IN A WORLD WITHOUT CASTINGS


Would Music Have Entered Everyone’s Home?


The bedplate usually was cast iron and painted black with gold accents. Tomas Edison invented


the phonograph in 1877. But it wasn’t until two decades later when it started to become a household item for millions of Americans. Te Edison Standard Phonograph was introduced in 1898 and sold for around $20 at the time. Sturdy and able to play music via cylinder records made of various wax formulas, the phonograph was embraced by middle-class households in the early 20th century. Te Edison Standard Pho-


nograph featured a number of castings, including its bed- plate, a number of components in the gear box and the rear arm that holds the horn. Fol- lowing technological advances and changes in consumer taste, the Edison Company stopped producing the horn phono- graphs in 1913.


The gears in the earliest models were cast bronze.


The arm that held the iconic horn was a simple but necessary casting. December 2014 MODERN CASTING | 15


Photos courtesy of the Antique Phonograph Society


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