The next question that comes to my mind after reading this is, "Are any of these companies still in existence?" When I went looking for Brilliantone needle manufacturer, W.H. Bagshaw, I was pleased to discover that they are still in business. Maybe some of the companies mentioned below are as well.
Ron L -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 11:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Wooden & Metal Victor Horns Victor did not manufacture its own metal flower horns, as the Aug. 22, 1905 patent date will attest: that patent was the property of the Tea Tray Company.? We see this date on Edison horn decals as well - particularly Cygnet horns.? When the 8/22/05 date is not in evidence, the hanger may be mounted on a diamond-shaped plate - the trademark of the Standard Metal Manufacturing Company of Newark, New Jersey.? Those two companies supplied the majority of horns to Victor and Edison, while Columbia seemed to generally prefer the Hawthorne & Sheble Manufacturing Company for its horns. As for wooden horns, I doubt that Sheip & Vandegrift manufactured Victor No.31 ("spear-tip") and No.30 horns, as S&V made a strong point of advertising its "Music Master" horns as "Solid Wood: Not Veneered."? Surely S&V would not have disparaged the products it was making for others under contract!? The metal collar of a Victor No.30 horn in my collection references two patents by month and year: "Sept. 04" and "March 05."? A little research suggests one of these patents to be No.770,024, awarded on Sept. 13, 1904 to Bartolo Ruggiero and Gaetano Bongiorno; both of Brooklyn.? This patent describes what we would recognize as the Victor No.30 horn.? However, the patent specifies that the horn could be made of wood OR fiber.? Perhaps J.S. Spaulding & Sons of Rochester, New Hampshire (who manufactured fiber horns for Canadian Berliner) was manufacturing the No.30 horn in wood as well.? The other wooden horn Victor patent is No.784,385, awarded March 7, 1905 to Alfred R. Cunnius of Brooklyn.? One-half of this patent was assigned to Lipman Kaiser of New York.? This patent shows what we would recognize as the Victor No.31 horn.? Again, was J.S. Spaulding & Sons a supplier of this horn?? Or perhaps a firm definitely known to have manufactured veneered horns such as the Wooden Phonograph Horn Company of Syracuse, NY. was contracted by Victor; Columbia relied on this company for some of its wooden horns. The paper mache horns for the earliest Victor "VI" were most definitely made in Japan (Kobe), and marketed as the Allen's Paper Lacquer Horn.? During the 1905 Russo-Japanese War, these horns became unavailable, and substitute metal horns were supplied with special labels stating that they were a substitute for the paper mache horn and could be exchanged for the latter when they once again became available.? Tim Fabrizio has one of these "substitute" metal horns with its interesting label. I'd be most interested to learn what firm(s) actually manufactured Victor's wooden horns. George Paul ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
