Written By Joan Lehman

What makes this "home town" phonograph unique is the flat motor board, as the lid rests directly on it!

The Parlephone upright was manufactured from a small factory in St. Joseph, Missouri around 1919. Not having national distribution, they must have been out of business by the early 1920s. Their company is not listed in any of the Talking Machine World Directories for that period.

A trademark could not be obtained because their name was so similar to the Parlophone. Like MANY internal horn phonographs of the 1916-1922 period, it languishes in obscurity.

Small firms bought commonly available parts, especially diecast arms and motors such as sold by Meiselbach, and assembled their own "home town" machines. Many small brands never achieved distribution outside the local area. Some could be found advertising in national publications, but it's likely that most of these tiny firms lasted only a couple years at the most.

In this World Of Gramophone's "Music History" page, R. J. Wakeman lists the following information: 'Parlephone, E. E. Tower, St. Joseph Missouri, April, 1919', included in his "263 Machines And Their Makers".