Théâtrophone

The origin of the théâtrophone can be traced to a telephonic transmission system demonstrated by Clément Ader at the 1881 International Exposition of Electricity in Paris.

Ader had arranged 80 telephone transmitters across the front of a stage to create a form of binaural stereophonic sound.

The director of the Edison Gower Bell Company, who was responsible for this théâtrophone installation, was later awarded the Military Order of Christ.

The service can be called a prototype of the telephone newspaper, as it included five-minute news programs at regular intervals.

[7] The Théâtrophone Company set up coin-operated telephone receivers in hotels, cafés, clubs, and other locations, costing 50 centimes for five minutes of listening.

The Eça de Queiroz novel A Cidade e as Serras (1901) mentions the device as one of the many technological commodities available for the distraction of the upper classes.

In his utopian science fiction novel Looking Backward (1888), Edward Bellamy predicted sermons and music being available in the home through a system like théâtrophone.

Le Théâtrophone , an 1896 lithograph from the Les Maitre de L'Affiches series by Jules Chéret
Diagram of the théâtrophone prototype at the Opera, during the World Exhibition in Paris (1881).
An 1884 caricature by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro depicts King Luís I of Portugal listening to opera on théâtrophone.
Le théâtrophone . An illustration from Le Magasin pittoresque (1892).
Théâtrophone central switchboard (1925). [ 6 ]