Berliner Gramophone

Emile Berliner received U.S. patents 372,786 and 382,790 on the Gramophone on November 8, 1887, and May 15, 1888, respectively. This was before the organization of the North American Phonograph Company, which first produced cylinder recordings for public use, and thus Berliner's flat disc record is roughly contemporary with the exploitation of the cylinder medium, though it took longer for Berliner to commence production of his discs in America. Although based in Washington, D.C., Berliner's first joint venture was undertaken in Germany in 1889 with the manufacturer Kämmer & Reinhardt [de], a maker of toys. The Kämmer & Reinhardt machine utilized 5-inch hard rubber discs, and some machines and discs were exported to England. An 1890 recording of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, likely made by Berliner himself, is the oldest disc in the BBC Library or in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and was once touted as the oldest commercial disc in the world, though this has since been disproven. The Kämmer & Reinhardt venture did not last very long, though just how long is unclear.

In the early 1890s, Berliner attempted to found his first American company, the American Gramophone Company, in New York City, but it fell apart before issuing a single machine or disc. Back in Washington, D.C., Berliner tried again under the name of the United States Gramophone Company and began to manufacture machines and 7-inch hard rubber discs in 1894. Some celluloid discs were also made. In 1895, hard rubber was replaced by a shellac compound, which in various formulations remained the standard disc record material until the first vinyl records – initially made only for radio use and other special applications – were introduced in the 1930s.[6] Beginning in 1896, Berliner's gramophones were made by Philadelphia-based machinist Eldridge Johnson, who added a spring motor to drive the previously hand-rotated turntable. Berliner also opened an office in New York City, staffed by Frank Seaman and O. D. LaDow and organized as the National Gramophone Company.

Master recordings were made onto zinc plates, which were then electroplated and a negative-image "mother" made from them to stamp discs. A major reversal of Berliner's fortunes occurred when the mastering plant in Washington, D.C. burned down on September 29, 1897, destroying a hundred unissued masters and all of his record manufacturing equipment. Within a few months, however, Berliner was up and running again, with some record production aspects moved to Philadelphia.

Berliner records were short-playing. Only about two minutes could comfortably fit on each single-sided 7-inch disc. The absolute maximum depended on the speed, which was not standardized and ranged from about 75 rpm to a more typical 70 rpm down to as slow as 60 rpm. During most of the 1890s, the competing small-diameter brown wax cylinder records were recorded at about 120 rpm and could play for as long as three minutes, although recordings fully that long were uncommon. At the end of the decade, cylinder record makers began a transition to higher speeds, mainly to produce louder-playing cylinders that could better compete with the considerably louder gramophone – cylinders had usually been heard through individual stethoscope-like listening tubes rather than through a horn that yielded relatively feeble sound. A new standard cylinder speed of 160 rpm was soon established, reducing the maximum playing time to a little over two minutes and losing an advantage over Berliner's discs.

As the popularity of the gramophone began to pick up, Berliner found himself having to deal with infringers on his patents. In 1898, Berliner shut down at least two firms that were leeching off his business models and, in the first case, products. In 1899, Berliner discovered that Frank Seaman was behind a machine called the Zonophone that seemed an exact replica of the Gramophone. Furious, Berliner cut off all supply to New York, which proved a fatal error. Seaman countersued for breach of contract, and in June 1900 the court granted an injunction against Berliner and United States Gramophone Company. Though he would attempt in several proceedings afterward to have the injunction overturned, it was allowed to stand and it compelled Emile Berliner's exit from the gramophone business in the United States of America.

Berliner transferred his patents to Eldridge Johnson, who then changed the name over the door to his own, though Berliner retained a share in the new company. In March 1901, Johnson registered the name Victor Talking Machine Company and launched the brand later in the year. By 1905 it had regained the lead in the American disc record business, while by 1906 Seaman's Zonophone was on a receiver's index.