The Wire Recorder and Tape Recorder in Competition

The peak of the wire recorder's short commercial life came in 1948 and 1949. Many Armour-based wire recorders began to appear on the American market under various brand names, such as Webster-Chicago (or Webcor), Silvertone, Air King, WiRecorder, Crescent, Miles Reproducer, Pentron, Bendix Radio, C. G. Conn, J. P. Seeburg Corp., Sonora Radio, Stromberg-Carlson Wilcox-Gay, Hoffman Radio Corp., RCA, GE, and Electronic Sound Engineering Co. The novelty of the technology and the ability to record sound at home spurred a great deal of interest. Webster-Chicago Corporation also hit upon an important market niche with its line of wire recorder dictation machines. Although they lacked some of the features of products made by Dictaphone or Thomas A. Edison, Inc., they were less than half the price.

A Webster-Chicago Model 80, one of the most common types of American wire recorders

 

 

 

 

 

The wire recorder's image as a technologically advanced gadget was evident in popular culture. Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, featured a scene where the protagonist's boss is so fascinated with the recorder that he can't concentrate on a conversation. However, the image would soon fade.