Featured Phonograph № 99 - Algraphone

[Steve]

Ooh, heck! An American motor in an Algraphone!!!! That's about as far from the spirit of Algraphone as one could get. I definitely think it has been re-motored but it has been done carefully to avoid new holes being drilled. Algraphones were unique among British machines in so far as they were entirely made in Britain and did not use any imported components, least of all motors! You have an oddity there for sure.

[Orchorsol]

Ooh, heck! An American motor in an Algraphone!!!! That's about as far from the spirit of Algraphone as one could get. I definitely think it has been re-motored but it has been done carefully to avoid new holes being drilled. Algraphones were unique among British machines in so far as they were entirely made in Britain and did not use any imported components, least of all motors! You have an oddity there for sure.

It seems implausible that this motor and the original Algraphone one would share the same layout of metal mounting plate (including hole locations) and winding handle. Conceivably someone may have fabricated an entire new motorboard/armboard, but the fit is good and also the match with the other woodwork. We will probably never know! And I picked the machine up pretty cheaply, and the motor it rightly or wrongly contains is interesting and of seemingly high quality, I don't really mind!

Can anyone Stateside tell us anything about the United Manufacturing & Distribution Co of Chicago and their Phonograph Motor Model-7?

[Steve]

It seems implausible that this motor and the original Algraphone one would share the same layout of metal mounting plate

But that plate has nothing whatsoever to do with the original Algraphone motor. It is a product of the American motor itself. Algraphones do not have metal mounting plates.

The whole motor-board has been modified (not difficult) to take that plate so presumably the cut-outs could be altered and the exact configuration of the original motor mounting lost for good?

[Orchorsol]

It seems implausible that this motor and the original Algraphone one would share the same layout of metal mounting plate

But that plate has nothing whatsoever to do with the original Algraphone motor. It is a product of the American motor itself. Algraphones do not have metal mounting plates.

The whole motor-board has been modified (not difficult) to take that plate so presumably the cut-outs could be altered and the exact configuration of the original motor mounting lost for good?

Ah! Yes of course. The winding hole coinciding is far from implausible in itself, but it's still odd that there are no screw holes etc where the original brake and speed control would have been... Whoever (probably) re-motored it evidently valued the machine - a decent motor, and there are felt washers cushioning the motor plate at all the screw-holes.

[chunnybh]

Very nice protractor. How odd that there are no holes from the original brake and speed control, suggesting they were never there. Nice looking American motor too. Why the "Advance/Retard" , was it made for the Canadian market?. I have seen a couple of Algraphones that have been re-motored, usually with Garrard plate motors. I suppose it's difficult to repair them as spare parts would not exist. This one could have been assembled as is as the firm was shutting down. As you say, we will probably never find out.

[Henry]

Can anyone Stateside tell us anything about the United Manufacturing & Distribution Co of Chicago and their Phonograph Motor Model-7?

Googled it and this came up: http://tinyurl.com/lzwfuz6

Or, if you would prefer the full citation:
http://books.google.com/books?id=mYhKAAA
AMAAJ&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=united+manuf
acturing+and+distributing+company+chicag
o&source=bl&ots=h7n2n5wLFD&sig=c4jZR1WU_
naWNtxYK69uD-IAgzs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1M8MU_6
eOqejsQSb3YGYDw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepag
e&q=united%20manufacturing%20and%20distr
ibuting%20company%20chicago&f=false

Mm, yes, I thought not! Anyhow, it's a starting point with a date.

[soundgen]

I think it's sad that so little is really known or documented about these worthy contributors to the art of the gramophone

Sad indeed. They really were masters. The idea of Omni-Directional sound from a horned gramophone was way ahead of it's time.
here are a few pinched pictures from the WWWeb. What a varied selection they produced.

Photo 5 has a metal plate different again ? , perhaps like Decca at the end they bought in motors from anyone ? Or has this been remotered too ?

[soundgen]

http://www.exacteditions.com/read/gramo ... 33606/5/3/

[soundgen]

Orchorosol beats EMG , Three Muses , Sonora and Algraphone !

http://www.exacteditions.com/read/gramo ... 3610/21/3/

[Henry]

A quick search of the on-line data base of the US Patent Office reveals nothing issued to "United Manufacturing and Distributing [not "Distribution"] Company," despite the "Pat's Pending" stamp on the motor.