American record company, record factory and gramophone, founded January 26, 1898 by Frank Seaman and Orville La Dow. Notorious for it's patent infringement and piracy of records.
The company originates form Seaman's National Gramophone Company, a gramophone distributor of Eldridge R. Johnson's factory. Relationships deteriorated and eventually Seaman claimed breach of contract and ed with La Dow to fund Universal Talking Machine Company in 1898. National Gramophone Company became Universal Talking Machine Company's sales agent, with La Dow at the helm of both.
The company sold defaced Berliner machines to both the USA and Europe, and began manufacturing it's own gramophones in late 1898 by hand of inventor Louis P. Valiquet, infringing on the patents of the Berliner design and d as “improved Gramophones”. The Zon-o-phone trademark was ed on August 11, 1898 for use in gramophones, National Gramophone had already d the name as early as February 1898.
The records for these machines were legally obtained from Berliner to National Gramophone and had been drilled to accommodate Valiquet's modifications. By late 1899, some Berliner discs were drilled by unrelated third parties so they could be played on Talking Machine gramophones.
In October 1898, American Graphophone Company took legal action against National Gramophone, claiming that the Berliner reproducer infringed its floating-stylus patent. The case was decided against National Gramophone in November 1898. The production of Gramophone machines was halted from January 1899 to March 1899, resulting in the dismantling of National Gramophone. Seaman and La Dow rebuilt the company as National Gram-O-Phone Corp. Soon afterwards, the Berliner company stopped sending them pressings.
By late 1899, pirated (electroplated) 7-inch Berliner discs with defaced labels started being sold by National Gramophone Corp., pressed by the Universal Talking Machine Co. on back.
In 1900, the company entered a licensing deal with International Zonophone Company. The first German Zon-O-Phone records were pressed in September 1901.
The Universal Talking Machine Manufacturing Company proper was created in November 1901 after the National Gramophone Corporation declared bankruptcy. The older Universal Talking Machine Company became the sales office of the new talking machine factory.
In October 1903, Victor Talking Machine Co.. The company retained relative independence until 1910
Both companies folded in 1912 after years of legal struggles.
