Volta Laboratory wax disc 4: Hamlet's soliloquy

What it is

This is a wax disc recording of the soliloquy 'To be or not to be' from Shakespeare's Hamlet, made in Bell's Volta Laboratory in 1885. The wax is green and sits on a brass backing, which was cut vertically. The catalogue description says Chichester Bell was principally responsible for the wax disc experiments of this period and probably voiced most of the test recordings himself. The speaker is therefore probably not Alexander Graham Bell. The recording is an audio file, and the description and dating come from a modern catalogue note.

Why it matters

Early sound recording was experimental. The laboratory tried several materials and methods, and its notes show the team changing things, such as the backing and the wax colour, as they learned what worked. Using a famous speech from Shakespeare as a test shows how the experiments were run with familiar material. The disc gives students a direct look at work in progress rather than a finished product.

Look closer

• What do the green wax and brass backing suggest about how the team worked?
• According to the catalogue note, who probably spoke on this recording, and why does that matter?
• What can a test recording tell us that a polished final product cannot?