Edison's chief chemist. Later after his departure in 1903 Dr. Aylsworth became a consultant for the Edison company, he took charge of developing a plastic material for the discs. The aim was to produce a superior sounding disc that would outperform the rivals' shellac records, that were prone to wear and warping. This new technique would be a complete divergence from the competitor's discs of the vertical-cut procedure that would be used for the grooves. In this approach, the stylus would move up and down in the groove, rather than from side to side or crossways. Ten-inch records would run for 5 minutes per side at approximately 80 rpm. Aylsworth moulded phenol and formaldehyde mixed with wood-flour and a solvent into a heat-resistant disc. Dr Jonas Aylsworth’s Formula: Wood flour 58%, Modified ethyl alcohol (ethanol) 26%, Phenol formaldehyde (Bakelite) 15%, Lampblack (the colouring) 1% The varnish, was given the name of " The Edison Condensite Varnish", made-up of Modified ethyl alcohol 55% Phenol formaldehyde (63% phenol +37% formaldehyde) 38% including a material known as Shino used to promote a glossy 7% Finish .......................... |
