Vitaphone
First off: clearly this had nothing
to do with the Vitaphone company that popularized sound with film.
From Roll Back The Years by Edward B. Moogk, 1975, National Library of Canada page 53 and 55:
"One of the new companies entering the market in 1913 was Canadian Vitaphone Company of Toronto, named after a machine invented by Clinton B. Repp. With a capital of some $250,000, the company set up shop at 156-160 John Street, moving later to a new location at the corner of Carlaw and Eastern Avenues. The company, headed by W.R. Fosdick, former manager of His Master's Voice Limited in Toronto, announced that it would do all its manufacturing in Canada. Fosdick was aware that his previous employer would be watching for anything that might infringe on its patents. Vitaphone secured a letter from a legal firm of patent experts stating that the new company could market in Canada without fear of reprisal. Taking a leaf from Berliner's book, Vitaphone placed ads in the trade papers threatening legal proceedings against anyone infringing on its patents.
"The distinguishing features of the Vitaphone were a wooden tone-arm and stationary sound-box. Referring to the tone-arm, the inventor pointed out that no material is as resonant as properly treated wood. He contended that the wood arm of his instrument mellowed and refined every vibration of the stylus; thus, the same strains received into the original master record were reproduced. The stationary sound-box, he claimed, was an advanced sound-reproducting invention that added to the life and quality of the record because the necessary pressure was sustained by the use of a tension spring, not by the weight of the sound-box on the record. The Vitaphone could play both vertical- and lateral-cut disc records.
"Vitaphone released its own records, pressed by Columbia..."
Page 53:
From Roll Back The Years by Edward B. Moogk, 1975, National Library of Canada page 53 and 55:
"One of the new companies entering the market in 1913 was Canadian Vitaphone Company of Toronto, named after a machine invented by Clinton B. Repp. With a capital of some $250,000, the company set up shop at 156-160 John Street, moving later to a new location at the corner of Carlaw and Eastern Avenues. The company, headed by W.R. Fosdick, former manager of His Master's Voice Limited in Toronto, announced that it would do all its manufacturing in Canada. Fosdick was aware that his previous employer would be watching for anything that might infringe on its patents. Vitaphone secured a letter from a legal firm of patent experts stating that the new company could market in Canada without fear of reprisal. Taking a leaf from Berliner's book, Vitaphone placed ads in the trade papers threatening legal proceedings against anyone infringing on its patents.
"The distinguishing features of the Vitaphone were a wooden tone-arm and stationary sound-box. Referring to the tone-arm, the inventor pointed out that no material is as resonant as properly treated wood. He contended that the wood arm of his instrument mellowed and refined every vibration of the stylus; thus, the same strains received into the original master record were reproduced. The stationary sound-box, he claimed, was an advanced sound-reproducting invention that added to the life and quality of the record because the necessary pressure was sustained by the use of a tension spring, not by the weight of the sound-box on the record. The Vitaphone could play both vertical- and lateral-cut disc records.
"Vitaphone released its own records, pressed by Columbia..."
Page 53:
Machine available for sale in Toronto in March, 2009 (photos courtesy Arthur Zimmerman):
"Canadian Vitaphone Company
"Canadian Vitaphone Company. Phonograph manufacturer located in Toronto 1913-16. Its product, the Vitaphone, was devised by the US inventor Clinton B. Repp and featured a wooden tone-arm and stationary sound-box. The company, headed by W.R. Fosdick (former manager of His Master's Voice Ltd in Toronto), also imported Columbia recordings for release on the Vitaphone Label, from masters leased from Columbia in the USA. Artists included the popular Canadian tenors Henry Burr and Harold Jarvis, the Columbia Male Quartette (renamed the Maple Leaf Male Quartette), and Prince's Band (renamed the Vitaphone Military Band). The Vitaphone series is listed in Roll Back the Years.
"Author Edward B. Moogk
"The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2009 Historica Foundation of Canada "
Toronto Daily Star December 21, 1914 pg. 2 (cropped by KW--we guess things weren't going well):
Toronto Daily Star December 31, 1915, pg. 3:
160 John Street in Toronto as of September, 2009 by KW--date on building is consistent:
Brochure:
Horst also has a model 18--note the plate states New Jersey:
The following are courtesy the Domenic DiBernardo Collection. He has a website at http://mrgramophone.com/ All pictures below taken by Cheryl Wright.
Model 12
Model 28
Model 33 (we measured and the only difference between this and the 28 seems to be the wood)
Model 40 (horn and volume control is in the lid, not the base!)
Same in oak.
