The answering machine has been with us since the late 19th century, although it did not become popular until the 1980s. For a brief business history of the answering machine industry, click here, otherwise, continue reading to find out about early answering machine technology.

The History of the Telephone Answering Machine

In 1878, shortly after inventing his phonograph, Thomas Edison created a "top ten list" of uses of the phonograph. Number ten read:

"Connection with the telephone, so as take that instrument an auxiliary in the transmission of permanent and invaluable records, instead of being the recipient of momentary and fleeting communication"

 

In the mean time, the home phonograph industry went into decline. "Free" music was becoming available from radio broadcasts. Looking for a way to enhance their products, several record companies began experimenting with electronic equipment in the recording studio. They developed electromagnetic cutters to make records, and fed music to them using microphones and amplifiers like those in radio studios. The results were mixed. Certainly, these records sounded different. The acoustic process could create pleasant sounding records, but it could not capture the high-frequency or low-frequency sounds (the "bass" and "treble" sounds). The new "electrical recordings" could do that, but to some listeners it sounded harsh. Improved electrical recording technology designed by Western Electric became available a few years later, and eventually the only record companies still using acoustic recording were a few located in England.

The advent of electrical recording did not save the record industry--most of the small companies faded away, and both Columbia and Victor were absorbed by larger corporations. However, electrical recording thrived in the new corporate environment. Now, with connections to the emerging radio and motion picture industries, recording technology made rapid advances. These improvements would eventually find their way into consumer records.

As it turned out, the phonograph became an entertainment device in the 1890s, but telephone recording continued to intrigue inventors. The phonograph's major shortcoming for telephone recording stemmed from the fact that it was a purely mechanical machine, and could not be connected directly to the telephone (even though Edison had experimented with such direct telephone recording).