It was 1877 when Thomas Edison recorded the first words ever: “Mary had a little lamb.” Now, 118 years later, people including Don Gfell are briskly trading Edison’s and other antique phonographs.

Thomas Alva Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park whose genius ushered in a new era of light and sound for humankind, invented the phonograph at his New Jersey laboratory on this day in history, Aug. 12, ...

The digital recorders we use today can trace their history back to the 1870s. There were a number of inventors who built the foundation of audio technology, but one stands out. On this date in 1877 ...