The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

“On This Day in the History of Recorded Sound…”

March 13, 1906: Eldridge Johnson was granted a U.S. patent (No.814,786) for a tapering tone arm. The acoustic improvement over the short-lived “Rigid Arm” (introduced in October 1902) was noticeable, and the ingenious goose-neck sound box tube would distinguish Victor’s products for decades to come.

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I am surprised the Rigid Arm models ran for about four years. I thought it was a much shorter span.

No, the rigid arm models ran for only about 6 months: October 1902-April 1903. By the time this patent was granted, the rigid-arm technology was obsolescent and had been abandoned by Victor.

George P.

I have heard of that timeline for the Rigid Arm models before. So what type of tone arm was on the models from April of 1903 to March of 1906?

Victor introduced the taper arm in 1903 but the patent wasn't issued until 1906. It was common for patents to take a few years between application and final issue.

TinfoilPhono wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2026 11:20 pm Victor introduced the taper arm in 1903 but the patent wasn't issued until 1906. It was common for patents to take a few years between application and final issue.

Exactly. Which is most likely why we sometimes see the notice, "Patent Applied For" on products. They're not waiting the patent to be granted. They need to get their product moving & selling.

Thanks for the clarification. Good to know.