A Chronology of the Sound Recording Industry, 1878-1924

	Edison companies		Bell/Columbia companies
	Berliner/Victor companies		Independent companies

The names of Canadian companies, and the names of foreign companies beginning distribution or manufacture in Canada, are written in bold type.

YEAR	COMPANY		DESCRIPTION
1878		Edison Speaking Phonograph Co.	Five stock holders, including Gardiner G. Hubbard (the father-in-law of Alexander Graham Bell), bought Edison’s tinfoil phonograph patent for $10 000 & guarantee of 20% of future profits. It leased out demonstration rights for promotional purposes.
1885		Volta Graphophone Co.	Established by Bell & his associates to demonstrate and promote the graphophone.
1886		American Graphophone Co.	Established by Bell & Tainter to manufacture and sell graphophones in the United States and Canada under licence from the Volta Graphophone Co.
1887		Edison Phonograph Co.	Edison bought back the assets of the Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. and reorganized as the Edison Phonograph Co.
1888		North American Phonograph Co.	Established by Jesse Lippincott to set up a sales network of local companies to lease phonographs & gramophones as dictation machines. Lippincott invested $200 000 in the American Graphophone Company and agreed to purchase 5000 machines per year, in return for sales rights to the graphophone (except in Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia). He also bought control of Edison patents for $500 000, and exclusive sales rights of the phonograph in the United States from Ezrah T. Gilliand (who had previously been granted the contract by Edison) for $250 000, leaving Edison with the manufacturing rights.
		Edison Phonograph Works	Established to manufacture and develop the phonograph while patents and sales rights were held by North American Phonograph Co.
1889		Columbia Phonograph Co.	A group of men, licenced by the American Graphophone Company to sell graphophones in Washington, D.C., established the Columbia Phonograph Company. Also licenced by the North American Phonograph Company to sell phonographs in the same area.
1893		United States Gramophone Co.	Established by Emile Berliner to attract investors for the gramophone. He hired Fred Gaisberg, who had prior recording experience, to help him in that capacity. They found investors in Philidelphia to contribute $25 000.
		American Graphophone Co. Columbia Phonograph Co.	Control of the American Graphophone Company acquired by the president of Columbia.
1894		Pathé Frères	Company founded in Paris by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé to manufacture their own talking machine, first called Le Coq, and then the Pathéphone.
1895		Berliner Gram-o-phone Co.	Established in Philidelphia to manufacture all equipment and discs under licence from Washington based U.S. Gramophone Co.
		American Graphophone Co. Columbia Phonograph Co.	The two companies were, in effect, consolidated, the Graphophone Co. concerning itself with development and manufacturing and Columbia handling distribution and sales.
1896		National Gramophone Co.	Established by Frank Seaman to undertake distribution and advertising of the gramophone and given exclusive sales rights.
		National Phonograph Co.	Edison dissolved the North American Phonograph Company and, salvaging his phonograph patents, established the National Phonograph Co. to manufacture and distribute phonographs for home use.
1898		The Gramophone Company (England)	Established in London by William Barry Owen and E. Trevor Williams to manufacture gramophones and records in Europe.
1899		E. Berliner, Montreal	Established by Emile Berliner to hold exclusive manufacturing, sales and distribution rights to gramophones and discs in Canada.
1900		R.S. Williams & Sons	Around this time, R. S. Williams, an instrument manufacturer based in Toronto, begins Canadian distribution for Edison.
		The Gramophone & Typewriter Company Ltd.	The Gramophone Company (England) changes its name.
1901		Victor Talking Machine Co.	Established by Eldridge Johnson to take over the Berliner interests in the United States.
1904		Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada	E. Berliner, Montreal reorganized and renamed. Incorporated with Emmanuel Blout, Joseph Sanders, and Herbert Berliner as directors.
		Columbia Phonograph Co.	Begins operations in Canada with headquarters in Toronto and offices in Hamilton, Montreal and Brantford, ON.
1906		Columbia Graphophone Company	The American Graphophone company is reorganized and the name changed to reflect its identity with Columbia.
1907		The Gramophone Company (England)	The Gramophone & Typewriter Company reverts to its former name. The company moves its base of operations from London to Hayes.
1909		Berliner Gram-o-phone Company	Emile Berliner assumed presidency of Berliner of Canada which underwent reorganization and was renamed. The company begins issuing records on the His Master’s Voice label using masters imported from The Gramophone Co. in England and France. The His Master’s Voice label was later used for series of Canadian recordings in English (1916) and French (1918).
1910		Thomas A. Edison, Inc.	Edison’s various manufacturing enterprises were reorganized and brought together into one corporation.
1913		Canadian Vitaphone Company	Established in Toronto and headed by W.R. Fosdick, former manager of His Master’s Voice Ltd. in Toronto. It manufactured the Vitaphone, a disc-playing machine with a wooden tone-arm and stationary sound box, and imported Columbia records for release on its own label.
1914		Pathé Frères	Begins distribution in Canada through J.A. Hurteau & Co. Ltd., Montreal and M.W. Glendon, Toronto.
1915		Starr Piano Co.	Begins issuing vertical-cut records in the US.
1916		Brunswick- Balke- Collender Co.	Begins issuing vertical-cut records in the US.
1917		Brunswick- Balke- Collender Co. of Canada	Opens factory in Toronto to manufacture Ultona talking machine. In 1920, begins manufacturing records as well.
		Canadian Phonograph Supply Co.	Begins importing Starr records.
1918		Compo Company	Established in Lachine, Quebec by Herbert Berliner to press records in Canada for independent companies (e.g. Starr and Starr-Gennett labels for Starr). Later pressed its own labels (Sun, Apex).
		Columbia Graphophone Manufacturing Company	Columbia reorganized.
		Pathé Frères Phonograph Co. of Canada	Established in Toronto.
1924		Columbia Phonograph Co., Inc.	Louis Sterling of the Columbia Phonograph Co., Ltd. of London, bought out Columbia and reorganized it.
		Victor Talking Machine Company of Canada	Victor Talking Machine Co. (U.S.) acquired controlling interest in the Berliner Gram-o-phone Company, changing its name.