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I found 5 of these Edison Transophone cases, with 6-inch cylinders and lids, in a lot of normal 2-minute wax and 4-minute Black Amberol cylinders I picked up recently; never having seen them before, I'm curious to know more about them. Are they just normal Dictaphone cylinders? The cases don't look like any other Edison Dictaphone cylinder cases I've ever come across. The cylinders themselves are moldy -- can they be shaved? What do people do with these?

(Sorry for the sideways -- I don't know why this always seems to happen...at least if you click on them they display upright.)

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a transophone?

gramophoneshane wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2021 8:31 pm Pardon my ignorance, but what is a transophone?

The text on the box describes it as an accessory to make transcribing dictation cylinders easier.

- Bill

There's a description here -- https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1862691232

Basically a hand controlled start/stop lever, such as the foot pedal type used on sewing machines. I don't think any special recording cylinders were needed. Probably, just an ad for the gizmo on the box.

OrthoFan

Thank you gentleman.
That's an accessory I hadn't heard of before, and the picture on the cylinder box wasn't clear enough for me to make out.
Interesting that it appears to need it's own electric supply.
Many years ago I bought a Columbia dictaphone, and it had a small foot pad that was used to repeat the previous few seconds of the recording, but it seemed to be air driven rather than electric.

I wonder if the marketing department invented the term after the general term Business Phonograph and before the Ediphone name was used as a trade name to counter the universally popular Dictaphone which like Hoover became the description of all similar machines.
It seems that transphone name was created at a time when the whole system of cloth lined cylinders, hand grip switches repeat keys spring mandrel grip etc. had been developed.
Anyone got a timeline on the use of the name Ediphone?
Oh and when did the paint go from black to grey ?

These are still great for display do not shave them .