The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just for fun,from the May 1914 The Youth's Companion here's a scan of an ad for the Union Specialty adapter to allow your Victor or Columbia to play " the beautiful new EDISON disc records." They weren't cheap. I've never seen one of these up here in Canada.

Jim

Awesome! I'll take 2 please

Interesting that it could be had at a discount with a sapphire stylus; I wonder how well that held up in practice? And how well a sapphire and Edison discs would have gotten along? Mind you, I also wonder how many of these things would have sold in the first place. One thing is for sure: the advertising department's artists did a, uh, fabulous job of depicting an Edison record label!

drh wrote:One thing is for sure: the advertising department's artists did a, uh, fabulous job of depicting an Edison record label!

I'm sure Edison's legal department had something to do with this...

Union Specialty & Playing began as a small die casting shop catering to the automobile industry in 1906. They added a line of talking machine accessories in 1914. Moved from Prospect Avenue to the West Side of Cleveland during an expansion for war work in 1916, and subsequently moved to Canton Ohio. For the past sixty years they have concentrated in making high quality investment castings for streetscape work (bollards, street lights, lamp poles, etc.) In 2011 they were purchased by a Massachusetts hedge fund and were loaded with debt, which primarily was incurred to pay the "management fees" imposed by the new owners. The operations of the firm ceased this past month, for the company could no longer continue operation with its heavy debt load. 368 workers, some of while have more than thirty years with the company, are now unemployed.

Uncle Vanya wrote:Union Specialty & Playing began as a small die casting shop catering to the automobile industry in 1906. They added a line of talking machine accessories in 1914. Moved from Prospect Avenue to the West Side of Cleveland during an expansion for war work in 1916, and subsequently moved to Canton Ohio. For the past sixty years they have concentrated in making high quality investment castings for streetscape work (bollards, street lights, lamp poles, etc.) In 2011 they were purchased by a Massachusetts hedge fund and were loaded with debt, which primarily was incurred to pay the "management fees" imposed by the new owners. The operations of the firm ceased this past month, for the company could no longer continue operation with its heavy debt load. 368 workers, some of while have more than thirty years with the company, are now unemployed.

But I'm sure the "financial engineers" made out like bandits.

Ouch.

Little Canton, Ohio was also home to King Cole Co. which produced Nipper.