Edison Records
Thomas A. Edison invented the phonograph, the first device for recording and playing back sound, in 1877. After patenting the invention and benefiting from the publicity and acclaim it received, Edison and his laboratory turned their attention to the commercial development of electric lighting, playing no further role in the development of the phonograph for nearly a decade. Edison's original phonograph recorded on sheets of tinfoil and was little more than a crude curiosity, although one that fascinated much of the public. These earliest phonographs were sold mainly to entrepreneurs who made a living out of traveling around the country giving "educational" lectures in hired halls or otherwise demonstrating the device to audiences for a fee. The tinfoil phonograph was not fit for any real practical use and public interest soon waned.
Adelbert Theodor Wangemann
Wangemann began working as an assistant to Thomas Edison at his laboratory in 1888, experimenting to find the best ways of recording music and voice. He has been called the world's first professional recording engineer. Recordings were made individually on wax cylinders, with no means of duplicating them. By December 1888, Wangemann had tried recording several originals at once, but this was insufficient to meet the request for the recordings, which were not yet being sold. Wangemann accompanied some performers on piano, ending with a brief seven-note "trademark" improvisation that annoyed some who heard these recordings. In March and April 1889, he recorded a number of musicians, including Hans von Bülow and John Knowles Paine.