The Telharmonium: Art of and apparatus for generating and distributing music electronically

Abstract

The Telharmonium was a musical instrument created in the late 19th century, of great technical complexity and size, to the point it came to occupy a three-story building in New York City. Telephone cables were used to stream music for homes, restaurants, clubs and other places through a subscription service. The instrument, fruit of the labor of Thaddeus Cahill (1867-1934), an electrical engineer, enabled changes in tons as it was played, thus resembling an orchestra. Cahill filed several patent applications, reformulating them every time, for over twenty years until 1897, when he finally obtained the desired registration.