A Century of Recorded Sound — Music History Print

From a needle scratching tinfoil in 1877 to a server in another country. Twelve moments where the way we keep music changed, and the listening changed with it.

Edison's phonograph, which wore out as you played it. Berliner's flat disc, which could be pressed rather than carved. The microphone, the LP, the 45, the cassette, the Walkman, the CD, the MP3, the iPod, streaming — and, at the end, 2020, when vinyl revenue passed the CD in the United States for the first time since 1986.

Every format on the list was once the future, and every one of them was declared dead by the next. One of them came back. That is the story this print tells, and it is a good one to have on a wall near a record shelf.

How it is made

Unframed prints are made in the UK on 170gsm silk poster stock, rolled in tissue and sent in a rigid tube.

Framed editions are a step up: the same design printed on 200gsm enhanced matte fine art paper, set in a classic moulding behind a perspex glaze — lighter than glass, safer in a room where people play, and it survives the post. No mount, so the image runs full bleed to the frame. Arrives ready to hang.

Sizes

A4 is 21 × 29.7 cm, A3 is 29.7 × 42 cm, A2 is 42 × 59.4 cm. A2 is the one most people mean by "a proper poster" — if it is going above a desk or a record player, that is the size to pick. Our print sizes guide has the full measurements and hanging heights.

Made to order

Every print is made when you order it, so allow 3–5 working days before it ships. Nothing sits in a warehouse fading.