Thomas Alva Edison Recording Project
The Thomas Alva Edison Recording Project was started in July of 1999 to mirror a similar project conducted by Thomas Alva Edison. Our recording program affords people from around the world the opportunity to hear the voice of yesterday's and today's leaders in the arts, politics, and entertainment.
We have made a practice of recording great individuals of the twentieth century on one of the instruments of Thomas Edison's genius, the phonograph. We make recordings on original Edison equipment, circa 1910, on original wax cylinders.
These recordings are then put into an archive and preserved as unique and precious documents of sound. The cylinders are transcribed onto the Internet so they may be shared with the worldwide community.
The aim of the project is threefold:- First, since Menlo Park in Edison, New Jersey, is the birthplace of recorded sound, we wished to make the world aware of the special connection this area has with the phonograph and recorded sound.
- Second, with the coming of the new millennium, a great deal of emphasis was placed on history and the people who made it. Our project helped Edison, New Jersey, to be designated as a Millennium Community by the White House Millennium Council.
- Third, the world is presented with these recordings, which represent some of the greatest and important individuals alive today.
Thomas Edison's dream was to record the great voices of his time with the phonograph. We honor Thomas Edison and our history by carrying on the dream of the inventor of the phonograph.