Marconiphone was an
English
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Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
manufacturer of domestic receiving equipment, notably radio receivers and
reel-to-reel
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is pla ...
tape machines.
Early History
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
began producing non-industrial receivers, principally for the amateur market, at the
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was deve ...
premises of The Marconi Scientific Instrument Company. In 1922, the
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
formed the "Marconiphone" department, to design, manufacture and sell domestic receiving equipment.
This equipment complied with Post Office specifications and tests, and was therefore awarded the
BBC authorisation stamp; initially sets were made at the
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...
Works. In December 1923, the 'Marconiphone' department was formed as a subsidiary of the
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
. Some Marconiphone Company sets were made at the
Sterling Telephone Company (STC) Works at
Dagenham
Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross.
It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fore ...
. However, design and research of these domestic receivers still continued at
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...
.
Gramophone Company
In December 1929, the Marconiphone was sold to the
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the '' His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the Europe ...
, along with the right to use the trademark "Marconiphone" and the copyright signature "G. Marconi" on domestic receivers. The Marconi Company never re-entered the domestic radio market. In 1931 the Gramophone Company became Electric and Musical Industries (
EMI) and produced domestic and radio receivers using the Marconiphone trademark until 1956, when receivers were made by the
British Radio Corporation, under licence. Domestic receivers bearing the Marconiphone trademark produced after 1929 had no connection with the
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
.
In 1936, the Marconiphone company moved into the production of cathode ray tubes and television receivers and in 1953 they were still manufacturing television sets.
In the 1950s HMV and Marconiphone were taken over by Thorn and the products of the two companies became extremely similar.
Mobile telephones
The Marconiphone brand was revived in the late 1980s and used by a division of GEC-Marconi for mobile phones. Phones made by companies such as NEC were given and additional small rectangular metal plate with the Marconiphone logo.
Marconi acted as a service provider for Cellnet and Vodafone in the UK before selling the customer base to Mercury in 1991.
See also
*
HMV Radios
References
{{reflist
Guglielmo Marconi
Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom
Electronics companies of the United Kingdom
Radio manufacturers