Dictogrand

The Dictogrand iHorn is made from a Dictogrand Type R-3 Radio Loud Speaker, which was made by the Dictograph Products Corporation in New York City.  This was a low profile, “portable” speaker made in 1923.  It came in brass, mahogany, rubber, red, and this black finish.  This model is particularly rare and collectible. Its original sale price when first made was $29.00.  Applying the consumer price index from 1923 to 2013, this would equate to $410.00 today!!!  This is a cumulative inflation rate of 1312%

Dictograph Products was a new player in radio technology in 1923.  However, Dictograph had a long history of acoustical products, including telephone systems and products to aid hearing for the deaf.  It was an international corporation, with offices in United States, Europe, and the Orient.  Its most famous product was the “Detective Dictograph Audio Amplifier.”  This police eavesdropping device was used to convict Ohio state senator Rodney J. Diegle of bribery in 1911;  U.S. Senator William Lorimer of Illinois for suborning perjury in 1912; and to indict Albert and Louis Bimberg of White Plains, N.Y., for trying to hire an employee to burn the American Oilcloth Co. plant in Trenton, N.J. in 1914.  Dictograph Products was a big player in telephone equipment parts as well.

The Dictogrand is small and stately.  It is a piece of Americana which reflects ingenuity, beauty and grace.  Its appearance and sound are symphonic.