E.M.G. Hand-Made Gramophones on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
E.M.G. Hand-Made Gramophones Limited was founded in 1923 by Ellis Michael Ginn (whose initials gave the firm its name). Its object was to build and sell high class acoustical gramophones. E.M.G.'s first model was the Magnaphone, demonstrated and sold in 
Although by 1933, E.M.G. was also offering electric gramophones, its acoustic models still enjoyed a buoyant market. Compton Mackenzie offered an explanation in his April 1933 ''Gramophone'' editorial: “ ere are still many people living in remote parts of this Earth for whom a radio-gramophone is an impossibility. For those, instruments like the Expert, the E.M.G. and the Cascade are a wonderful substitute for the electric wonders of today.” Francis James expands this explanation: " at could be more nostalgic or British colonial officersthan an E.M.G. playing Elgar under the black velvet of a night on the List of Surviving E.M.G. Handmade 'Large Horn' Gramophones
/ref>
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in March 1924.
Following the Brighton success, the firm moved to London. In the Steinway Hall Gramophone Tests of June 14, 1924, sponsored by ''Gramophone Magazine'', E.M.G.'s Magnaphone was awarded the Silver Medal. Following these Tests, Compton Mackenzie, editor of the ''Gramophone Magazine'' wrote that "it is an instrument with a very big future before it".
At the Gramophone Congress of 1925 held in Caxton Hall
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...
, E.M.G. won the Bronze Medal.
In 1928, Frederick Delius wrote to Ginn to congratulate him on the E.M.G. Wilson Horn model: "I often use it to play records of my own works to musicians who come to see me, and they all think it splendid."
In the wake of financial difficulties experienced in 1929, control of the company passed out of the hands of Ginn, who subsequently set up in competition to E.M.G., producing hand-made gramophones under the 'Expert' brand.
Although by 1933, E.M.G. was also offering electric gramophones, its acoustic models still enjoyed a buoyant market. Compton Mackenzie offered an explanation in his April 1933 ''Gramophone'' editorial: “ ere are still many people living in remote parts of this Earth for whom a radio-gramophone is an impossibility. For those, instruments like the Expert, the E.M.G. and the Cascade are a wonderful substitute for the electric wonders of today.” Francis James expands this explanation: " at could be more nostalgic or British colonial officersthan an E.M.G. playing Elgar under the black velvet of a night on the African Veldt
Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
? It was not just colonial officers who ordered them, of course. Wherever there was a regimental mess, an embassy or diplomatic mission, a wealthy merchant or a religious mission, in short, wherever there were islands of British culture in a foreign land, there these acoustic machines would be found. The whole British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
resounded to their beautiful voices."
Between 1928 and 1954, E.M.G. was awarded 16 patents relating to sound reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...
.
The firm went into voluntary liquidation in 1980, having produced and sold around 1500 made-to-order acoustical gramophones. More than 80 of the Mark IX, X, Xa and Xb EMG 'Large Horn' gramophones are known to still survive./ref>
Sources
James, Francis (1998). ''The E.M.G Story''. London: Old Bakehouse Publications. . Wimbush, Roger ed. (1973). ''"The Gramophone" Jubilee Book 1923-1973''. Harrow: General Gramophone Publications Ltd..References
{{Reflist Audio equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom Phonograph manufacturers British companies established in 1923