Adelina Patti witnessed the beginning of the industrial revolution, a time of invention and exciting new technologies. As she was a great traveller, she saw these developments first hand and was often quick to adopt them. She was also in the fortunate financial position of being able to afford them, well before volume production and competition put them within reach of the general public.

Gas and Electricity at Craig-y-Nos Castle 

Water was first turned into steam by passing it through a copper coil heated in coal furnace A. The steam was then passed through a bed of hot coals in a second furnace B, which also drew air through the coal, making it white hot. 

The mixture of inflammable gasses produced was then bubbled through water in box C, to remove most of the suspended particles. From here the gas passed upwards through coke, packed into scrubber "D", where it was further cleaned by a spray of water passing in the other direction. 

Finally, it was filtered through saw dust, spread on wooden gratings in filter box E. 

The gas was then used to drive an Otto Gas Engine, which was connected to an Edison 110 Volt DC Generator by pulleys and a thick leather belt. 

Substantial copper cables fed the electrical power to a distribution board. This enabled power to be switched to a number of different "rings", each supplying a different part of the castle and winter garden.

 Substantial distribution losses were a problem with DC systems which, unlike later AC systems, became impractical if extended beyond half a mile of the generator. These losses resulted in heat and sometimes smoke would be seen pouring out of a wall or light fitting.

This type of electrical power was first used to light streets in New York in 1882. It was Thomas Edison, the inventor of the Phonograph (Gramophone), who had developed the first reliable DC generators, and Adelina had seen them used for powering spot lamps in American theatres.

Theatre Equipment at Craig-y-Nos

One or more "limelights" were used as spot lamps, with the moveable ones being known as followspots. These used a gas jet to heat a cylinder of lime, which glowed brightly in front of a polished metal reflector.

The new incandescent bulbs, which Edison and Swan had introduced by the time Adelina Patti opened her private theatre on July 12th 1891, were much safer and convenient, but their light output was poor. That is why it took 281 of these lamps to light the stage at Craig-y-Nos. 

In addition, Adelina installed carbon-arc followspots.  These used two rods of carbon with a voltage of around seventy volts DC applied across them. 

To "fire up" a carbon-arc lamp the ends of the rods were brought together, until an electric arc, or  plasma, was "struck". They were then moved apart again slightly to make the arc stable. 

The carbon rods were slowly consumed (they became shorter) and had to be regularly moved together. Complicated mechanical mechanisms were developed to automatically maintain the gap between them and after a while both rods had to be replaced. 

The major props, backdrops and curtains in the theatre were all mechanically controlled using ropes, pulleys or gears and several staff were required to operate them. In addition, to satisfy her love of dancing, Adelina had the floor of the theatre and the orchestra pit mounted on a mechanical lifting mechanism, which could raise them up until level with the floor of the stage. This turned the theatre into a ballroom.

Adelina must have seen and heard early versions on her tours of America and probably met Thomas Edison himself.

An original Dictaphone recorder

The cylinders were originally played  back directly, using a sharp needle connected to a "sound box" and horn assembly, but this quickly damaged the wax coating. To overcome this problem, the original engraved cylinder was soon being used only as the master, to mould more durable copies. 

The playback device became known as the Phonograph or Gramophone, and cylinders were later replaced with disks, which became known as " Gramophone Records".

Recorded waxed cylinders

Amplification of the sound was achieved by transferring the small movements of the stylus (needle) as it traversed the groove in the cylinder, to a thin diaphragm (often made of nickel). This was mounted inside a "voice box" positioned within the mouth of a large horn. The vibrating diaphragm produced the sound waves, which the horn then amplified.

Voice recording was one new technology for which Adelina had reservations, and although she had a gramophone, she resisted recording her own voice for many years.

By 1906 however, recording quality had improved and she agreed to have her voice recorded for posterity on wax cylinders. Production copies sold for £1 each, an amount equal to the average weekly wage of the time. 

They required regular winding and new needles had to be fitted from time to time to maintain the sound quality. 

The recordings which Adelina Patti made on wax cylinders were later transferred to gramophone records (disks) and compilations are still available today. 

The Orchestrion

A Gramophone

The M Welte & Sohne Orchestrion installed in the French Billiard Room at Craig-y-Nos Castle used paper rolls and, being one of the first to have electrical power, was probably made between 1892 and 1896. It would have had around 146 pipes, including up to eighteen trumpets and thirty three metal pipes, decorated with  stylised gilt flowers. A blower would have provided the air to sound the pipes.

A mechanically operated base drum, snare drum, cymbal and triangle would have been mounted in the back of the cabinet. "Swell shutters" in each side door of the oak panelled cabinet would have been opened and closed to control the volume, and we know that everything was driven by a 110 volt DC electric motor. Earlier models had used a falling weight to drive the mechanism.

Orchestrions of the time were often enclosed in cabinets which matched the decor of the room (on the right is an example). The front of the cabinet had glass doors, which gave access to the pipes, the motor and the roll drive. The complete cabinet was around 107 inches (272 cm) high, 67 inches (170 cm) wide, and  39 inches (99 cm) deep.  

The paper music rolls were stored in printed tinplate canisters, all housed in a matching chest.

The basic sound was similar to a pipe organ, but supplemented with additional instrument sounds including drums and cymbals.

Adelina Patti's patronage was a great coup for M Welte & Sohn who used her in its advertising literature. No doubt she had negotiated a good discount!

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