Pictures of Sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980

Using modern technology, Patrick Feaster is on a mission to resurrect long-vanished voices and sounds—many of which were never intended to be revived.

Over the past thousand years, countless images were created to depict sound in forms that could theoretically be “played.” For the first time, Pictures of Sound converts these historic “pictures of sound”—from medieval music manuscripts to early phonographic diagrams—into meaningful audio. This groundbreaking compilation includes the world’s oldest known sound recordings (Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville’s phonautograms, mid-1800s), the oldest gramophone recording (Emile Berliner’s recitation of “Der Handschuh”), the clearest early English words, and even medieval musical notation. This is not just another collection of historical audio—it redefines what “historical audio” can be.

Highlight Tracks

• Phonautograms (1857–1860): The world’s oldest known sound recordings, predating Edison
• Emile Berliner’s “Der Handschuh” (1889): The earliest gramophone recording, reconstructed from a magazine illustration
• Brown University, “How Do You Do?” (1878): Possibly the first intelligible English speech ever recorded
• The Earliest Trick Recording (1889): An inventive and playful early audio experiment
• Medieval Musical Manuscripts (ca. 980): Ancient music notation brought to sonic life

What’s Included

• 28 audio tracks of newly “educeed” audio
• View the complete tracklist here: [Insert hosted PDF link]
• 144-page digital book (PDF) featuring:
• Essays and historical context by Patrick Feaster
• 164 full-color images of the original sound documents

About the Compiler

Patrick Feaster is a researcher and educator specializing in the history and culture of sound media. A two-time Grammy nominee and co-founder of FirstSounds.org, he has led efforts to locate, play back, and contextualize some of the world’s earliest sound recordings. Pictures of Sound was nominated for the Best Historical Album at the 56th Grammy Awards—recognition earned for redefining what “historical audio” can be. Feaster holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Ethnomusicology from Indiana University Bloomington, where he currently teaches and contributes to the Media Preservation Initiative.

Praise & Reviews

“The CD is a surreal listen… Lost voices rise up… theoretical tones designed by conjecture and imagination jump out of history.”

— Los Angeles Times

“An amazing project from the authority that is Patrick Feaster, doing some forward-thinking work that technology may allow.”

— Awkmo

“This compilation uses innovative digital techniques to convert historic pictures of sound… directly into meaningful audio.”

— Boomkat