AtDTDA: (8) 229 Auxetophone

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

            Prior to the development of electrical amplification 
            in the 1920's, various mechanical methods of 
            increasing volume were tried. The Auxetophone 
            was the most effective, using air pressure to 
            enhance the vibrations of a specially-designed 
            reproducer valve. Although Edison had toyed with 
            this principle in the late 19th century, the 
            Auxetophone was invented by an Englishman in 
            1904. An electrically-powered blower inside the 
            cabinet forced air through the tubing along the 
            tonearm and through the special reproducer, 
            enormously increasing the volume. 
            Mechanically the machine is similar to a Victor 
            V, with three-spring motor. 

            Victor began marketing Auxetophones in 1906 
            ("the New Pneumatic Victor"), continuing to 1918. 
            Despite the long production run very few were 
            made and only 15 are known to survive in 
            collections and museums today (three others are 
            rumored to exist). One factor for this rarity was the 
            imposing price -- $500, which in 1906 was nearly 
            a year's salary for an average white collar worker. 
            That sum could have bought a dozen Victor III 
            talking machines or five super-luxury Victor VI 
            models! Another reason for the minimal sales 
            was simply that the machine was not suitable for 
            home use. The sound volume is extremely 
            loud -- astonishing for an acoustic phonograph -- 
            and would overwhelm an average home listener. 
            Although Auxetophone sales literature promoted 
            its use in "large residences," the market was 
            largely restricted to commercial applications 
            such as dance halls, theaters and restaurants, 
            which typically hired small bands to entertain 
            diners.

            Two styles of mahogany cabinets were produced, 
            of which this 'Queen Anne' model is the earliest 
            (and rarest, with only five survivors). After 1906 a 
            much more ornate 'Louis XVI' version was 
            introduced. Although catalog pictures show the 
            Auxetophone with a brass-belled metal horn, a 
            mahogany 'spear-tip' horn could be had as an 
            extra-cost option. The wood horn seen here is 
            original to this machine, which may well have 
            been used in the ballroom of a large private manor 
            home. This Auxetophone was originally exported to 
            Victor's affiliate in England, the Gramophone Co. Ltd., 
            later known as EMI. It was a part of EMI's legendary 
            phonograph collection for many decades, where it 
            remained untouched until the collection was 
            auctioned by Christies in 1980.

http://members.aol.com/antiquephono/auxeto.htm

The Auxetophone brings quite a few things in mind. First off, when are we right 
now? I'm looking at the Pixie Coleman Smith Tarot Deck of 1909, here's a 
super-loud Victrola that wasn't on the street till 1906, and last I saw, Lew was 
in or around 1900. Does anybody keep track of time 'round here? Or was Lew 
Time Travelled into a plot written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with a re-write 
by Phil Austin?

Second, there's a wonderful episode involving a super-high-tech phonograph of 
the era in Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain", a glorious machine of Edwardian 
precision and refinement.

But above all, I'm thinking of a device intending to capture some part of the 
soul, like those photographs tha Pynchon is so afraid of being captured of his 
lopsided grin. One can understand using a particularly loud machine to 
reproduce the sounds of a seance [making that explosion from some other 
dimension all the louder, I'm sure]. Still, the Auxetophone is a playback device, 
there's no mention of the make and model of the recording device, is there. . . 
  
. . . .somehow we thoughtof the Auxetophone as some sort of strange device, 
intended to reveal souls to us, note the unbelieveable persistance of Elvis, 
Sinatra, Yardbird, Lady Day, souls that continue to haunt us. . . .