Cheney Talking Machine Phonographs
Some of the most unusual and interesting “off brand” internal horn acoustic phonographs were made by the Cheney Talking Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois. These often have square and boxy cabinets, but most intriguing are their unusual sound-constricted air passages, as well as “step chambered” tone arms and internal horns.
The Cheney Talking Machine Company was founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1914 by Forest Cheney, a concert violinist of the early 1900′s. He was bankrolled by Chicago department store magnate Marshall Field. Cheney claimed that his design was superior to that of any other talking machine. Instead of sound waves generated from one source and passing through an ever expanding and unrestricted tone arm and horn (he referred to this as the “megaphonic” sound), he visualized the sound waves entering through a series of chambers which were essentially separate sound boxes where the sound waves could develop and be released “under control.” He claimed this method was the only one which could permit the sound to generate delicate overtones and be “enriched and blended into one triumphant whole.” A Cheney talking machine won the gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco in 1915.
Cheney considered the “cubical chambers” and violin-shaped horn to be the crowning glories of his design. They were made of seasoned maple and spruce woods which were purposely left unfinished “so that their resonating quality may not be impaired.” Cheney advertisements state, “The Cheney–like a rare old violin–constantly enhances in musical value.” He also invented an octagonal tone arm that increased in steps, thereby skirting the Victor tapered tone arm patent.(A lawsuit was decided in 1921 in favor of Cheney.) It was suggested that the octagonal arm somehow mystically harmonized with the octaves of the musical scale.
Many Cheney models have a gold medallion either under the lid or just behind the tone arm. In some models the medallion is quite large, measuring 2.75″ across. Some models have small round medallions under the lids which state “Berkey and Gay Furniture,” a well-known furniture manufacturing firm at the time. No models have metallic tags or plates indicating model or serial numbers. Model names tended to reflect cabinet styles, such as “Georgian”, “Queen Anne” and “Early English”. Part of a high traffic area on the third floor of Marshall Field’s State Street store was turned into “an aristocratic talking machine parlor,” exhibiting the Cheney machines including an $800 carved Georgian model, although Field continued to sell Columbia records. Cheney distributors also were secured in other cities.
The Cheney machines came with two separate reproducers, one is for regular lateral 78 rpm records, the other for vertical cut discs. For the latter there is no breach loading device as part of the stylus bar. The reproducers came inside a small brown cardboard box. The boxes have special holes at either end for holding the two reproducers while the center has a hole for the “used” needle cup (plus lid). All Cheney models appear to have the same standard spring-wound motor with double springs. All have 12-inch turntables.
Forest Cheney died in Chicago, Illinois, on December 16, 1925.