Phonobase: ancient records and cylinders online

• What is the Phonobase?

Phonobase gathers, describes, and provides access to numerous audio fragments and images reproduced from commercial recordings on discs and cylinders, primarily published in France and Europe from around 1888 to 1920. This database also includes recordings made on cylinders by amateurs during the same period. Discs are digitized with care (centering, correct speed selection from many playback styli), as are cylinders copied using the Archeophone. Equalization and editing have not yet been systematically performed. The audio fragments available here are rights-free; however, they are briefly marked audibly to prevent uncredited misuse. Complete, equalized, unmarked recordings, as well as watermark-free images, can be provided for certain uses.

• A thesis introducing Phonobase:

Over 800 footnotes from Henri Chamoux's thesis The diffusion of sound recording in France during the Belle Époque (1893-1914) refer to Phonobase entries, providing a lively exploration across its various repositories.

• Online presentations from Phonobase:

You will find here a collection of presentations at conferences, seminars, and study days, designed as PDFs for slideshow viewing (press F5 on PC), all related to Phonobase or historical recordings. The italicized texts on the images serve as the "voiceover" for these slideshows, offering possible introductions to Phonobase's repositories and potential uses.

• User Guide for the Phonobase Search Module :

On the search page, to discover, for example, a sung or recited content that might have a connection, even an anecdotal one, with the automobile, type the word "automobile" in the Search all fields box. - To only hear a title that contains the word "automobile", type the word "automobile" in the Title box of the Targeted search field. - You can combine multiple searches: by typing the word "automobile" in the Title box, and the name of the singer "Dutreux" in the Performer box, you will access different versions of the song Le Chauffeur d'automobile sung by Dutreux. - If you just type "auto" in the All fields search, you will get many more results, including words like "automatique", "automne", "édition autorisée", "phonautographie", etc.

In any case, after entering a query, you need to press the "enter" key on the keyboard or click the Y'en a ! button.

In a results table, the images and are clickable, allowing you to sort that column of results.

The image confirms the presence of one or more photos of the recorded document. Any word that changes color when hovering the mouse over it in the results list is clickable. By clicking on Full record, you access a full record that contains all the references of a recording, including, if available, access to the file to listen, photos, and the sung text. When a song is not in the public domain, the corresponding audio file is inaccessible, and the mention Audio unavailable or available under conditions appears. There is not yet an authority list, and you must have at least an initial query. This will contain at least one word, or even a letter.