American Telegraphone Company
1903 - 1920
The American Telegraphone Company was established in 1903 to manufacture an market Valdemar Paulsen's invention of the wire recorder, intended as a machine to record telephone conversations, which could not be done with a phonograph. Initially it had its manufacturing plant in Wheeling, West Virginia, and production was relocated in 1912 to Springfield, Massachusetts.
During its first years, the company attracted many investors seeking to invest in the "the next phonograph", but over the following decade the invention did not translate to a commercial success, and the company was out of business around 1920.
During its first years, the company attracted many investors seeking to invest in the "the next phonograph", but over the following decade the invention did not translate to a commercial success, and the company was out of business around 1920.
Excerpted from: David Morton, The Technology and Culture of Sound Recording in America (Rutgers University Press, 2000), pp. 50-54. Available on Google Books, http://books.google.com/books?id=KDdQLuRBVW0C&pg=PA50