The earliest forms of records were very different than what we normally think of. They were called "cylinders" and fit inside containers about the size of a soup can. Thomas Edison worked on these early records and introduced them along with his "talking machine" in 1878. Cylinders peaked in popularity around 1905. After this period, flat discs and disc players, such as the Victrola began to dominate the market. Cylinders were no longer made after 1912 because they were prone to wear and warping and were replaced by superior-sounding flat disc records. Click here for the source.