What Makes a Machine "Off-Brand"?

[startgroove]

For about ten years I've been compiling a list of brand names and models, which included all of them I could find in advertising, auctions and original promotional material. Here is the list. If you have, or know of, something not listed, feel free message me and I'll add it to the list. Cheers, Russie


PHONOGRAPH BRANDS
Includes cylinder and disc types, and related pieces. Does not include electrically amplified phonographs, although some of these brands made both acoustic and electric models.

AEOLION VOCALION

ANGELOPHONE

ARETINO

BERG

BERLINER

BRUNSWICK

BURNS POLLOCK
Phonograph Lamp

BUSY BEE Cylinder

BUSY BEE Disc

BZH HORNLESS TALKING MACHINE

CHENEY

CHICAGO TALKING MACHINE

COLUMBIA GRAPHOPHONE CYLINDER

COLUMBIA DISC GRAPHOPHONE, Front Mount

COLUMBIA DISC GRAPHOPHONE, Rear Mount

COLUMBIA Grafonola

CONSOLIDATED TALKING MACHINE

CRYSTOLA

DALLION

DURABLE PHONOGRAPH COMPANY

ECCO

EDISON PHONOGRAPH, Cylinder

EDISON AMBEROLA

EDISON DIAMOND DISC

ELDRIDGE JOHNSON

ENDLESS GRAPH COMPANY
Fairy Phonograph Lamp

FERN-O-GRAND
Piano-phono

GARFORD MANUFACTURING
Vanophone

HALLET AND DAVIS

HARMONY

HARVARD

HYMANOLA TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

INDEPENDENT

INTERNATIONAL PHONOGRAPH COMPANY
Wizard

KEEN-O-PHONE

KEYWIND

KIMBALL

KLINGSOR

LIBRARY OF ILLUSTRATED SONGS

MANDEL

METEOR

MODERNOLA

OPERAPHONE

OXFORD

PANDEON

Pathé Cylinder

Pathé Disc

PIANO PHONO

PLAYERETTE

PLAYERPHONE TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

PREMIER

PUCK Cylinder

PURITAN

SHELL-O-PHONE

SILVERTONE

SONORA

STANDARD TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

STARR PHONOGRAPH COMPANY

SYMPHONY PHONOGRAPHS

TALKING MACHINE COMPANY, Cabinets

TALK-O-PHONE

UNITED TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

UNIVERSAL

VALUPHONE

VANOPHONE

VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

VICTROLA

VITANOLA TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

VITAPHONE

WONDER TALKING MACHINE COMPANY

ZONOPHONE

MINATURE PHONOGRAPHS

Camera phone

Excelda Cameraphone

KameraPhone

Kompact/Plaza Music Co

Mikiphone

Peter Pan gramophone

Pet-O-Phone

Thorens CameraPhone

Thorens Exelda 257(1)


PORTABLE PHONOGRAPHS

Brunswick

Decca

Modernola

Outing

Polly Portable Paper Horn

Silvertone

Stratford

Comrade

MikiPhone

Watchtower/Rutherford


RECORD AND PHONOGRAPH CABINETS

Davenport Cabinet Works

Douglas

Herzog, cylinder and disc

Long Quality, disc

Lundstrum Converto Cabinet

Salter, disc

Schloss Bros, disc

Victor, disc


TALKING DOLLS

Edison

Madame Hendren

Lioret-Jumeau

Mae Starr


COIN OPERATED PHONOGRAPHS

Berliner

Capehart

Columbia

Deca-Disc

Edison

Gabel

Multiphone

Pathé

Polyphon

Regina

Rosenfield

Zonophone

[alang]

How about the "Royal Talking Machine Co." of Chicago, Il?

[Uncle Vanya]

Cecilian

Claxtonola

Meteor

Rishell

Saxophonic

Player-tone

Magnola

Vitaphone

Starck

Sternola

Maytona

Fischer

Fletcher

Jamestown

La Belle

Davega

Packard

Hallet & Davis

Grinnell

Pooley

United States

Eagle

Ptacek

Gemmola

Reginaphone

Buddy (portable)

Outing (portable)

Modernola (also branded "Modernolette) (portable)

Kodel (portable)

Jewel (portable)

Jewel-Tone (portable)

Pal (portable)

Jewett

Broadcaster (Combination)

Emerson

Brooks Automatic

Creighton

Capitol


Just off the top of my head.

[OrthoSean]

I have a Newby and Evans. For an "offbrand" machine, it's rather impressive, 4 spring motor, electric auto-stop compartment light. The fittings are all gold plated an dthe case is pretty substantial and well built. I may get around to repairing and cleaning it up one of these years or it may wind up for sale at some point since I'm already overloaded with projects.

Sean

[Retrograde]

Tim Gracyk put together a sizable list on his website many years ago.

[estott]

As far as case quality goes I'd put my Cheney up against any Victor - and there isn't an atom of pot metal in the hardware.

[briankeith]

http://www.gracyk.com/makers.shtml

[Valecnik]

I once had an "OHS" about as off brand as they come. The small print on the OHS decal read, "Orchestra, Harmony and Song". Coincidentally the initials of the owner of the Minneapolis manufacturer were also OHS. His name was Otto H. Sprung.

[Mr Grumpy]

Here's a link to a website trying to document all Canadian off brands --> http://keithwright.ca/CAPP/CAPPage.html
(which I'm sure you were all already aware of - don't mind me, I'm late to the party )

[Victrolacollector]

I thought I would throw in my 2 cents, off brand is usually the term applied to anything non-Edison, Victor, Columbia and maybe Brunswick. However, I must say the first phonograph that I owned was a Magnola Talking Machine. The Magnola is not a common machine, but has a beautiful cabinet of design and quality. The only fault is the pot metal tone arm and reproducer, which still looks great.