Dictaphone Shaving Machine, Type S, Model 10, circa 1929

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Artifact Overview

Dictaphones and Ediphones were sound recording devices largely used for oral dictation in business settings. In this scenario, wax cylinder recordings were passed to a secretary, who listened to the recording with a playback-only transcriber and then typed up notes. A shaving machine, such as this one, scraped the previously inscribed layer away allowing a wax cylinder to be reused over 100 times.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Shaving machine

Date Made

circa 1929

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2017.0.34.1111

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Metal

Color

Black (Color)
Silver (Color)
Gold (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 32.75 in
Width: 20.5 in
Length: 15.25 in

Inscriptions

on front: DICTAPHONE / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. on plate: 56531 on plate: Dictaphone / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. / Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. / Registered Trade Mark / [...] / SHAVING MACHINE / PATENT NOTICE INSIDE / DICTAPHONE CORPORATION / NEW YORK / SOLE MANUFACTURER / MADE IN U.S.A. / TYPE S / MODEL 10 on sticker: Dictaphone / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. / TYPE S SHAVING MACHINE MODEL 10 / PATENT NOTICE / [...] / OTHER PATENTS PENDING / MADE IN U.S.A. on sticker: Dictaphone / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. / REGISTERED TRADE MARK / [...] / DICTAPHONE CORPORATION / BRIDGEPORT, CONN. U.S.A. / PATENT NOTICE INSIDE / MADE IN U.S.A. on sticker: Form F-25. Made in U.S.A. / WE GUARANTEE / THE MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION OF ALL DICTAPHONE DICTATING MACHINES, TRANSCRIBING MACHINES AND SHAVING MACHINES AND WILL REPLACE, FREE OF CHARGE, ANY PART OR PARTS THEREOF WHICH MAY, WITHIN TWELVE MONTHS FROM DATE OF THEIR SALE BY US, DEVELOP DEFECTS OR IMPERFECTIONS DUE TO IMPERFECT MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP. / DICTAPHONE CORPORATION / NEW YORK
Dictaphone Shaving Machine, Type S, Model 10, circa 1929