Tangible Media: Removable Storage of Image, Sound, Motion and Data
Tangible Media: Removable Storage of Image, Sound, Motion and Data
Tangible Media: Removable Storage of Image, Sound, Motion and Data
Grooves
Edison Diamond Disc

Title:

Blue Jay and The Thrush / Asleep in the Deep

Artist:

Byron C. Harlan and Joe Belmont

Date:

1915

Material:

Condensite varnish on wood-flour core

Dimensions:

10 × ¼ in. (25 × 6 mm)

Company:

Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

Location:

Orange, New Jersey, United States

The disc required a diamond stylus and was slighly less than 1⁄4 in. thick to prevent warping, a particular issue since the grooves were vertically cut. Condensate varnish, a phenolic resin varnish, was laminated onto a wood flour core. The discs weighed close to one pound. Diamond Discs could only be played on Edison machines (Sherman 2026).

References
⌃  Back to citationSherman, Michael. 2026. Introduction to the Edison Diamond Disc. UC Santa Barbara Library. Accessed Jan. 24, 2026.