Making the Perfect Record: From Inscription to Impression in Early Magnetic RecordingMain MenuAboutAbstract for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PIntroductionIntroduction to Making the Perfect Record: From Inscription to Impression in Early Magnetic RecordingNotesNotes for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PMediaMedia for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PAcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PTechnical InformationTechnical Information for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PReferencesReferences for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U PJentery Sayersbecbfb529bffcfafdfad6920ed57b30ccdca5339This essay is part of the “New Media” special issue of American Literature (volume 85, number 4, December 2013). See http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-2370230. Version 1 of the site is (c) 2013 by Duke University Press.
The Intended Audience’s Attention
12013-10-14T11:40:23-07:00Jentery Sayersbecbfb529bffcfafdfad6920ed57b30ccdca53392495Jones suggests the focus of education should shift towards technology and scienceplain2013-12-19T16:14:55-08:00Jentery Sayersbecbfb529bffcfafdfad6920ed57b30ccdca5339Jones also advocated for instruction in technology and science over education in the classics.
12013-11-16T22:12:19-08:00Jentery Sayersbecbfb529bffcfafdfad6920ed57b30ccdca5339NotesJentery Sayers7Notes for “Making the Perfect Record,” American Literature 85.4 (December 2013), http://10.1215/00029831-2370230, Duke U Pplain84242013-12-27T07:16:10-08:00Jentery Sayersbecbfb529bffcfafdfad6920ed57b30ccdca5339
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12013-10-11T14:18:27-07:00The Mechanical Arts7The Franklin Institute strives to give the general public a knowledge of the mechanical artsplain2013-12-19T16:12:47-08:00Quite tellingly, appeals to the telegraphone’s aesthetic are most vibrant in publications associated with the Franklin Institute, founded in 1824 as a space for fostering expertise in the mechanical arts. As Bruce Sinclair notes, the Institute was ultimately part of a larger national program to not only give citizens (mostly, if not entirely, men) access to a practical education but also blend technical training with the democratizing values of science and technology. Sinclair (1990, 65) writes: “This new approach to technical education . . . depended on literacy and an open cooperative style of work, unlike the secrecy that had dominated the craft activity for so long.” In 1826, Thomas P. Jones started a journal for the Institute, merging it with American Mechanics’ Magazine and calling it Franklin Journal and American Mechanics’ Magazine. Serving as the journal’s editor between 1828 and 1848, he considered the publication a reflection of the Institute’s ethos: open instruction, cooperative education, plain writing, and an integration of theory with practice. According to Sinclair, Jones believed that “working people ignorant of first principles wasted time and money on things that would not work. Worse yet, they were misled by mechanical chimeras” (65). Consequently, the journal—later known simply as the Journal of the Franklin Institute—condensed the principles of technical education into an efficient form, with articles rarely exceeding eight pages. Jones thought anything beyond that length would most certainly lose the intended audience’s attention (69). Although he died in 1848, traces of his framework for the journal lasted far beyond the mid-nineteenth century. Yet the chimeras are certainly there, too. As but one example, consider Charles K. Fankhouser’s work in the early 1900s.
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12013-12-13T17:45:30-08:00Volume I of The Franklin Journal (1826)9Thomas P. Jones, Ed., The Franklin Journal, Vol. I (1826)media/franklinjournal.pngplain2013-12-26T19:02:59-08:00
12013-10-11T14:18:27-07:00The Mechanical Arts8The Franklin Institute Gives the General Public a Knowledge of the Mechanical Artsplain2013-12-26T10:56:08-08:00
