Daily Herald photograph entitled 'When They Listened in the Gay Nineties'. The photograph shows Mrs. E. A. Hiller (third from the right) and her friends gathered around a 'Listeners In' machine. The photograph, c. 1890, was printed in the Daily Herald January 28th 1958.

Photograph from the Daily Herald Archive, indexed as Music, Instruments, Gramophones, Misc.

When They Listened in the "Gay Nineties"

Strange to the eyes accustomed to the wonders of this decade is this photograph from the dim, but not too distant past, which is sometimes known as the "Gay Nineties". There were no radios in those days but there were what were called "Listeners In". This unique photograph shows Mrs. E. A. Hiller of Salina, U.S.A., and her childhood friends enjoying this rare treat as they gathered round the machine. They adjust the earpieces and listen to the music. The owner of the machine is the only man in the group, Lloyd C. Mitchell who kept his machine at street corners, or wherever there was a crowd of perspective listeners.