Zonophone
Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talking Machine Company from 1899 to 1903. It has been used for a number of record publishing labels by these companies.
Also recorded as Zon-O-Phone · Zonophone Record
Zonophone

Andre86 · Public domain
- Name
- Universal Talking Machine Company
- Founded
- 1899
- Headquarters
- Camden
- Activity
- music industry
- Products
- phonograph
- Dissolved
- 1903
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talking Machine Company from 1899 to 1903. It has been used for a number of record publishing labels by these companies.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Zonophone. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6271471 · wikipedia · Zonophone
In this article
Overview
Overview
It is associated with United States and United Kingdom. The record gives 1899 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Activity is recorded as ending in 1903. Its recorded seat is Camden. The recorded field of activity is music industry. Recorded products are phonograph.

Schallplatte von Clara Jaffé
Zylberglajs

Schallplatte von Zawel Kwartin
Zylberglajs
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Universal Talking Machine Company • Type — Corporation • Fate — Acquired • Successor — Victor Talking Machine Company (immediate) EMI (1931–2013) Warner Music Group (2013–present) • Founded — 1899 • Founder — Frank Seaman • Defunct — 1903 • Hq Location City — Camden, New Jersey • Hq Location Country — U.S. • Industry — Recording industry • Products — Phonographs, phonograph records • Owner — Seaman, Eldridge R. Johnson, EMI, then Warner Music Group
1899–1910s
1899–1910s
Emile Berliner, the inventor of the lateral-groove disc record and the Gramophone, formed a partnership with machinist Eldridge R. Johnson, who had improved Berliner's Gramophone to the point of marketability, and with former typewriter promoter Frank Seaman. Berliner was to hold the patents; Johnson had manufacturing rights; and Seaman had selling rights.
1920s–1970s
1920s–1970s
• Illustration — A Zon-O-Phone record In West Africa (primarily today's Ghana and Nigeria) Zonophone was used as a label to record and produce Sakara, Jùjú and Apala music on 78 rpm discs from 1928 to the early 1950s.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
United States and United Kingdom
Country
Zonophone is associated with United States and United Kingdom.
Country
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sutton, Allan. American Record Companies and Producers 1888-1950. Mainspring Press. 56–58. 2018. 978-0-9973333-3-6.
- 2.PAUL VERNON. Savannaphone. FolkRoots No.122.
- 3.John Collins. Musicmakers of West Africa. Lynne Rienner Publishers (1985)
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,307 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Zombie-A-Go-Go RecordsOrganisation
- ZomboyPerson
- Zona BrutaOrganisation
- Zone 4Organisation
- Zoo EntertainmentOrganisation
- Zoo RecordsOrganisation
- Zoogz RiftPerson
- Zoom LensOrganisation
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Zonophone?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.