Dictaphone
Maker and role
Dictaphone Corporation Limited, Manufacturer
See full details
Object detail
Accession number
F471.2001
Production period
Description
Dictaphone Model "Type A, Model 12". Serial No.194053. Gold lettering in front reads "Dictaphone Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Model 12 'Trade Mark Notice Within' ". Probably a table-top model. Exterior metalwork - black enamel or chrome. Cylinder in the centre with spinning knob on left side. Has large hinge on the back indicating the top unit can be lifted open.
Brief History
The Columbia Graphophone company was established to market the graphophone, Bell and Tainter’s improved version of Thomas Edison’s phonograph. The name "Dictaphone" was trademarked by Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Tainter’s Columbia Graphophone Company in 1907, which soon became the leading manufacturer of such devices.
During the 1920s, the Dictaphone was re-designed and sold as an office machine 'system' to appeal to office management interested in using machines to improve efficiency.
Dictation machines continued to develop through to the 1960s and the name Dictaphone became a term used to refer to any machine that records a dictation. The invention of the transistor saw dictation machines shrink in size, eventually to today’s palm-held digital voice recorder.
During the 1920s, the Dictaphone was re-designed and sold as an office machine 'system' to appeal to office management interested in using machines to improve efficiency.
Dictation machines continued to develop through to the 1960s and the name Dictaphone became a term used to refer to any machine that records a dictation. The invention of the transistor saw dictation machines shrink in size, eventually to today’s palm-held digital voice recorder.
Marks
Dictaphone / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. / MODEL 12 / [TRADE] MARK NOTICE WITHIN Maker's Plate
Media/Materials
Credit Line
Dictaphone Corporation Limited. Dictaphone, F471.2001. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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