Info on this Commerical Graphophone

[Talkophone]

Can someone tell me why there are 2 tubes and only one fits the reproducer?

Larry

[Lucius1958]

It may be that the "other" speaking tube is from a different machine. What is it made of?

This Graphophone is one I haven't seen before (at least not in Hazelcorn's book): unlike the Type C in its various incarnations, this seems to be a throwback to the old Bell-Tainter designs, from the way the carriage is mounted...

Bill

[JerryVan]

Larry,

Only one tube is meant to fit the reproducer/recorder and that is the black, braided one. The other is not really a tube at all. It's meant to mount into a base of some sort and simply be a flexible support for the speaking tube and mouthpiece. As you can see, it has no real acoustic connection to the mouthpiece, it just attaches to it to hold it up.

[JerryVan]

Is it possible that it might fit here;

[Talkophone]

Jerry.

The thing you pointed to is the on & off switch which is only used with electric motor. I didn't show where the crank side but it does have cutout for the eloectric wire for the battery and both holes have a metal piece. I will look for a place for the other hose to fit. Maybe add some more pictures later.

Larry

[Talkophone]

Check this website out for more info about this Columbia. Except mine is a spring motor.

Larry


http://www3.sympatico.ca/jean-paul.agna ... ercial.htm

[ChuckA]

Here is my business machine in the floor model configuration



The front opens for storage of cylinders and whatever. I'm missing the
speaking tube, and from the advertisement below it looks like the
correct one is 2'-3' long.

The electric motor:



And an advertisement I found dated 1907:





I've come across a couple of the table models, but this is the only floor model
that has the Graphophone tag I've seen. The other floor models had the Dictaphone
tag. I did find a matching shaver in the same floor cabinet, but the owner was a
bit to high on his valuation.


Chuck

[JerryVan]

Jerry.

The thing you pointed to is the on & off switch which is only used with electric motor. I didn't show where the crank side but it does have cutout for the eloectric wire for the battery and both holes have a metal piece. I will look for a place for the other hose to fit. Maybe add some more pictures later.

Larry

Well, that was just a guess, (a wrong one). It's likely that the mount was on a separate base or stand.

[Talkophone]

More Pictures.

[rgordon939]

You can find more information about office business machines at officemuseum.com. Here is what is says about the Commercial Graphophone.

"Edison introduced a new Business Phonograph in 1904. The Edison Business Phonograph was advertised during 1904-12. Commercial Graphophone dictating machines were advertised in business magazines during 1904-07. A 1906 ad claimed that the Westinghouse Co., the Larkin Co., and Sears, Roebuck each used "more than several hundred machines." Another 1906 ad claimed that Westinghouse used about 250 Commercial Graphophone machines in its Pittsburgh offices. Around 1907 (in any case by 1908), Graphophone dictating machines began to use the Dictaphone trademark".

Richard Gordon