FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-026

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 19, 2026) – This issue of Fun with Maps gives us the reason Thomas Edison invented, and patented, the phonograph.

PATENT US200521A

Inventor Thomas Edison patented the phonograph on February 19, 1878.  Its purpose was to: “record in permanent characters the human voice and other sounds, from which characters such sounds may be reproduced and rendered audible again at a future time.”

Edison was looking for a way to record messages from the telephone and make them available for multiple distribution.

The first thing Edison recorded was “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  His invention used two needles – one for recording and one for playing.

Edison’s device also used tin foil-covered wax cylinders which were not practical for mass production, but the real breakthrough came a few years later with the flat glass discs used by Emile Berliner. Replacing the glass with vinyl, today’s records can easily be mass produced and last for centuries.

This map of New Jersey is by Bradford from 1837.  Menlo Park, NJ is where Edison had his primary lab.  It is about 20 miles southwest of Manhattan. 

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.