Cylinders had peaked in popularity during the year of 1905. But unfortunately for Edison after this period, Berliner discs and disc players, was most notably the Victrolas that began to take dominance of the music recording market! Columbia Records, a Thomas Edison competitor, had stopped marketing cylinders in 1912! The Thomas Edison Recording Company had been fully devoted to cylinder phonographs, but later became concerned with the flat discs' rising popularity! Thomas Alva Edison associates began developing their own disc player and recording discs in secret! Note: "Dr. Jonas Aylsworth became Thomas Edison's chief chemist"! In 1903 Dr. Aylsworth became a consultant for the Thomas Edison's phonograph and recording company! Dr. Aylsworth eventually, took charge of developing a plastic material for the discs for Thomas Edison record manufacturing company. 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! |
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