"Maury's Prophecy.  He Described a Talking Machine Nearly Fifty Years Ago," Washington Star, Jan. 23, 1890.   Reprinted New York Times, Jan. 26, 1890.

Nearly fifty years ago the late Commodore Maury in a jesting mood spoke of recording human speech by speaking through a trumpet upon a sheet of paper, and in a general way described the phonograph or graphophone.  This curious prophecy, made in a joke, was discovered the other day by Dr. G. Brown Goode, Director of the National Museum, in looking over the life of Commodore Maury recently, published in London.  It is contained in a letter written by Commodore Maury to a relative in New-York, dated May 12, 1844.  At that time Commodore Maury was Superintendent of the Naval Observatory in this city.  If Commodore Maury had been alive and present when Prof. Goode read this letter he would have been astonished to see what the professor did.  He turned and took up a trumpet and talked into it.  He was speaking not upon a piece of paper but upon a light wax cylinder.  When he had finished speaking he inclosed this little cylinder in a little pasteboard case or box and mailed it to Mr. E. D. Easton, the President of the Columbia Phonograph Company of this city.  Mr. Easton put the cylinder on a graphophone, adjusted the ear piece to his ear, and then read what Prof. Goode's voice had written on the cylinder.  It was a copy of Commodore Maury's letter, in which he wrote:

"What a pity it is that M. DaGuerre, instead of photography, had not invented a process of writing by merely speaking through a trumpet upon a sheet of paper.  What a glorious thing it would have been.  I could then have mailed out letters in the boldest hand and at any time.  Instead of saying 'I wrote you a letter last Monday,' the phrase would have been 'I spoke you a ream last Tuesday.'  The world would become a mere scribbling shop--a vast book machine.  When out visiting and you would wish to give the cook an order you would only have to haul down the pipe and the cook would have a written order at her feet and then there could be no mistake about the pudding.  What a convenience that would be to housekeepers.  Such a consummation, though, must be left to the generation of our children.  It would be a curious thing if they were to carry on their courtship in this way."