The Washington Historical Society received a collection of wax cylinder recordings from the Elmar Schmidt estate sometime in the 1980s. The family owned the Schmidt Jewelry Store on Main Street and saved many items.
These recordings were made for the Graphophone Grand, a larger format from the smaller wax recordings often seen in antique stores. The recording machines were quite expensive. Apparently, the Schmidt family owned one of these machines.
The Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Mass., scanned the 22 recordings and saved them in a digital format. The scratchy sound is due to the cylinder turning as it played.