Recording of the Voice of Alexander Graham Bell

What it is

This is an 1885 wax disc recording made at Bell's Volta Laboratory, on which Bell's own voice says "Hear my voice... Alexander... Graham... Bell." The disc was lost for many years and recovered and played back by Smithsonian researchers in 2013.

Why it matters

This recording is rare direct evidence of Bell's own voice, and it also documents his later work on sound recording technology beyond the telephone, carried out at his Volta Laboratory. It shows how Bell continued experimenting with sound long after his famous 1876 invention.

Look closer

• Why do you think Bell recorded his own name and a simple phrase rather than something else?
• What challenges might researchers have faced in recovering sound from an old wax disc more than a century later?
• How does hearing an inventor's actual voice change how you think about him compared to just reading about him?