The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

epigramophone wrote:Nicole Frères were among the first wholesalers in the UK to offer gramophones to the trade. They began with Zonophone machines in December 1900 and Symphonion, who were the main promoters of Zonophone products, appointed Nicole as sole distributing agents in October 1901. Zonophone, Symphonion and Polyphon all supplied Nicole Frères with machines bearing the Nicole name.

There are at least two types of soundbox known to have been marketed by Nicole, the Nicole Master and the Nicole Standard.

OK, but on the first machine the on/ off control, speed control, support arm, and horn cradle are all distinct Columbia AJ design which either suggests Columbia must have supplied some early machines or parts, or this machine is cobbled together- which I highly doubt, seeing the collection this comes from.

epigramophone wrote:Nicole Frères were among the first wholesalers in the UK to offer gramophones to the trade. They began with Zonophone machines in December 1900 and Symphonion, who were the main promoters of Zonophone products, appointed Nicole as sole distributing agents in October 1901. Zonophone, Symphonion and Polyphon all supplied Nicole Frères with machines bearing the Nicole name.

There are at least two types of soundbox known to have been marketed by Nicole, the Nicole Master and the Nicole Standard.

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Thanks, this is enlightening!

gramophone-georg wrote:

epigramophone wrote:Nicole Frères were among the first wholesalers in the UK to offer gramophones to the trade. They began with Zonophone machines in December 1900 and Symphonion, who were the main promoters of Zonophone products, appointed Nicole as sole distributing agents in October 1901. Zonophone, Symphonion and Polyphon all supplied Nicole Frères with machines bearing the Nicole name.

There are at least two types of soundbox known to have been marketed by Nicole, the Nicole Master and the Nicole Standard.

OK, but on the first machine the on/ off control, speed control, support arm, and horn cradle are all distinct Columbia AJ design which either suggests Columbia must have supplied some early machines or parts, or this machine is cobbled together- which I highly doubt, seeing the collection this comes from.

I completely agree with you George. The first machine is essentially a modified Columbia AJ. The crank I use to wind up the motor is a Columbia crank, and it turns perfectly as if it had been made especially for that nachine.

Josh Cattermole 1999 wrote:That is seriously cool. Never seen one before either. I have a Nicole Record which I believe was the same brand as this player. Here's a picture of my disc, which dates to 1903. Interestingly they were made using a cardboard core with the celluloid on top which has the music put into it. They feel very lightweight and fragile. I wonder if the Nicole machine soundbox was different and made playing them less damaging? The sound quality of the discs is also pretty bad, and I wonder if the discs would have sounded better on a machine of the same brand.

Yes, it seems that they are of the same brand as the two gramophones in my collection!

Inigo wrote:And that configuration of the needlebar... It seems to be attached to the top of the sb casing by means of a prong at the diaphragm center, with a screw set whose mission seems to be that of tensioning the needlebar, thus limiting vibrations at the desired rate. A curious attachment for tuning it. Am I wrong? Is there any instruction booklet explaining how to adjust this?

You may be right. No, unfortunately I don't have such an instruction booklet.

Nicole records tend to have rather noisy surfaces, but otherwise the celluloid-on-cardboard fabric seems to work very well. I have one, a cornet solo by Charles Leggett, which I must have played dozens of times on many different machines over forty years or more, and it shows no sign of deterioration. I understand that one thing these records cannot stand is exposure to water – a point in common with Edison discs.

Josh Cattermole has posted an image of an early Nicole by the well-known American baritone Steve Porter. I have one on which Porter recites (rather than singing) nursery rhymes accompanied by rather naive sound-effects, and he speaks with a perfect English accent. Truly a versatile artist.

Nicole Frères were well-established Swiss manufacturers of musical boxes, so that one might expect them to have developed their own gramophones, but it seems from all that has been said here that they preferred to ride on the back of existing technology.

Oliver Mundy.

Nicole Frères ceased manufacturing musical boxes during the 1880's, when they transferred their business from Geneva to London. Thereafter they were repairers and retailers of musical boxes, purchasing their supplies from other manufacturers and applying their own labels and serial numbers. It is unlikely, therefore, that they would have had the necessary plant and machinery with which to manufacture gramophones.

epigramophone wrote:Nicole Frères ceased manufacturing musical boxes during the 1880's, when they transferred their business from Geneva to London. Thereafter they were repairers and retailers of musical boxes, purchasing their supplies from other manufacturers and applying their own labels and serial numbers. It is unlikely, therefore, that they would have had the necessary plant and machinery with which to manufacture gramophones.

Thank you, Roger; that explains all.

Oliver Mundy.

epigramophone wrote:Nicole Frères ceased manufacturing musical boxes during the 1880's, when they transferred their business from Geneva to London. Thereafter they were repairers and retailers of musical boxes, purchasing their supplies from other manufacturers and applying their own labels and serial numbers. It is unlikely, therefore, that they would have had the necessary plant and machinery with which to manufacture gramophones.

Thank you Roger!

Menophanes wrote:Nicole records tend to have rather noisy surfaces, but otherwise the celluloid-on-cardboard fabric seems to work very well. I have one, a cornet solo by Charles Leggett, which I must have played dozens of times on many different machines over forty years or more, and it shows no sign of deterioration. I understand that one thing these records cannot stand is exposure to water – a point in common with Edison discs.

Josh Cattermole has posted an image of an early Nicole by the well-known American baritone Steve Porter. I have one on which Porter recites (rather than singing) nursery rhymes accompanied by rather naive sound-effects, and he speaks with a perfect English accent. Truly a versatile artist.

Nicole Frères were well-established Swiss manufacturers of musical boxes, so that one might expect them to have developed their own gramophones, but it seems from all that has been said here that they preferred to ride on the back of existing technology.

Oliver Mundy.

Thank you Oliver!