The Super C

The Super C iHorn is a Bristol Super mahogany cabinet radio horn loudspeaker made by the Bristol Company in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1925 iHorn.  It was a high end radio horn which is highly sought after for their sleek innovative design and wonderful tonal quality.  It originally sold for $30.00 which adjusted for inflation is $448.43 today (a cumulative inflation rate of 1394.8%).

The Bristol Manufacturing Company was established in 1889 in Naugatuck, Connecticut. Bristol pioneered the manufacture of recording products, including the circular chart recorder still used throughout industry today. In 1892, the company moved to Waterbury, Connecticut, where it remained for 95 years. Bristol produced a wide variety of product lines, including radio equipment, industrial instruments, and other products.  In 1915, the founder William Henry Bristol invented the “Bristolphone” to siultaneously record voices and other sounds with motion in moving pictures. William H. Bristol Talking Picture Corporation produced one of the first full-length motion pictures with sound.

The Super C iHorn is well preserved and yet another example of the scope and breadth of American ingenuity and diversity.  However, its elegance is in the sound.