Phonautograph

In 1853-54, Léon Scott de Martainville succeeded in making the first sound recordings, using the Phonautograph, a device that records sound without, however, allowing it to be played back. The apparatus consists of a horn connected to a diaphragm that collects the acoustic vibrations, which are transmitted to a stylus that engraves them on a sheet of paper wrapped around a rotating cylinder and coated with lampblack.

A team of American researchers in possession of Scott de Martainville’s recorded plates has undertaken to restore them with the help of a computer.

This short recording, which dates from 1860,  contains the beginning of the song Au clair de la lune, in all likelihood  performed by Martainville himself.

Au Clair de la Lune–French folk song (1860 Phonautogram)