Bell Boxes Opened by Smithsonian Institute three boxes which Alexander Graham Bell and two Associates Placed in the Secret Archives of the Smith-Sonian Institute in Washington in 1881, and which have remained Un-Opened since, were Formally Opened There Oct. 27th, in the Presence of Bell's two Daughters and A Group of Scientists. the cases contained among other things the original working model of the first Machine ever to record on wax and reproduce the Human voice. The Machine was invented by Charles Sumner Tainter, and Chichester Bell, a cousin of Alexander Graham Bell, Assisted and Counseled by Alexander Graham Bell. October 28, 1937. (Photo by ACME).