Entre la cera y el celuloide: los cilindros Lioret de la Biblioteca Nacional de España como incunables del sonido

Abstract

This paper examines the Lioret cylinders preserved at the Biblioteca Nacional de España as exceptional witnesses to early sound recording. Manufactured in celluloid in the 1890s, these Spanish-language recordings encompass operatic, zarzuela, children’s, and popular repertoires. Comparing surviving cylinders with contemporary catalogues reconstructs lost or unpreserved titles and reassesses Lioret’s place in early phonographic experimentation. The study also addresses current challenges of cataloguing, conservation, and playback and argues for recognizing these objects as genuine “incunabula of sound” beyond dominant narratives centered on wax cylinders.