Playerphones

October 16, 1918, Menasha Record

December 14, 1918, Menasha Record

I was intrigued by these "talking machines" and then I realized it was just a term for record players or phonographs and Playerphone was just a brand name.  Evidently, most phonograph companies used the "phone" or "play" in their names- Gramophone, Qualitiphone, Playonola .  My research even found a trade journal for the industry titled The Talking Machine World, so that phrase was a thing.  Like "horseless carriage" for automobiles, it didn't withstand the sands of time, but just serves as sort of a benchmark for an innovative time when recorded music was all the rage.  In a few short years, network radio would develop and having "wireless sets" (as they were first known) would be the new rage.  Remember when "world wide web" was synonymous for the internet?  Nobody says that anymore either. 

FYI, Mr. Swenson was a jeweler in Menasha at 209 Main Street for about thirty years until his death in 1939.  During this time period, his advertising often suggested watches and other gifts to be sent to the "boys over there," serving in The Great War.  Here's a trade ad for the Playerphone I was able to find.  Sorry it isn't larger and more readable.