The Substation

The Substation iHorn is made from an early Dictograph telephone substation in a wooden case, together with a vintage funnel horn.  The placard inside stated if was protected by patents dated 1907, 1909, 1912 and 1913.  Thus, the probable date of manufacture was 1914-1915.  Dictograph was formed in 1902 producing the first room surveillance eavesdropping device.  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, although it received push back because of the hard wiring requirements not present in other interoffice communication systems.  The Substation is small and stately.  It is a piece of Americana which reflects ingenuity, beauty and grace.  Its appearance and sound are symphonic.