The Bristophon was invented by William Henry Bristol (1859-1930), a mechanical engineer who, with his father and brother, established the Bristol Co. in Waterbury, Ct. According to advertisements, the Bristophone “Electrifies the ordinary phonograph and gives it the tone range, sweetness and volume of the new ‘phonic’ instruments.”
Ref: William H. Bristol, “Electric Reproducing Apparatus for Phonographs,” U.S. Patent 1,490,764 (April 15, 1924).
Ad for the Bristophon in Radio Retailing (Oct. 1926).
Ad for Bristophon in Radio Doings 10 (March 12, 1927): 21.
“Prof. W. H. Bristol, Dead,” New York Times (June 19, 1930), p. 21.
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