*[[1932 EMG Gramophone|1932: E.M.G. Mark Xb ('Export') Gramophone]]

Of the above the two items in this collection - the [[1932 EMG Gramophone|E.M.G Xb gramophone (from 1932)]] which is regarded in the world of phonograph cognoscenti as one of the biggest and best mechanical gramophones ever made, and a late demonstration [[1910 Wimshurst Machine|Wimshurst machine (1910)]] are but two examples from this avalanche of technical and social change. Here, it is sufficient to note that the revolution in technological development, and the social changes that occurred in parallel, are still shaping and being shaped by the realisation of their ever maturing capabilities across the entire planet.

It may seem a bit of a stretch, but if there is a connection between these two devices and the rest of collection calculant it is that they represent two sign posts to the context of extraordinary technical advances that were being forged over the late Modern period. In particular they are artifacts which form part of the tapestry of massive changes that took place in the few decades lying within a short period, (say) from the commencement of the American Civil War (1861) to the First World War (1939)

It may seem a bit of a stretch, but if there is a connection between these two devices and the rest of collection calculant it is that they represent two sign posts to the context of extraordinary technical advances that were being forged over the late Modern period. In particular they are artifacts which form part of the tapestry of massive changes that took place in the few decades lying within the short period from the commencement of the American Civil War (1861) to the First World War (1939)

It may seem a bit of a stretch, but if there is a connection between these two devices and the rest of collection calculant it is that they represent two sign posts to the context of extraordinary technical advances that were forged over the late Modern period. In particular they are artifacts which form part of the tapestry of massive changes that took place in the few decades lying within the short period from the commencement of the American Civil War (1861) to the First World War (1939)

Other devices were evolving in synchrony.  In 1857 Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville devised his "phonautograph",  the first mechanical device able to transcribe sound from a vibrating membrane to a trace on carbon paper.  That was in the same period that Thomas de Colmar brought the technical and commercial sides of mechanical calculating into a genuinely commercially realisable form.  And in 1880, James Wimshurst, developed a machine for generating high voltages by accumulating static charges - the basis for brilliant sparks across the air gap between two conducting balls.

A connection can still be found between these two devices and the rest of collection calculant. They can be seen as two sign posts to the context of extraordinary technical advances that were forged over the late Modern period.  Most notably they are pointers to the massive changes that took place in the few decades which (admittedly somewhat arbitrarily) can be seen as lying within the short period from the commencement of the American Civil War (1861) to the First World War (1939)

It was during this short period when first hand (or water or steam) powered mechanical devices, and then their nemesis in the application of electricity, would play their roles in a rapidly transforming social, political and economic landscape.  Calculators were moved forward from items of curiosity, possessed by some gentleman as a sign of their intellectual curiosity, to devices able to be applied effectively in industrial, commercial and even domestic settings.

Other devices were evolving in synchrony.  In 1957 Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville devised his "phonautograph",  the first mechanical device able to transcribe sound from a vibrating membrane to a trace on carbon paper.  That was in the same period that Thomas de Colmar brought the technical and commercial sides of mechanical calculating into a genuinely commercially realisable form.  And in 1880, James Wimshurst, developed a machine for generating high voltages by accumulating static charges - the basis for brilliant sparks across the air gap between two conducting balls.

Other devices were evolving in synchrony.  In 1957 Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville devised his "phonautograph",  the first mechanical device able to transcribe sound from a vibrating membrane to a trace on carbon paper.  That was in the same period that Thomas de Colmar was bringing the technical and commercial sides of mechanical calculating into a genuinely commercially realisable form.  And in 1880, James Wimshurst, developed a machine for generating high voltages by accumulating static charges - the basis for brilliant sparks across a gap between two conducting balls.

Soon, mechanical motion - whether to capture sound and reproduce it, or to capture charge and accumulate it - would lead to the development of electrical generators and motors. By 1925 their development would allow mechanical means of transcription of sound on and off 'records' to be replaced by electromagnetic methods.  In parallel, with increasing capability and decreasing cost of production, new social aspirations would spread across whole societies - from being able to reproduce the sound of an orchestra in your living room, to being able to perform arithmetic with the assistance of your own calculating machine.

A connection can still be found with the rest of collection calculant. For these two devices can be seen as sign posts to the direction of the extraordinary technical advances that have over the late Modern period, notably in the few decades from the short period from the commencement of the American Civil War (1861) to the First World War (1939)

It was during this short period when first hand (or water or steam) powered mechanical devices, and then their nemesis in the application of electricity, would play their roles in a rapidly transforming social, political and economic landscape.  Calculators moved forward from items of curiosity to be possessed by the gentleman as a sign of his intellectual curiosity, to devices able to be applied in industrial and commercial settings.

*[[1910: Wimshurst Machine]]

*[[1932: EMG Gramophone|1932 E.M.G. Mark Xb ('Export') Gramophone]]

*[[1910 Wimshurst Machine]]

*[[1932 EMG Gramophone|1932 E.M.G. Mark Xb ('Export') Gramophone]]

*[[1932 EMG Gramophone|E.M.G. Mark Xb ('Export') Gramophone]]

*[[1932 EMG Gramophone|E.M.G Model Xb ('Export') Gramophone]]