Marconiphone

Lore & Background

After World War I, the Marconi Company began producing non-industrial receivers for the amateur market at the Soho premises of The Marconi Scientific Instrument Company. In 1922, the Marconi Company formed the Marconiphone department to design, manufacture and sell domestic receiving equipment that complied with Post Office specifications and tests, earning the BBC authorisation stamp. Initially sets were made at the Chelmsford Works, and in December 1923 the department was formed as a subsidiary of the Marconi Company. Some sets were made at the Sterling Telephone Company Works at Dagenham, though design and research continued at Chelmsford.

In December 1929, Marconiphone was sold to the Gramophone Company, along with the right to use the trademark and the copyright signature 'G. Marconi' on domestic receivers. The Marconi Company never re-entered the domestic radio market. In 1931 the Gramophone Company became Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) and produced domestic and radio receivers using the Marconiphone trademark. In 1936, the company moved into cathode ray tubes and television receivers, and was still manufacturing television sets in 1953.

From 1957, Marconiphone receivers were made under licence by the British Radio Corporation, a subsidiary of Thorn Electrical Industries, and the products of the two companies became extremely similar. The Marconiphone brand was revived in the late 1980s and used by a division of GEC-Marconi for mobile phones; phones made by companies such as NEC were given an additional small rectangular metal plate with the Marconiphone logo. Marconi acted as a service provider for Cellnet and Vodafone in the UK before selling the customer base to Mercury in 1991.

Reader's Guide

Marconiphone's significance lies in its role as a pioneering English manufacturer of domestic radio receivers, emerging from the Marconi Company's post-World War I expansion into the amateur market. Its early compliance with Post Office specifications and BBC authorisation established it as a trusted brand in home entertainment. The sale to the Gramophone Company in 1929 and subsequent absorption into EMI marked a key transition in the British radio industry, as the Marconi Company permanently exited the domestic market. Marconiphone's move into television production in 1936 and continued manufacturing into the 1950s reflects the broader shift from radio to television. The licensing to British Radio Corporation in 1957 under Thorn Electrical Industries led to near-identical products, illustrating the consolidation of British consumer electronics. The brand's revival in the late 1980s for mobile phones, using rebadged NEC handsets, and Marconi's role as a service provider for Cellnet and Vodafone, shows an attempt to leverage the historic name in a new market, though the customer base was sold to Mercury in 1991. Overall, Marconiphone's trajectory from Marconi subsidiary to EMI brand to licensed label encapsulates the evolution of British domestic electronics manufacturing.

Did You Know?

• Marconiphone was originally a department of the Marconi Company formed in 1922.
• The company's early sets were awarded the BBC authorisation stamp for complying with Post Office specifications.
• In 1929, Marconiphone was sold to the Gramophone Company, which later became EMI.
• The brand was revived in the late 1980s for mobile phones made by NEC and sold under the Marconiphone name.