ABSTRACT
A new cylinder material, and label of the same name, introduced in the U.S. by Thomas Edison in November 1908. With 200 threads per inch instead of 100/inch, it could play four minutes (the Crystol, a British counterpart manufactured by Edison Bell, was said to play five or six minutes). The material was a waxlike metallic soap compound, fragile and quick to wear. A special sapphire point reproducer was used to play the records; this was incorporated in the Amberola phonograph. In 1912 Edison improved on the formula and offered the much more effective Blue Amberol. The name Amberol was selected from several alternatives, despite the lack of amber in the record, because it was thought to suggest the popular amber products of the day-notable for their beauty and quality.
