Three pitches in an Impression Figure by Margaret Watts Hughes, pigment on glass, Margaret Watts Hughes, date unknown.
Three pitches in an Impression Figure by Margaret Watts Hughes, pigment on glass, Margaret Watts Hughes, date unknown.

Voice Figures by Margaret Watts Hughes

Made more than 100 years ago by a Welsh singer named Margaret Watts Hughes — not by her hand but rather using her voice and an Eidophone, a “recording” device of her own invention. She would sing into the Eidophone’s funnel and so make its diaphragm vibrate. She’d then bring this vibrating diaphragm in contact with a glass plate covered in pigment to create these wondrous images, akin to visual sound recordings, or what she called Voice Figures (and the more complex Impression Figures).

Single pitch Impression Figure by Margaret Watts Hughes, pigment on glass, Margaret Watts Hughes, date unknown. 
Single pitch Impression Figure by Margaret Watts Hughes, pigment on glass, Margaret Watts Hughes, date unknown. 
Voice Figure, 3rd interval by Megan Watts Hughes
Voice Figure, 3rd interval by Megan Watts Hughes
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