Multiphone

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The pre-war model of the Multiphone, then called the "Music-Phone"

INTRO

Kenneth C. Shyvers

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The post-war model of the Shyvers Multiphone [1]

Kenneth C. Shyvers, an inventor from Seattle, is best known for the creation of the Multiphone, an early version of a coin-operated restaurant jukebox that could hold up to 170 songs and required two telephone lines. He developed the product with his wife Lois in 1939, gaining a patent for its coin control device one-year prior. It was not until 1946/47 that he patented the music box itself. The product's design shows that Shyvers found inspiration from New York architecture, namely the Empire State Building. Although, the original Pre-War model of the music box (then called the "Music -Phone" more resembled a rocket ship. This design change might have been due to an increase in Shyvers' desire to show patriotism in the years after the war, or his ideas of what would appeal more to the costumers at the time. Shyvers is also known for his work on early interactive gaming machines. In 1936, he and fellow inventor Lyn Durrant designed one of the first "score totalizers," an aspect of gaming technology that is still prevalent today.

History of the Coin-Operated Phonograph

The Multiphone played an important role in the evolution of the jukebox, an invention that grew to become a staple of its time and is still often used in cafes and restaurants to recreate the temporality of the mid 20th century. The first recorded coin operated phonograph was presented in 1889, in a public demonstration at the Palais Royal Restaurant in San Francisco. Louis T. Glass, the operator of this initial model, is credited as “the father of the concept,” and went on to hold high offices at several telephone and telegraph companies. By 1891, the United States Patent Office had already registered 18 patents for phonograph coin control devices. Soon, Thomas Alva Edison gained business connections to the rising trend, and between 1900 and 1907 he released over 10 different models. The cafes, restaurants and bars that started housing the coin-operated phonographs became known as “juke-joints.” This term (along with the term “juke box”) started in the South, and was brought up with the northern migration of African-American workers in the early 20th century. It wasn’t until the late 1930s that the terms were released of the stigma of being considered ‘black’ terms and gained spots in the official vocabulary. The music boxes developed before 1900 each offered only one song selection, but soon models such as the “Gomber Multiplex” which could hold up to 12 songs, reached the market. In 1925/26, electrically recorded 78rpm records were released, solving amplification issues and changing the market. In the late 1930s, the market for the jukebox grew as it acted a source entertainment to help the public escape the possibility of war and the effects of the great depression. Companies such as the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. and the J.P. Seeburg Corp. became some of the primary competitors in jukebox production, creating new models and finding fiscal success in the process.

The all-female team of multiphone disc jockeys in downtown Seattle [2]


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References

http://coin-o-phone.com/history.pdf

http://www.google.com/patents?id=eWkCAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=shyvers&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q=shyvers&f=false

"Almind - Coin-Op Telephone Music." Danish Jukebox Archives. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://juke-box.dk/gert-telephone-music.htm>.

"Shyvers Multiphone." Bill Hare Productions. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.dyz.com/phones/multiphone.html>.

"1939 Multiphone by Shyvers." Antiques, Art, Collectibles & More - GoAntiques. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.goantiques.com/detail,1939-multiphone-shyvers,1167164.html>.

"Shyvers Jukeboxes Multiphone Selector Speaker." Jukebox Stamann Musikboxen Jukebox-World: Wurlitzer Jukebox Parts Ersatzteile Jukeboxparts Musikbox Anzeigenmarkt Forum AMI Rowe Rock-Ola Seeburg NSM Wiegandt Tonomat. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.jukebox-world.de/Forum/Archiv/USA/Shyvers.htm>.