The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Is this a token for a machine? An entry-to-the-fair? And what fair would that be and when? Any ideas? It´s roughly the size of a 20 cent (euro) coin.

As I recall, Gelatt's The Fabulous Phonograph had an illustration of the interior of the "Salon du Phonographe": patrons would choose a selection and drop a token in a slot. The workers below would quickly fetch the chosen recording and place it on a phonograph for the patron to listen to, via hearing tubes...

Bill

The address on the token is of the Pathé office downtown Paris. They had a huge room full of phonographs and a stock of cylinders, allowing the interested passerby to stop, buy a token, and the clerk would search for the desired musical selection and install it on a phonograph for the customer's delight. The symbol on the token is that of Pathé's discobulus.

From my website:

Pathé "Salon du Phonograph" Tokens
Year Manufactured: c. 1894
History: These tokens came from an entertainment establishment operated by the Pathé Frères Co. once located at 30 Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. At the Salon du Phonographe, one could sit down in a comfy chair, insert one of these tokens into the cabinet ahead, and within 10 seconds of making a selection using the dial, hear the latest music through a set of listening tubes. Beneath the luxurious listening room, the cellar was manned by a fleet of staff who manually located and played each cylinder.

That description sounds just like home!

HisMastersVoice wrote:From my website:

Pathé "Salon du Phonograph" Tokens
Year Manufactured: c. 1894
History: These tokens came from an entertainment establishment operated by the Pathé Frères Co. once located at 30 Boulevard des Italiens in Paris.

"1894" cannot be true, because the trademark on backside of the token, showing the discus thrower with a Pathé disc, was registered much later. In 1906, I guess. Does anybody have the exact date for France? In Germany it was registered only in 1908 with the introduction of Pathé discs there.

Starkton wrote:

HisMastersVoice wrote:From my website:

Pathé "Salon du Phonograph" Tokens
Year Manufactured: c. 1894
History: These tokens came from an entertainment establishment operated by the Pathé Frères Co. once located at 30 Boulevard des Italiens in Paris.

"1894" cannot be true, because the trademark on backside of the token, showing the discus thrower with a Pathé disc, was registered much later. In 1906, I guess. Does anybody have the exact date for France? In Germany it was registered only in 1908 with the introduction of Pathé discs there.

Could be, I don't remember where I got that date from, and now that you mention it, that does seem a bit early.