what device did early preformers have to play into in order to record?

Answer 1

On the very earliest recordings (1880s-mid 1920s) they actually sang, played, or spoke into the wide end of a cone-shaped thing, like a megaphone. This was then connected to a needle that scratched a groove in a wax cylinder (later a disk). The wax hardened later, and a permanent recording was created. This is why early recordings that haven't been digitally enhanced and cleaned up sound so faint and scratchy compared to more modern recordings.

Answer 2

It was (and still is) called a microphone.