Siren #327: The Ventriloquist, $600







Siren #327: The Ventriloquist, $600
You can pick up this siren at our home or we can deliver her up to 1 hour away from Swarthmore, PA. No shipping.
Our Sawdust Sirens are old style acoustic amplifiers for your new phone's speaker. Simply put your phone in and have a listen.
When Thomas Edison started to demonstrate his phonograph invention in 1877, nobody thought a human voice could come from a machine; many thought there was a ventriloquist hiding somewhere creating this magical illusion. Edison would ask them to speak into the phonograph in whatever language they chose and then he would play back the recording to convince them that it wasn’t a trick. Edison himself was apparently surprised when his initial tin foil machine actually worked, and he reveled in the surprise others had in hearing it.
This Edison Standard phonograph horn was produced between 1908 and 1911 for the Model D phonograph. It is paired with a base made from an Ash tree. This particular horn is approximately 31” tall with a 19.5” bell with 10 concave panels. The whole piece is about 33” tall x 21 wide x 19.5 deep.
The base is finished with Betty’s Board Butter (beeswax and mineral oil). You may wish to re-oil your base occasionally. Each Siren is signed on the bottom of the base.
If your phone has stereo options you may want to play around with mono and stereo settings to see which you prefer. Please let us know if you have a plus sized phone.