When the Phonograph Met Moving Pictures

In the 1890s, many new technologies were being developed at the same time, and it’s no surprise that many of these fledgling fields would occasionally intersect. In the mid-late 1890s, several phonograph workers decided to experiment in the field of film, which had only just arrived to the United States a few years before. Many of these recording artists turned film enthusiasts didn’t pursue film, but provided some level of promise for others to join the field by the time silent films reached their zenith in popularity. An unexpected through line can be found from the earliest studio accompanists and those famous silent film accompanists in the 1910s and ’20s. In the late 1890s in New York, film enthusiasts started popping up everywhere, as this was about the time Edison had just started experimenting with the medium. Much like phonographs were at this time, they were still very expensive, so very few could afford this hobby. A great source to track the growth of the phonograph and film businesses simultaneously is The Phonoscope. From their earliest issue in November 1896, they were writing detailed articles about new devices being exhibited at the time. In this issue there are several pages dedicated to new devices that project moving pictures, of which they specificall