Gold Medal
Norman Brooks of NS (of Cremonaphone fame) sent in the following in Feb. 2010:
'Though the land is vacant now, in the first half of the twentieth century, the site was the home of a number of industrial businesses. In 1908, Palmer Piano Co. built a factory there but the company lasted less than a year before Toronto's Gold Medal Furniture moved into the building. Gold Medal started making radios and gramaphones in the 1920s and lasted until 1926. From then on, records of the new owners become "a little fuzzy," said Allan McGillivray of the Uxbridge-Scott Museum and Archives. Eventually, the factory, which was large enough to have its own water tower, burned down in 1944, a woolen mill being its last occupant. Today, apparent concrete and stone debris from the factory are hidden among the trees and brush.'
Betty Pratt sent in Nov. 2009 (in response to some one's question regarding a radio): "During research on Standfield Macpherson we found Reginald Standfield became factory manager of Gold Medal in Uxbridge from 1923-26 before he went on to work out West for Hudson's Bay Co. I have the Patent Office Record of March 22, 1921 when they registered the words Gold Medal."
Machine pictures from Norman:
From "Tales From the Uxbridge Valley", by Allan McGillivray, 2000 The Uxbridge Millennium Committee, page 102-103:
"After a fire at the Uxbridge Piano and Organ Company in 1907, the Palmer Piano Company built a huge factory by the railway just south of where the Co-op store is located today, but they only lasted a short time and were followed into the factory in 19012 by the Gold Medal Furniture Company, which soon had a staff of ninety. In 1922, it became the Gold Medal Radio & Phonograph Company, making Quadradyne Radios and Gold Medal Phonographs until 1926."
Possibly the same picture from Downright Upright A History of the Canadian Piano Industry on page 90 with the caption: "The Palmer Co. built this larger factory c. 1908. The company only lasted a year in Uxbridge. The building became the Gold Medal Furniture Co. factory until it was destroyed by fire."
Betty Pratt found Gold Medal adverts in the Toronto Star 1924 to 1925. Below is a detail (edit by KW) of the best ad, it is from Nov. 7, 1924:
1924 (?) advert, origin unknown--possibly Ottawa paper. Grill motif very similar to what's left of that on real machine below.
Canadian Music Trades Journal, Sept. 1923, pg 54 collection Bill and Betty Pratt (pic, KW):
Rachel SutherlandSource 'Artefacts Canada': http://www.pro.rcip-chin.gc.ca/bd-dl/artefacts-eng.jsp?emu=en.artefacts:/Proxac/ws/human/user/www/Record;jsessionid=a384md9kn1&upp=0&m=5&w=NATIVE%28%27INSNAME+EQ+%27%27UXBRIDGE+HISTORICAL+CENTRE+%28UXBRIDGE-SCOTT+MUSEUM+%26+ARCHIVES%29%27%27+and+image+%3D+%27%27X%27%27%27%29
Assistant Curator
Uxbridge Historical Centre
P.O. Box 1301
Uxbridge ON L9P 1N5
| For © contact: Uxbridge Historical Centre (Uxbridge-Scott Museum & Archives) All rights reserved. |
|
| Name of Object: | Phonograph |
| Object Type: | Gold Medal |
| Classification: | phonograph |
| Category: | Tools & Equipment for Communication |
| Sub-category: | Sound Communication T&E |
| Discipline: | Local History |
| Accession Number: | 997.280.1 |
| Earliest Production Date: | 1922 |
| Latest Production Date: | 1926 |
| Description: | The phonograph is contained in a wooden cabinet on legs with storage space in a lower cabinet to store records. The phonograph cabinet is mounted on wheels so it can be moved easily. The cabinet lid lifts to reveal a turntable which is one foot in diameter. The phonograph needle is mounted on a brass arm. There is a hand crank on the side of the cabinet that winds a spring in the phonograph to rotate the turntable to play records. The phonograph plays 78 r.p.m. records and the record on the turntable is 'Maple Leaf Two-Step' produced by Sparton of Canada Limited, London, Canada.. |
| Narrative: | This phonograph was made by the "Gold Medal Radio-Phonograph Corporation" in Uxbridge. In 1912, the Gold Medal Furniture Company took over the factory built by the Palmer Piano Company located by the railway just south of Brock Street and Victoria Drive in Uxbridge. They soon had a staff of ninety. In 1922, it became the Gold Medal Radio and Phonograph Company, making Quadrodyne Radios and Gold Medal Phonographs until 1926. [From McGillivray, A. Tales from the Uxbridge Valley. The Uxbridge Millennium Committee, 2009.]. |
| Height: | 34.00 |
| Width: | 19.00 |
| Unit-Linear: | inches |
| Inscription: | A metal plaque on the top right hand side of the turntable base reads "Gold Medal Phonograph, The Instrument of Distinction, Manufactured by Gold Medal Furniture Mfg. Co Ltd., Uxbridge, Ontario |
| Institution: | Uxbridge Historical Centre (Uxbridge-Scott Museum & Archives) |
| Institution City: | Uxbridge |
| Institution Province: | Ontario |
I was able to visit the Historical Centre and with Rachel's permission, I now add the following pictures of the above machine:
There is a clip on Youtube listed as:
"Published on Apr 8, 2012 by SouthMarch1823
"The
Gold Medal Radio Phonograph Corporation Limited
manufactured radios, phonographs and wood cabinets from
1922-1926 in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada. The company was
owned and operated by the McMurtry family of Toronto."
The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o43rps08ggM