Pathe

 
Pathe was the dominant force in the French Phonograph market.

The story of the Pathe brothers, Charles & Emile's rise from rags to riches is a story of purest entrepreneurship.

In 1894 Charles had watched an Edison exhibitor at a fair, and had noticed that with an Edison phonograph with 20 listening tubes, an exhibitor was bringing in good money at every 2 minute cylinder he played.

Charles gave up his job and bought an Edison phonograph and cylinders and began to work the fairs around Paris and any places frequented by large amounts of people. Other fairground people noticed how much money Charles was taking in, and Charles realised that he also had a potential market to sell phonographs to. And thus he began importing and selling phonographs. To keep his customers supplied with popular music, he began to produce his own cylinders, recording musicians around Paris. In 1896 his brother Emile joined the growing company, and Pathe also branced out to cinematography. (this branch of Pathe still exists),

The Pathe brother soon realised that potentially an even greater profit could be made if they were to manufacture their own phonographs, rather than just selling Graphophones and Edisons. The first machine was a plagarism of the Graphopone Eagle that they caled "Le Coq"

Pathe's 1898 catalog contains various Graphophone & Edison machines that the Pathe brothers were trading in, as well as their own "Graphophone No. 25 Pathe 1898" machine. The Pathe 1898 could also be purchased in a fitted Neccesaire with a horn and a few cylinders.

By the 1900 catalog, Pathe were producing and selling many of their own machines. The Galoise, a fairly blatant immitation of the Edison Gem was on the market.

Pathé’s early phonographs were generally fitted with by aluminum horns. However, in 1905, due to the Russian-Japanese war, prices for this metal rose, and thus from arouns 1906, more painted tinplate horns were sold as a standard horn.

Pathe dropped all production of Phonographs in 1906, switching to disc machines.

Pathe Graphophone

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As mentioned, Pathe began business as an agent, importing and selling Phonographs & Graphophones. Their 1898 cartalog still shows the Edison & Graphophone products that they were selling. It must have occurred to the Pathe brothers, as the import business flourished, that there was more money to be made in actually manufacturing their own line of machines. The Pathe Graphophone is mechanically a direct copy of a Graphophone AT though with a Pathe made case. It would appear that the motor was a Graphophone AT motor, while the upper works were cast in an inferior pot-metal, that in most of these models that have survived, the upper works are distorted and unplayable.

More pictures to follow.

If the Pathe Graphophone, AT copy is puzzling, Pathe also sold a modified AT Graphophone adapted with the Pathe style horn guide mechanism.

Picture to follow

Thus looking at the various models that Pathe developed over theit decade of Phonograph manufacture, the influence of the Graphophone AT & Graphophone Eagle are quite evident.


Eventail

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Pathe model 1898

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Model No. 0 Democratic (1st version)

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Model No. 0 Democratic (2nd version)

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Model No. 1 Coq (1st version)

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Model No. 1 Coq (2nd version)

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Model No. 2

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Model No. 3

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Model No. 4 (1st version)

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The model 4 was a large phonograph capable of playing Concert size cylinders



Model No. 4 (2nd version 1904)

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The second version of the Pathe model 4 was a large phonograph capable of playing Concert size cylinders. The design had changed quite radically from the 1st version. Most noticable are the 1 piece casting of the top works, the end gate, as well as a fancier case with carved mouldings. The metal used in the casting is somewhat inferior to the first version, and models have been seen where the topwork gears have moved apart, sometimes necessitating a new gear with an extra tooth or two to be fabricated in order for the machine to function.





Pathe Gauloise

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The Gauloise first appeared in 1900, the first model having a case made of wood but with the upper works of cast iron. Unmistakably it was a machine inspired by the Edison Gem. the wood case was short lived, and all subsequent models were with cast iron housings. However though the Gauloise looked like a Gem, the reproducer carriage, reproducer, and horn are uniquely Pathé. In earlier machines the reproducer carriage went under the cylinder, and in later machines it went above. The Gaulois was offered in a variety of colors apart from black; blue, red, green, and gray. A variety of horns could be cought for the Gauloise, including glass, aluminum, brass, and tin. many models came equipped with a horn support at the right, primarily for glass horns. The Pathé trademark rooster appears on the front of the case, with the slogan "Je Chante Haut et Clair" ("I Sing Loud and Clear"), as well as Le Gauloise emblasoned across the back of the case.

Pathe also supplied machines to Girard to be recased as the first style of Menestrel (blue with gold lining) as well as to Edison Bell.

Pathe Gauloise - Black (Wood Case)

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Pathe Gauloise Black

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Pathe Gauloise Blue

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Crane support visible to the left woth start/stop lever & speed controler at the front. Under the logo is written: Grand Prize Universal Exposition 1900

Pathe Gauloise Red

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Pathe Gauloise Green

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Pathe Gauloise Grey

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Pathe Gauloise Outfit 21 for English Market

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For the England market the Green Gauloise was packaged in a wood covered with faux leather. The cover was connected to the base by 2 clasps at either side.


Celeste (1st version) 1900

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Celeste (2nd version) 1903

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Chante-Claire

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The "Chante-Clair" was produced 1904 by Pathé Frères, and although it only has Pathe markings on the metalwork, it could have been produced especially for the French mail order company J.Girard et Cie.

The „Chante-Clair“ can only play cylinders of the “Inter” site, and being equipped with the large mandrel, does not allow the playing of standard size cylinders. Characteristic is the winding-key. The diameter of the horn measures 12". The the absence of a feed screw makes it impossible to record with this machine.





Pathe Francaise 1903

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Pathe Duplex

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Pathe Galoise

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Necessaire

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Pathe Royal

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Coquet

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Mechanically similar ro the Chante-Claire, the Coquet is easily identified by its tramsfers on the case and lid.




Stentor

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Unknown

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