The Oldest Voices We Can Still Hear

The 1800s aren’t usually remembered through sound. While Photographs allow us to see this century more vividly than any before it, the stern-faced Victorians stare back at us in silence from their portraits. It was only in the 20th century that the phenomenon of playing back voices became so common that we take it for granted. But the technology to do so existed far earlier, allowing us to listen to the distant echoes of people who lived centuries ago.