Inquiring Minds Want to Know--Zon-O-Phone/Universal T M Co.

[FloridaClay]

I know the story of the much put upon Frank Seaman and his Universal Talking Machine Manufacturing Co., producer of Zon-O-Phone phonographs and records, and how Universal was bought by Victor in 1903, who continued its operation for awhile. What I can't seem to find out is when Universal disappeared from the scene. Among other things, this would be helpful in establishing the year range that Zon-O-Phone records were presented as products of Universal Talking Machine (albeit it really a Victor subsidiary in its latter years).

Clay

[phonogfp]

Universal was in business (under the control of Eldridge Johnson) until June 1912.

George P.

[FloridaClay]

Thank you George.

Clay

[phonogfp]

You're very welcome.

I should mention that, although Zonophone record labels from 1905 didn't mention Universal, the final design (introduced in 1908) did. This design was for double-sided discs, had patent dates arranged around the perimeter of the label similar to the Victor design, and featured the trademark of a baby listening to a Zonophone, which was titled, "On Speaking Terms."

George P.

[De Soto Frank]

Was there an intermediate Zonophone logo, with a Lyre at the center, sprouting a horn from either side, gold design on dark green background ?

[phonogfp]

Was there an intermediate Zonophone logo, with a Lyre at the center, sprouting a horn from either side, gold design on dark green background ?

There were a couple of intermediate designs of Zono record labels using crossed horns and lyres. Rather than dig out records and shoot them, I'll be lazy and post these scans from an article that appeared in The Antique Phonograph Monthly back in 1983.

Please note that the final sentence of the Fig. 10 caption is in error. This label always has patent information listed. (This is where I learned to verify the word of even experienced collectors!) Also, this label has since been documented to have appeared in 1908.

It should also be noted that the article inaccurately states that Victor owned and controlled Zonophone/Universal after 1903, whereas it was really Eldridge Johnson. Perhaps the same end result, but a legal inaccuracy. As Honest Abe advises in another thread on this forum, "Don't believe everything you read..."

George P.

[gramophone78]

To add to George's list.....some of the first Universal Zon-O-Phone's look like this (the fist two pics). A cache I discovered some years ago were all made from a brownish,soft material that may well be Celluloid.

[phonogfp]

Well, I wasn't going to scan the entire article since the question was concerning slightly later Zonophone records, but as long as we've backed up to the beginning, I'll add the first two images from the article, as well as the first page. You can double-click on any of these images to enlarge them.

Wayne, the cracked Universal record you show is only 3 catalog numbers from the one in Figure 3! (Both by the Zonophone Orchestra.)

By the way, the title of this article is A Band of Sound; The Basic Types of American Zonophone Records.

I just noticed that on the first page of the article, the year 1899 is mentioned a couple of times. I fear I was led astray 33 years ago by certain items published in The Phonoscope. By 1985, while researching for an article on Columbia's entry into the disc industry, I became convinced that Zonophone machines and records did not appear until spring 1900.

George P.

[FloridaClay]

Frank, Funny you should ask. I picked up a couple of Zon-O-Phone records, single sided with the label you describe, at the Orlando show on Saturday. The background is a very dark green, which looks black in some light. They are designed like Figure 8 in the article that George posted and are rather elegant.

I had pictures of the front and back all ready to post with this message, but the upload function seems to have ceased working. (The screen just goes white and the upload never completes.) I will try again to add them later.

George, The front label on these does not mention Universal, but the license sticker on the reverse (dated December 1, 1905) does.

Thanks also for the article you posted on Zon-O-Phone records! My Antique Phonograph collection only goes back to late 2011.

Clay

[phonogfp]

George, The front label on these does not mention Universal, but the license sticker on the reverse (dated December 1, 1905) does.

Thanks also for the article you posted on Zon-O-Phone records! My Antique Phonograph collection only goes back to late 2011.

Clay

You're welcome Clay.

As I noted above, be aware that some of the "facts" mentioned in the article have been corrected over the years. I think I caught them all... (Articles like this should probably remain buried and forgotten!)

I believe the December 1905 license notices on Zonophone records were used right up to 1908.

George P.