When Lewis Masonic was founded back in the 18th century, there were some very clever minds working on the idea of making a machine that could reproduce human speech.
For many years, there had been legends of such contraptions. Tales of automatons or brazen heads that you could have a conversation with. Carnival and street performers, along with charlatans, had created acts to mimic these dreams, but now some very clever minds were trying to make this a reality.
By 1769 Wolfgang von Kempelen had created a hand-operated air-powered speaking machine which was manually operated using a bellows and some levers, and could say vowels or simple words. It used a reed from a bagpipe and a rubber “mouthpiece” that the operator could manipulate. If you search online, you can find some interesting videos of reproductions of this device.
Then in 1837, Charles Wheatstone improved this design to make a speaking machine that could say whole words! Some onlookers thought there was a bit of imagination involved in its reception, but many came to see it. We are, however, told that speaking machines reached new heights in 1846. Joseph Faber exhibited the "Euphonia", a mechanical device that he had spent 30 years developing, which had a whole mechanical replica of the human throat, vocal organs and mouth. By pressing a key, an operator could make it speak and move, but it did so with a German accent!
Freemasons of the day must have been fascinated, as we know they had a keen interest in scientific inventions, and some had even arranged for demonstrations of such things in some London lodges.
Lewis Masonic or “A Lewis” as it was known back then, very much trailblazed in terms of what kind of masonic reading matter was available, but we have no record of any creation of an artificial ritual prompt!
We do, however, continue our tradition of invitation and adaptation and are pleased to announce the release of our first audiobook, which you can download on your phone, tablet and computer. Lewis readers who already use our Ebooks will be pleased to learn that it uses the very same app.
Our First Audio Book is
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Lodges – Audio Book
By Tony Harvey
We don't, however, have a mechanical voice or AI simulator reading the text for you. We have managed to convince the author himself to use the recording studios at Freemasons’ Hall. We are most honoured to also announce that Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, Sir David Wootton, has been kind enough to read his foreword to the book.
In the modern day, when so much of our time is spent in front of computers or screens or various types, it is understandable that once we've got home and spent some time practising our ritual, some of us might rather listen than read. Likewise, having a Masonic audiobook allows you to learn and be inspired on the go, whether you're driving, going for a walk, or gardening.
If this proves successful, the goal is to convert many more of our books into an audio format.
Happy Listening
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