On this Day Factola January 30, 1878 Edison signs agreement for Phonograph to be developed as a Business Machine   On this day Edison signed an agreement for commercial exploitation of the phonograph in the United States. This photograph shows a Congressional Reporter using a cylinder dictating machine, in its role as a business machine, to transcribe records (from the Library of Congress, circa 1908). LC-USZ62-70786 (b&w film copy neg.)         January 30 - On this Day Factola