The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies. In February 1908 the company introduced new labels featuring the famous trademark known as "His Master's Voice," generally referred to as HMV, to distinguish them from earlier labels which featured an outline of the Recording Angel trademark. The latter had been designed by Theodore Birnbaum, an executive of the Gramophone Company pressing plant in Hanover, Germany. The Gramophone Company was never known as the HMV or His Master's Voice company. An icon of the company was to become very well known - the picture of a dog listening to an early gramophone painted by Francis Barraud .
The Gramophone Company was founded by William Barry Owen and his partner/investor Trevor Williams in 1897 as the U.K. partner of Emile Berliner's United States based Berliner Gramophone (until 1901) its successor, the Victor Talking Machine Company.
In December of 1900 William Owen gained the manufacturing rights for the Lambert Typewriter Company and The Gramophone Company was renamed to The Gramophone & Typewriter Company .
For later history of the company, see EMI.
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