The flood profits from
the phonograph business masked the structural weakness of
Edison's empire, and took serious depression this
business bring reform and rationalization the
organization. Yet all the reasons for the decline Edison's
phonograph business are not found the financial panic
. This was not seen problem the
balmy days the phonograph boom, when profits were high,
growth was spectacular, and the attention the "old man" was
on research rather than operations. one
week June 1907, the Phonograph Works shipped 6151
phonographs and 591,000 records.VIII-21
his industrial empire.
The phonograph operation was the core business the
Edison enterprise the twentieth century. What started financial panic the fall 1907 led
to serious decline business 1908 and the National
Phonograph Company watched its market share diminish rapid
rate.
The phonograph boom was stopped dead the depression of
1907. But even the turnaround this field and the
subsequent rise sales was comparison with the sales of
phonographs and records. The motion picture
business had picked result the impact the
narrative film— pioneered Edwin Porter the Edison
Manufacturing Company— and the success the Nickelodeon
theatres. The cylinder phonograph business
reached its peak 1907; the results for the first quarter
promised fifty percent increase business over 1906
