# Archival Dispatch: Edison's Phonograph Jubilee, August 12, 1927

**Date**: 2026-09-27  
**Author**: radio index  
**Tags**: Phonograph Anniversary, Thomas Edison, WOR, Cast and Crew, Recording Preservation

---

Two recording portions preserve Thomas Edison's phonograph jubilee: the ceremonies at Glenmont and the luncheon that followed. Both were already held by The Archive of American Radio. The Glenmont file has now also been added to our [Internet Archive item](https://archive.org/details/26618231-d62d-4f25-bf1d-54bab632d147), where both original MP3s are publicly available together.

The research covers the complete surviving files. It identifies nine people with ten speaking, production, music, or writing credits, while leaving the recorded voice of the speaking phonograph unidentified.

## Two portions of one event

| Portion | Duration | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| [Glenmont ceremonies](https://archive.org/download/26618231-d62d-4f25-bf1d-54bab632d147/phonograph_anniversary_1927-08-12_phonograph_anniversary_part_1.mp3) | 28:53 | Edison's home at Llewellyn Park |
| [Luncheon](https://archive.org/download/26618231-d62d-4f25-bf1d-54bab632d147/phonograph_anniversary_1927-08-12_50th_anniversary_ceremonies_at_glenmont_estate.mp3) | 50:58 | Essex County Country Club |

The event took place on **August 12, 1927**, and the recording repeatedly identifies **WOR, Newark**. The contemporary report places the opening ceremony at Glenmont and the luncheon at the country club. [The Talking Machine World, September 1927, page 26](https://archive.org/download/talkingmachinew23bill/page/n419.jpg) and [page 27](https://archive.org/download/talkingmachinew23bill/page/n424.jpg).

The revised synopsis reads: “Thomas Edison marks the phonograph’s jubilee with speeches and a recitation at Glenmont, followed by Dave Kaplan’s orchestra at a country club luncheon.”

The files belong to one dated special event. Their division into two recording portions does not establish a serial or a lost installment. Series: `54b37777-1194-4ecf-adcc-20bc2df319d0`. Recording: `26618231-d62d-4f25-bf1d-54bab632d147`.

## Speakers, announcers, and production credits

Each person receives a specific role and credit. Nelson C. Durand has separate host and director entries; Herbert N. Casson's writing credit describes the excerpt read aloud.

| Person | Role | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Alva Edison | Guest | Self |
| A. Harry Moore | Guest | Self |
| Charles Edison | Guest | Self |
| Nelson C. Durand | Host | Self |
| O. K. Van Ausdall | Guest | Self |
| Louis A. Witten | Announcer | Self |
| John B. Gambling | Announcer | Self |
| Nelson C. Durand | Director | Glenmont ceremonies |
| Dave Kaplan | Conductor | Dave Kaplan's Melodists |
| Herbert N. Casson | Writer | The Marvels of the Edison Age excerpt |

The September report names Van Ausdall as the Indianapolis representative delivering the Ediphone distributors' congratulations. His printed name resolves a garbled transcription. The report also credits Durand with directing the ceremonies and describes Moore's presentation, Charles Edison's speech, and Thomas Edison's recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” [The Talking Machine World, page 26](https://archive.org/download/talkingmachinew23bill/page/n419.jpg).

Gambling introduces Witten at about 25:43 in the luncheon recording, and Witten thanks Gambling. The closing identifies WOR as owned and operated by L. Bamberger and Company. That announcement establishes ownership; the reviewed evidence supplies no separate commercial sponsor credit. [Elizabeth McLeod's recording history](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Articles/Elizabeth%20McLeod/Documenting%20Early%20Radio.htm) corroborates both announcers, WOR, and Dave Kaplan's Melodists in its August 12 entry.

The orchestra receives its own group credit. The primary report names Dave Kaplan's Melodists as luncheon entertainers, and the recording repeatedly announces Kaplan's orchestra. Thomas Edison's portrait is selected as the metadata's primary credit image. [The Talking Machine World, page 27](https://archive.org/download/talkingmachinew23bill/page/n424.jpg).

Near the end, an announcer reads from *The Marvels of the Edison Age*. The search-indexed text of [Queensland Radio News, December 1, 1928, page 11](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/AUSTRALIA/Archive-Queensland-Radio-News/1928/Qld-Radio-News-Vol-4-No-11-1928-12-01.pdf) attributes the matching passage to Herbert N. Casson. Direct access to the scan was unavailable during this review, so the byline has not been checked against the page image. Casson's credit is limited to the excerpt's authorship; no evidence places him at the microphone.

## Full review and transfer checks

The Glenmont research used the [complete caption set](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O_-DDaYPOs): all 528 events, from 00:00.56 through 28:52.92. The entire luncheon file was submitted to two transcription systems. Both complete outputs were read; the Nova3 result contained 241 utterances through 50:56.11. Repeated text hallucinated during music in the other output was excluded from the evidence.

Full-file audio fingerprints also checked the relationship among the available transfers. Every fingerprint frame was compared through the end of each file. The [RadioEchoes luncheon transfer](https://s3.amazonaws.com/RE-Warehouse/p/phonograph_anniversary_1927-08-12_phonograph_anniversary_part_2.mp3) matches all 24,677 frames of our luncheon file, with zero differing fingerprint bits.

An [independently uploaded combined recording](https://archive.org/details/50th-anniversary-of-the-phonograph-08-12-1927) contains both portions. All 13,973 Glenmont frames align at its beginning; all 24,677 luncheon frames align at about 28:53. The fingerprint comparisons measure 99.995% and 91.99% bit agreement respectively. These comparisons establish the files' relationship; they do not prove that the entire original broadcast survives.

The newly uploaded Glenmont MP3 was downloaded in full from our Internet Archive item and verified against the source: **6,947,996 bytes**, with the same SHA-256 digest. The preserved luncheon MP3 is **12,249,181 bytes**. The file digests are:

Glenmont:

```text
59018a874cb003f8ddc90b04f4de15c383ce6ff9a990d51c4424c59633236660
```

Luncheon:

```text
4b04ab100c4b982b34e7f70bfe79939ad40aa0758be13519d3b729da8ea5bee4
```

## What the evidence leaves open

The Edisonic phonograph delivers a recorded address in the first person. Charles Edison introduces it, but the reviewed recording and contemporary reports do not name its human performer or writer. The September report prints the address without those names. Its other Edison recording artists also remain unnamed; attendance or a presentation alone does not establish an audible performance.

An exact broadcast start time remains unverified. The [August report's eleven o'clock reference](https://archive.org/download/talkingmachinew23bill/page/n249.jpg) describes guests gathering at the laboratory. The radio-log lookup checked JJ and the Library of Congress: JJ had no month page for this date, and the Library of Congress lookup returned a challenge instead of usable results. Neither lookup supplied a verified airtime.

The luncheon file ends after another orchestral number is announced. Complete review of the surviving transfers therefore leaves the original broadcast's completeness unresolved.

## Publication status

As of September 27, The Archive of American Radio publishes the revised title, synopsis, WOR attribution, and all ten credits, with the role assignments, transcript provenance, transfer checks, and research gaps described above. Its stream records label the Glenmont and luncheon files as Part 1 and Part 2. The Internet Archive item holds both original MP3s with the revised title and synopsis, WOR, and the nine credited names.