Dictaphone Co
of Kingsway House, London.(1920), subsidiary of an American corporation.
of Oxford Street, London, W. Factories at Bridgeport, Conn. U.S.A., and Bendon Valley, Wandsworth.(1914)
of Wembley (1979)
1880s First dictating machine developed by one of Alexander Graham Bell's companies.
1901 Established as a private company.
1907 The name "Dictaphone" was trademarked by the Columbia Graphophone Company.
1909 exhibited at Olympia[1]
c1912 Incorporated as a private company
1913 The new premises of the Dictaphone Co., in Kingsway, W.C., were opened by Sir Herbert Marshall, J. P., of Leicester, Mr. Thomas Dixon, the managing director[2]
1914 Principal: Thomas Dixon.
1917 Name of British Typewriters Ltd was changed to the Dictaphone Co Ltd
1918 Columbia Graphophone Co required the company to cease use of the name Dictaphone which was accepted at an EGM of the company. Nevertheless the Dictaphone company did not change its name.
1923 Dictaphone (Corporation?) was spun off from Columbia Graphophone as a separate company.
1939 Introduced the Dictaphone electronic dictating machine in the USA.
1940 Introduction of the belt-recording machine developed by the company[3]
WWII Produced gun fire control apparatus including a remote control system and telescopic sight mounts.
By 1952 more than 90 percent of production of dictating machines was of the belt type which had almost completely supplanted the electronic drum dictating machine. The company continued with some defence-related work.
1967 The US parent company had diversified by acquiring office-related companies and aerospace[4]
1968 Acquired Ultravox dictating machines from Guter Holdings AG[5]
1970 Introduced a French-made electronic calculator to the British market[6]
1979 The Corporation was acquired by Pitney Bowes