The Edison Class M Phonograph
The Class M was Edison’s first major improvement on the tinfoil phonograph of 1877. After a reported 72-hour marathon session ending on the morning of June 16, 1888, Edison was photographed with his “perfected” Class M phonograph. Edison liked this picture of himself as the “the Napoleon of Invention” so much that he had it copied as an oil painting which was displayed in his office for the rest of his life.
The Class M is quite a scarce machine. Made several years before the invention of a suitable spring-driven phonograph motor, the Class M is driven by a heavy electric motor with a crude Grenet wet-cell battery providing power at 2.5 volts, 2 amps. The governor, hidden under the bedplate in most phonographs, is prominently positioned on top of the machine, mounted vertically.
Class M phonographs were manufactured through 1890 for the North American Phonograph Company, which originally attempted to lease them as business machines for dictation. This proved to be a dismal failure, but the entertainment possibilities of the phonograph quickly caught the attention of the general public. After that firm’s bankruptcy in 1894 the Class M’s were made by the National Phonograph Company. Although the machine enjoyed a long production life (approximately 1889 to 1910), they were massive heavy machines primarily used in early office environments, and were not popular for home use. The batteries required constant maintenance and care, not something most people wanted to deal with after spring wound machines entered the scene. They were also quite expensive–$225 for a machine equipped with battery.