The Rosson House - Heritage Square Foundation provides fun and educational school tour programs for
visiting students throughout Arizona.
One of the past program themes in our Education Center here at Historic Heritage Square was on entertainment during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We invite you, our visitors (both virtual and at the Rosson House Museum), to visit the following links (using various playback formats - Real Audio, QuickTime...) for fun historical moments in time through sight & sound.
Sound....
The cylinder records played on this early 1900 Edison phonograph (pictured above) contain only two minutes of recorded sound. You could purchase many types of music (classical, ballads, reels, marches, instrumentals...) and even vaudeville comedy acts. Edison Gold Moulded records sold for 35¢ each. The Edison phonographs themselves could be purchased for $10 and up in 1906.
To hear original cylinder recordings please click on the following links in red below:
From the web site of Tinfoil.com one can listen to the holiday classic Joy to the World from 1906, the snappy sounds of the 1897 Liberty Bell March or Take Me Out to the Ball Game from 1908. All of these records were produced by the Edison's National Phonograph Company. Can you identify different instruments played in recorded songs of long ago? If so, this site also has a nifty "Instrumentation Challenge" where you can give it a try!
If it wasn't for Thomas Edison where would we be in regards to the phonograph and motion pictures? His contributions in the field of invention are too numerous to mention here. For Edison History fans please visit the web pages of the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey where one can learn fascinating facts about Thomas Edison as well as listen to many early recordings including the great inventor himself
Sight ....
In the early years of film, the public liked movies that focused on railroads, firemen, and scenic panoramas from moving trains. "Chase" films soon became the next popular variety of movie along with those dealing with a longer and more detailed story line. A short film may last from just under 1 minute to only several. Today, many people considered a 1 hour film to be pretty short. A long film was considered 8 - 18 minutes in length. Compare this with today's long film of 2½ - 3 hours.
From the Library of Congress American Memory Web Site you can play actual early films on your computer! To do so, please click on the following link in blue below which will bring you to the American Memory Search page to view:
Early films such as the 1903 "Shooting the Chutes", showcasing a ride at an amusement park in Coney Island, N.Y. to "The Roller-skating Craze" filmed in 1907.
Make Your Own Optical Toy Flip Book! - Click Here! to try your hand at making your own optical toy Flip Book. See for yourself the basics of how visual film in the way of paper frames/drawings create the image of movement.
Old Films on DVD - Did you know that you can also purchase wonderful early films on DVD? Click Here! to check out Grapevine Video’s online catalog of available film titles from silent films to rare and classic “talkies”.
Don’t forget to check out the Popcorn History page & learn all about this fun entertaining historical treat! Click Here!
Stay tune for more "Early Entertainment Links". • Special thanks to Glenn Sage of Tinfoil.com, Karen Sloat-Olsen at the Edison National Historic Site, Jack Hardy of Grapevine Video and the Library of Congress American Memory web site for their invaluable links to the past.
