The Stenographer's Friend; Or, What Was Accomplished by an Edison Business Phonograph

1910 Drama

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About The Stenographer's Friend; Or, What Was Accomplished by an Edison Business Phonograph

A stenographer (Ethel Jewett) cannot keep up with her office manager (Marc McDermott) and his assistant (John R. Cumpson). At five o'clock the work is unfinished. Her tears send her home. An Edison salesman then demonstrates the business phonograph, with a pamphlet for the Edison Commercial System. The next day she types from cylinders, shaves each one when it is done, and the office is finished at five. The salesman returns and the staff bow to him.

Cast & crew

More about The Stenographer's Friend; Or, What Was Accomplished by an Edison Business Phonograph

Edison made this one-reel advertisement for its dictation phonograph. No director is named. Edison copyrighted it on 29 September 1910 under numbers J146440 through J146443 and released it the same day. The pamphlet in the film promises dictation at any speed, instant repetition, and a correction system. A print is at the Library of Congress. The Internet Archive identifier is silent-the-stenographers-friend-or-what-was-accomplished-by-an-edison-business-phonograph.

Themes

Background

Edison was selling the business phonograph as office equipment in 1910 and used a one-reeler, released through its own exchange, as the advertisement.

Making

The picture is a demonstration. The plot exists to show the pamphlet, the cylinder, and the office emptying at five.

Preservation

A print is at the Library of Congress and on the Internet Archive. Public domain in the United States.

Notes

  • The alternate title is the whole sales claim: What Was Accomplished by an Edison Business Phonograph.
  • The machine uses wax cylinders. She shaves a used cylinder so it can be dictated on again.
  • Silent Era classes it as advertising, not as a story short.
  • Public domain in the United States.
  • The Library of Congress holds a print.

Scenes

  • She is still behind at five, and the bosses let her go only after she cries.
  • The salesman shows the pamphlet and a cylinder that plays the assistant's voice.
  • The next day the office is clear at five and the staff bow to the salesman.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-the-stenographers-friend-or-what-was-accomplished-by-an-edison-business-phonograph)