A non-magnetic, non-electric, hand-powered tape recorder was patented by two of the Volta associates in 1886 (U.S. Patent 341,214).
The tape was a 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) wide strip of paper coated by dipping it in a solution of beeswax and paraffin and then scraping one side clean before the coating had set.
The machine, of sturdy wood and metal construction, was hand-powered by means of a knob fastened to a flywheel.
The tape passed from one eight inch (20.3 cm) diameter reel and around a pulley with guide flanges, where it came into contact with either the recording or playback stylus.
It was then wound onto a second reel.
The sharp recording stylus, actuated by a sound-vibrated mica diaphragm, engraved a groove into the wax coating.
In playback mode, a dull, loosely mounted stylus attached to a rubber diaphragm rode in the recorded groove.
The reproduced sound was heard through rubber listening tubes like those of a stethoscope.

The position of the recording and reproducing heads, mounted alternately on the same two posts, could be adjusted so that several recordings could be cut on the same wax-coated strip.
Although the machine was never developed commercially, it is interesting as a predecessor to the later magnetic tape recorder, which it resembles in general design.
The tapes, when later examined at one of the Smithsonian Institution's depositories, had become brittle, the heavy paper reels had warped, and the machine's playback head was missing.
Otherwise, with some reconditioning the machine could be put back into working order.
A non-magnetic, non-electric, hand-powered tape recorder was patented by two of the Volta associates in 1886 (U.S. Patent 341,214). The tape was a 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) wide strip of paper coated by dipping it in a solution of beeswax and paraffin and then scraping one side clean before the coating had set. The machine, of sturdy wood and metal construction, was hand-powered by means of a knob fastened to a flywheel. The tape passed from one eight inch (20.3 cm) diameter reel and around a pulley with guide flanges, where it came into contact with either the recording or playback stylus. It was then wound onto a second reel. The sharp recording stylus, actuated by a sound-vibrated mica diaphragm, engraved a groove into the wax coating. In playback mode, a dull, loosely mounted stylus attached to a rubber diaphragm rode in the recorded groove. The reproduced sound was heard through rubber listening tubes like those of a stethoscope.
The position of the recording and reproducing heads, mounted alternately on the same two posts, could be adjusted so that several recordings could be cut on the same wax-coated strip. Although the machine was never developed commercially, it is interesting as a predecessor to the later magnetic tape recorder, which it resembles in general design. The tapes, when later examined at one of the Smithsonian Institution's depositories, had become brittle, the heavy paper reels had warped, and the machine's playback head was missing. Otherwise, with some reconditioning the machine could be put back into working order.
Volta Laboratory and Bureau