Design Stories: Exploring Everyday Things

CGE RM110 Phonograph—Canadian General Electric (CGE) and Its Role in Manufacturing

Canadian General Electric (CGE) was founded in 1892, and operated as a separate entity from its American counterpart, serving as a Canadian subsidiary with exclusive rights to sell and distribute products within Canada (N/A 2014). The company established its first manufacturing plant in Peterborough in 1893, with subsequent expansions and closures across different locations over the decades. During the 1970s, CGE operated two plastics manufacturing facilities: one being a molded plastics branch in Cobourg, Ontario, and a filament-wound reinforced epoxy facility in St. Andrews, Quebec. It is possible that these plants produced the plastic components used in the RM110 record player.

By 1977, CGE’s annual report highlighted the company’s audio products division, which was introducing new technologies such as radios and tape recorders, also signaling CGE’s gradual transition toward digital audio devices as the industry moved away from phonographs and vinyl players (LexW 2024). Our research indicates that both General Electric (GE) and CGE sold identical record player designs under different model numbers. In Canada, the RM110 was the designated model, while in the United States, variations such as the V211 and others were marketed. Additionally, the same base design was distributed under multiple brand names in both Canadian and American markets, sold through retailers such as Sears, Canadian Tire, and Consumers Distributing.


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Main Contents

  1. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Introduction
  2. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Physical Properties
  3. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Canadian General Electric (CGE) and Its Role in Manufacturing
  4. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Understanding The Role of Plastics
  5. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Appearances in Print Advertisements
  6. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Understanding the Consumer
  7. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Providing Socioeconomic Context
  8. CGE RM110 Phonograph—Bibliography

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