The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A few weeks ago I picked up another interesting independent branded "Dixie" that was made by the Dixie Phonograph Company of High Point, North Carolina. It's an average-looking upright with the usual Heinemann motor and tone arm, but it's a little interesting in the fact that the motor board is actually a tray that lifts up out of the cabinet. The only thing that drew me to this phono was that it was made in the South. And being a Southern boy by birth, I'm attracted to things made in the South.

The only mention I can find of this company is a brief paragraph in the April 15, 1919, issue of TMW. There is a very short news article "Dixie Phonograph Co. Organized" that is dated April 4th. It was never mentioned again and there aren't any advertisements for it anywhere I've looked.

Has anyone heard of this brand? I would assume they might have been affiliated with one of the many furniture manufacturers that was in the High Point area in the early 20th Century. I'm thinking they were one of the here-today-gone-tomorrow companies that sprung up during the post-WWI boom.

I would have pictures, but I'm currently without a working camera. Will try to post some soon.

I have heard of - and seen - a Dixie phonograph at one of our local shows. I don't know anything about this manufacturer, except as you have noted, it was in High Point, NC. High Point at one time was the premier furniture manufacturing center in the US and had annual furniture shows that brought in buyers/sellers from all over the world. Several years ago, the furniture industry decided to move it's shows to Vegas and the furniture companies in High Point, Lexington and Hickory, NC have mostly shut down and moved operations to China. It is a sad commentary on the manufacturing centers of the US. High Point is just a small town, but had many wealthy residents. It was particularly interesting to note that for a very small town, it had a Rolls Royce and Bentley dealership. Now, the downtown is practically deserted, except for some factory outlets that sell the Chinese furniture. Many high end and rare phonographs, including the table model Victor Douglas in Jasper San Filippo's collection have been found in High Point. I know of several others including an Auxetophone that originated from there.

High Point was also, for a period, a center for street railway car manufacturing. The Southern Car Company and, later, the Perley A. Thomas company were well known throughout the industry for the quality of their work. In 1923, Perley Thomas built the 900-series streetcars that still run today (slightly modified) in New Orleans. The company is still in business today producing school bus bodies; look around and you'll likely see the "Thomas-Built Buses" logo on school buses in your area. Thomas is the only survivor among the many companies that produced cars during the heyday of the trolley era.