The Sparton

The Sparton iHorn is made from a 1920’s Sparks-Withington Sparton horn.  The company was founded in 1900 and like so many manufacturers, it was diversified to preserve both market share and its existence.  As the automobile revolution began to sweep through Michigan in the early part of the century, Sparks-Withington added steel automotive stampings like hub caps and brake drums to their product line. By 1909, the company was manufacturing car radiator cooling fan assemblies.  The company's first major product innovation came in 1911 when the all-electric car horn was developed by Sparks-Withington engineers.  The horn was soon adopted by a plethora of auto companies as standard equipment, and S-W soon entered into contracts with Hudson and Packard to produce the horns for their vehicles. By the 1920s, Sparton horns were included on 42 makes of vehicle.   In 1923 Sparks-Withington developed high frequency vibrator auto signals, such as the Sparton SOS. By 1926 they had developed the Bugle and musical chime horns, which were the precursors to modern musical horns.   They were even the inspiration behind the song “I’m Wild about Horns on Automobiles (That Go Ta-ta-Ta-Ta)” by Eddie Cantor.  In short, The Sparton iHorn represents an era gone by so poignantly that you can hear it Go “Ta-ta-Ta-Ta.”